Black Hills, Dark History

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Contributing Writer

Articles by Katherine Luck

Book Review: ’We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program’

by Katherine Luck | July 26th, 2017

Exploring NASA’s role in the social justice movement

In May 1961, the same month that the Freedom Riders began protesting bus segregation, President John F. Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the moon. It was a tough task undertaken during a dark period in U.S. history. “We Could Not Fail: The First...

Patrick Mosley stands in front of one of the two tiny houses inside Camp Second Chance. Photo by Monica Westlake

Camp Second Chance hosts benefit concert for tiny houses

by Katherine Luck | June 21st, 2017

They say that each part of Seattle has a character all its own, attracting like-minded people who in turn build on the neighborhood’s unique personality. Camp Second Chance was built from the ground up by its residents. “The founding members were campers...

Book Review: "The Secret Chord”

by Katherine Luck | June 14th, 2017

Geraldine Brooks retells the Old Testament’s King David story

Two-thirds of the way through “The Secret Chord,” the latest book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, the narrator has a moment of clarity. “What had I done with my life, to give it into the service of this evil? I had seen myself as a man in...

Book Review: "How to Murder Your Life"

by Katherine Luck | May 17th, 2017

If you're rich, White and addicted to drugs, you get to write a memoir

Who is Cat Marnell? Cat Marnell is a blogger who gained some notoriety back in 2011 for rambling, drug-fueled posts that chronicled her many addictions, her toxic relationships, and her habit of using Plan B emergency contraception as her primary form of...

Book Review: "The Ukranian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule"

by Katherine Luck | March 1st, 2017

If you’re a fan of graphic novels, take note: The most unforgettable book you’ll read in 2017 was released late last year. And if you’ve never so much as dipped a toe in the genre, “The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule” by...

Book Review: "I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This"

by Katherine Luck | December 28th, 2016

Nadja Spiegelman’s memoir reveals the conflicts between mothers and daughters

Glancing through the opening pages of “I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This” by Nadja Spiegelman, the reader will be forgiven for wondering who Nadja Spiegelman is and what this conspicuously average 29-year-old from New York City has done to merit a...

Illustration by Jon Williams, Real Change

Book Review: "Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocence, Independence, and Identity"

by Katherine Luck | September 14th, 2016

More than 2.3 million people are currently being held in state and federal prisons, jails and correctional facilities around the U.S. Within such a massive population, chances are that more than a few of those behind bars are actually innocent. As...

What could go wrong?

by Katherine Luck | January 19th, 2016

Margaret Atwood wraps economic collapse around chaos and humor to create our latest dystopian future

Marked by sly humor and unexpected twists, “The Heart Goes Last,” by Margaret Atwood, is a cunning, challenging take on the oversaturated dystopian genre. Following a devastating nationwide economic collapse in the not too distant future, “A shocking 40...

Pictures Worth 1,000 Words

by Katherine Luck | July 8th, 2015

Two unique takes on graphic novels expand possibilities for the medium

"The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage" by Sydney Padua Whether you avoid or admire them, 21st century graphic novels are proving to be increasingly diverse in theme and style, taking creative risks and blurring the line between image and text...

Black Hills, Dark History

by Katherine Luck | May 27th, 2015

Book Review - Thieves' Road by Terry Mort

Just two years before his infamous “Last Stand,” Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer set off on a secretive expedition deep into the Black Hills region of what is today South Dakota. Officially, he and the one-thousand armed troops he led were...