LTCC Writer's Series on Wednesday with Jeremy Evans and Scott Lankford

Lake Tahoe Community College's Writers' Series continues as two local authors, Jeremy Evans and Scott Lankford, read and sign their work at the LTCC library. Stop by for the reading, buy a book to get signed, and chat with the writers.
Jeremy Evans first book "In Search of Powder" As a recent college graduate and fledging newspaper reporter in the Lake Tahoe area, Evans became immersed in ski bum culture — a carefree lifestyle whose mantra was simply: “Ski as much as possible.” His snowboarding suffered when he left for a job in the Portland area; and when, at twenty-six, he suffered a stroke, he reexamined his priorities, quit his job, moved back to Tahoe, and threw himself into snowboarding. But while he had been away, the culture had changed. This book is Evans’s paean to the disappearing culture of the ski bum. A fascinating look at a world far removed from the larger culture, it is also a curious account of a passion for powder and what its disappearance means.
Evans looks at several prominent ski towns in the West (including Crested Butte, Jackson Hole, Telluride, Lake Tahoe, Park City, and Mammoth) and the ski bums who either flourished or fled. He chronicles the American West transformed by rising real estate costs, an immigrant workforce, misguided values, and corporate-owned resorts. The story he tells is that of quintessentially American characters—rejecting materialism, taking risks, following their own path—and of the glories and pitfalls their lifestyle presents.

Scott Lankford's book "Tahoe beneath the Surface" was recently awarded a national Bronze Medal as "Nature Book of the Year 2010" by Foreword Reviews.

"Tahoe beneath the Surface" brings this hidden history of America’s largest mountain lake to life through the stories of its most celebrated residents and visitors over the last ten thousand years. It mixes local Washoe Indian legends with tales of murderous Mafia dons, and Rat Pack tunes with Steinbeck novels. It establishes Tahoe as one of America’s literary hot spots by tracing the steps of more than a dozen authors including Bertrand Russell, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Michael Ondaatje. Tahoe beneath the Surface reveals how the lake transformed the lives of conservationists like John Muir, humorists like Mark Twain, and Hollywood icons like Frank Sinatra. It even touches upon some of the darker aspects of American history, including anti-Chinese racism and the Kennedy assassination.

Despite the impact Lake Tahoe has had on America, environmental threats loom large, and Tahoe Blue—a term that Lankford uses to encompass the whole range of life, beauty, and meaning the lake represents — grows increasingly vulnerable. In Tahoe beneath the Surface, human history and natural history combine in a most engaging way, one that will both inform and inspire all who would keep Tahoe blue.

The series is hosted by LTCC and Bona Fide Books. Call (530)573-1513 for more information.

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