information from SWSHS

Co-authors Williams' and Ott's new book explores the unprecedented engineering projects that shaped Seattle in the creation of the ship canal/Locks in Ballard.  In the course of telling this fascinating story, "Waterway", (HistoryLink 2017) helps readers find visible traces of the city's former landscape and better understand Seattle as a place that has been--and still is being--radically reshaped.

This free book-talk event by 'Words, Writers & West Seattle' of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society takes place at 5 PM at at Barnes & Noble/ Westwood Village, on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017.

David Williams is a naturalist, author, and educator who has used his deep knowledge of Seattle, scientific background, extensive research and interviews to illuminate the physical challenges of the large-scale transformations that forever altered the Duwamish River in major ways.   He is also the author of Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City, and Stories in Stone: Travels in Urban Geology. Williams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum and maintains the website GeologyWriter.com. 

Jennifer Ott, an assistant director of HistoryLink.org, is an environmental historian who has explored how people have shaped and been shaped by landscapes across the Northwest for the Oregon Historical Quarterly, HistoryLink.org, and Seattle magazine.  Together, Williams and Ott have written this book to explain how, as Seattle grew, its leaders and inhabitants dramatically altered its topography to accommodate their changing visions.

"Words, Writers & West Seattle"'s next First Friday book-talk is scheduled for 6PM, January 5, 2017 at Barnes & Noble at Westwood and will feature David M. Hansen, presenting his book, Battle Ready: National Coast Defense System and the Fortification of Puget Sound 1894-1925 (Washington State Univ. Press, 2017).