Town Square

Three writers assess the enduring appeal of Murray Morgan's classic Skid Road.

Murray Morgan's Skid Road, the story of Seattle's first century, was published 67 years ago. It has never been out of print and has sold more copies than any other history of Seattle. It's the history of Seattle's first dreamers, schemers and grifters, told from "the bottom up." Seattle's National Book Award winning author Timothy Egan says of Morgan's masterpiece: "Over more than half a century, no one has written a better book about Seattle. I keep looking for something, but Skid Road has our soul down cold."

Now the University of Washington Press has published a new, redesigned edition of Skid Road along with Morgan's Puget's Sound and The Last Wilderness (forthcoming). Join Seattle Times books columnist Mary Ann Gwinn, Lane Morgan, Murray's daughter, and Jim Lynch, acclaimed Olympia novelist, as they discuss the enduring appeal of this classic and its relevance for today's readers. Copies of the book will be for sale, or read it ahead of time and come prepared to discuss whether Seattle's rambunctious heart still beats beneath the streets of today's glitter and glass metropolis.

Panelists: 
Mary Ann Gwinn, Lane Morgan and Jim Lynch.