Winter author series kicks off with Coll Thrush's examination of settler colonialism through shipwrecks

The KUOW Book Club is embarking on a winter series of book talks in partnership with The Seattle Public Library this month. Our first pick is Coll Thrush's "Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific."

Thrush will join us for a live interview at the Seattle Central Library on Feb. 26. Register for free here.

RELATED: Cozy reader winter: Join KUOW Book Club, Seattle Public Library for live author talks

"Wrecked" offers an examination of settler colonialism through the Northwest Coast's many shipwrecks. Thrush considers the nature of the region's unforgiving coastlines, powerful currents, and unpredictable weather, yes, but perhaps most notably, he dives into the stories borne from the wrecks among both Indigenous peoples and settlers.

Thrush aims to dispel myths of our settler colonial history and its lasting effects on this region.

Read along with the KUOW Book Club by signing up for our newsletter, and join Thrush and me for a live interview at the Seattle Central Library on Feb. 26. If you can't make it, don't worry: I'll share the full interview and my thoughts on Feb. 28.

Expect Thrush's signature brand of storytelling mixed with history — a style I personally find inviting, especially when tackling historically fraught topics. Local fans of his work may recall a similar approach in his book "Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place," another regional classic.

The British Columbian Quarterly said this of "Wrecked": "If the test of a great book is whether it reframes the way we think about its subject, then Thrush has succeeded in delivering a new history of the Pacific Coast that connects maritime disaster to Indigenous and colonial history in original and provocative ways. ... A superb book by a historian and writer at the height of his powers."

I couldn't agree more, which is why Thrush is the first of four authors we're featuring this winter in partnership with The Seattle Public Library. We'll continue in March with the incredible Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe, a writer, artist, and self-described Coast Salish punk. Her essay collection, "Thunder Song," should make a stellar follow-up to "Wrecked."

Get the full winter lineup here.