[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 58 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING TIMOTHY EGAN'S ACHIEVEMENTS IN JOURNALISM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington-

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 3, 2011

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Timothy Egan today 
because I, and countless other readers, have learned so much from his 
first-rate reporting and his terrific books. In well-deserved 
acknowledgement of Mr. Egan's ongoing contributions to our civic 
discourse and public understanding, the Rainier Club, one of Seattle's 
oldest urban institutions, has named Mr. Egan its ``Artist Laureate for 
2011.''
  Many in this chamber will recognize Mr. Egan's byline as the 
Northwest Correspondent of The New York Times. He is a Pulitzer Prize-
winning journalist whose insightful reporting and opinion pieces 
exemplify outstanding journalism. Even more remarkably, Mr. Egan's 
talents, and achievements, are not limited to newspaper reporting. 
Hardly. His six successful books include five works of non-fiction (The 
Good Rain, Breaking Blue, Lasso the Wind, The Worst Hard Time, and The 
Big Burn) as well as a novel (The Winemaker's Daughter).
  Mr. Egan's books are great reads--his subjects range from the 
distinctive qualities of the Northwest region and an unsolved Spokane 
murder case to the powerful mythology of the American West and most 
recently, an early twentieth century wildfire that triggered permanent 
and far-reaching changes in land management policy and attitude. In 
2006, Mr. Egan published perhaps his best-known book, The Worst Hard 
Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American 
Dustbowl, for which he received the National Book Award. This is a 
powerful account of a truly critical episode in our country's history. 
Mr. Egan details the almost incomprehensible hardships endured by those 
American families who fought to survive the Dust Bowl of the Thirties, 
and in so doing, he brings his subjects and their circumstances fully 
to life.
  His newest book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that 
Saved America, recounts the story of the devastating 1910 wildfire in 
the Rocky Mountain high country that claimed nearly 100 lives and 
changed forever our commitment to protect our public lands and their 
precious resources. His research is painstaking, and his commitment to 
the story unfaltering. Through his lens, we better understand ourselves 
and our relationship to the natural world.
  In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for outstanding newspaper reporting 
and the National Book Award, Mr. Egan has twice received the Washington 
State Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Award.
  Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of the honoring of Tim Egan's lifetime 
achievements, the Rainier Club celebrates a son of Seattle who has 
reached millions with words of purpose and meaning. I extend to him my 
congratulations and my appreciation. Thank you.

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