Missoula

Acquaintance rape is a crime like no other. Unlike burglary or embezzlement or any other felony, the victim often comes under more suspicion than the alleged perpetrator. This is especially true if the victim is sexually active, if she had been drinking prior to the assault--and if the man she accuses plays on a popular sports team. For a woman in this situation, the pain of being forced into sex against her will is only the beginning of her ordeal. If she decides to go to the police, undertrained officers sometimes ask if she has a boyfriend, implying that she is covering up infidelity. She is told rape is extremely difficult to prove and repeatedly asked if she really wants to press charges. If she does want to charge her assailant, district attorneys frequently refuse to prosecute. If the assailant is indicted, even though a victim's name is supposed to be kept confidential, rumors start in the community and on social media, labeling her a slut, unbalanced, an attention-seeker. The vanishingly small but highly publicized incidents of false accusations are used to dismiss her claims in the press. If the case goes to trial, the woman's entire personal life often becomes fair game for the defense attorneys. This brutal reality goes a long way toward enplaning why acquaintance rape is the most underreported crime in America. In addition to physical trauma, its victims often suffer devastating psychological damage that leads to feelings of shame, emotional paralysis, and stigmatization. In Missoula, Krakauer chronicles the experiences of several women in Missoula--the nights when they were raped, their fear and self-doubt in the aftermath; the way they were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys; the public vilification and private anguish; their bravery in pushing forward and what it cost them.

The sixth volume in the Montana Mainstreet series, A Guide to Historic Missoula points readers to the buildings, historic sites, and parks that act as monuments to Missoula's--and Montana's--history.

Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods tells the gripping tale of a huge Ice Age lake that drained suddenly--not just once but repeatedly--and reshaped the landscape of the Northwest. The narrative follows the path of the floodwaters as they raged from western Montana across the Idaho Panhandle, then scoured through eastern Washington and down the Columbia Gorge to the Pacific Ocean.

In this survey of how Missoula has changed since the late 1800s, important historic sites in the city and environs are showcased in vintage and modern imagery.

"[Fort Missoula] provided a home for the US Army in Montana from 1877 onward. Called into service almost by accident for the 1877 Nez Perce War, Fort Missoula hosted African American Buffalo Soldiers, aviation pioneers, early military automobile mechanics, Civilian Conservation Corps workers, World War II Italian and Japanese national internees, US military prisoners, and a variety of US Army and Navy units. The base bequeathed to its community a level of sophistication and a connection to the national story unique to the American West. Fort Missoula's architectural legacy also reflects the nation's journey from a frontier settlement to a world power"--P. [4] of Cover.

Much of Missoula's history lies beneath the surface. As in many Old West cities, cavernous underground tunnel systems purportedly hid countless nefarious activities, from clandestine prostitution and Chinese opium dens to booze running during Prohibition. These sordid tales captivate today's residents and beg questions about the city's furtive past. Did local elite gentlemen mask their carnal habits there? Did John Wayne really use the passageways to run personal errands unnoticed? Author and urban archaeologist Nikki Manning ventures below to reconcile oral history with archaeological data in a fascinating exploration of Missoula's subterranean labyrinths.