Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me [Hardcover]

Teri Hein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2000

Signed by author. Very good condition. Always send with delivery confirmation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hanford casts a grim shadow, but a memoir of farm life in Washington is profoundly tender." -- The Oregonian, November 12, 2000

"Her wry, forthright voice and vivid memories make the tale absorbing." -- High Country News, Decmeber 18, 2000

"We may not always have the rural Washington family farm, however and Atomic Farmgirl's glimpse into that way of life is what makes it rewarding." -- Seattle Weekly, September 28, 2000

From the Inside Flap

The Palouse Hills in the eastern part of Washington State are known as home of the golden wheatlands, a place with some of the richest topsoil in the world. It is also a region forever changed by the dispersals of nuclear waste – accidental and intentional – from the Hanford Atomic Plant only 100 miles south.

In Atomic Farmgirl, Teri Hein explores a childhood marked by horseback riding, haying, casseroles, a stoic German Lutheran tradition, and the Cold War duck-and-cover drills of the 50s. First and foremost, she tells of her family’s bond to the land: “Wheat is our thing and a thousand acres of it swaying in the breeze is for us in the Palouse about the most beautiful thing on earth. We put pictures of wheat on our Grain Growers calendars and write poems about it when we go off to college.”

The great-granddaughter of homesteaders, Hein captures the evolution of a landscape and a neighborhood in the face of the invasions of the 19th and 20th centuries: the U.S. military, her own German ancestors, and the Manhattan Project. Filled with humor, poignancy, and a deeply personal web of stories, Atomic Farmgirl offers a rich journey into the mysteries of childhood, love, community, and place.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (July 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555914438
• ISBN-13: 978-1555914431
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atomic farmgirl - a tribute to rural family courage, May 16, 2001

By 

"jsbjorn" (Seattle, Wa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me (Hardcover)

Teri Hein's book about growing up downwind of Hanford is a gem. Clean, honest recollections are buoyed up by elegant research into the area and the families that lived there. The facts are presented and the reader is allowed to draw his/her own conclusion about the impact of radiation exposure from Hanford. A gripping read that everyone in Washington should have in their library.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a funny, touching, and powerful book that hits close to home, September 7, 2000

By 

Clint Sallee (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me (Hardcover)

The debate over the Hanford Nuclear reservation, and its effects on the environmental, medical, and spiritual health of the land and the people of the Pacific Northwest has been raging for years. Teri Hein puts a face, I should say, puts faces to that debate as she weaves a touching true story of growing up on a farm downwind from Hanford, where her family and surrounding families must live with the health effects of the nuclear age. It's a story of the land, the people, and the forces which can bring the ugly and tragic to the serene and beautiful. Don't pass this book up. As funny as it is sad. A quick read, that will not fade quickly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extraordinary and haunting, May 26, 2003

By 

Jim (Iowa City, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me (Hardcover)

I got this book because of a great review in Creative Loafing that called it "extraordinary and haunting." I couldn't agree more. It's literary, it's historical, it's funny, it's tragic, it's good. And talk about timely.....in these days of warped homeland security, this book gives a birds eye view of what that is all about. The new foreward for the paperback version is , in two words, very concerning.