Idaho Books

I enjoyed reading the book and the authors comments on the area. I do suggest that you do more research however because I found out that the topo maps listed were off when comparing the the map in the book to the topo quads. As always it is better to be over prepared even for a short hike. This book should get you a start.

Idaho has more than four million acres of designated wilderness, impressive mountains, beautiful desert canyons, and adventuresome rivers. All of this spectacular Idaho scenery is perfect for nature-loving packbackers. Doug Lorain's Backpacking Idaho: From Alpine Peaks To Desert Canyons showcases 33 diverse "backpacker friendly" trips ranging from three day getaways to two week extended excursions. Backpacking Idaho lays out routes in the Selkirk and Sawtooth mountains, the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area, the Continental Divide Trail, and in the Yellowstone National Park. Provided are trip summary charts with ratings for scenery, solitude, and degree of difficulty, as well as maps highlighting trail types, campsites, ranger stations, and elevation. If you are looking to personally experience Idaho's most memorable hiking opportunities, then you need a copy of Doug Lorain's Backpacking Idaho!

Haven, by John Peyton Cooke, is the story of a doctor, Cecelia Mak, and her husband, Mike. Cecelia is transferred to a little town in Haven, Idaho. Problems begin the moment they step into their new home. The people of the small town seem to be surprised that Cecelia is married to an Asian. Mysterious phone calls and pranks begin to take place. Mike suspects the Havenites are racists. But as events begin to unfold, a far worse conclusion is drawn that costs the lives of people. The way the story is written steps into the territory of Ira Levin and Stephen King. It is dark and very scary. Haven is a good book for people fascinated by the details of the Holocaust and what happened to some of the Nazis that fled Germany.

A unique mystery that ties right-wing rednecks with nazi germany. Although that sounds a bit strange, the book was actually very enjoyable. I highly recommend it for mystery buffs.

Falcon's guides are consistently good references to the areas they cover, and this is no exception. Reading it will inform you about the many excellent wilderness hiking opportunities in this beautiful state. For more specifics on an area, like the Sawtooths, also consider one of Lynn Stone's books, like Hiking Idaho's Sawtooth Country.

The trail descriptions are great. The maps are great. The depth is great.

BUT, there are two things this book is missing that any good hiking book has. Each and every trail description in this book has a 'quick glance' section which lists a quick description, general location, maps, special attractions, difficulty, season and contacts for more information - BUT not trail LENGTH or an estimated time to complete! You have to read the entire description to find the length and probably won't find an estimate of the time required. Sure, this is OK if your friend recommended hike 'X' and you want to look it up. But, it is terrible if you are looking for a hike of, say, 6 miles that you can complete in 3 hours. It's just not readily available - you'd have to read the whole book! Even better, many guides have an index of sorts where you can see this information (and the availablity of backcountry campsites) for all trails at a glance, then go to the specific trail(s) that interest you.

This is what this otherwise great guide is missing. I returned mine and picked up 'Trails of Western Idaho' by Margaret Fuller instead - which does contain this information. Ms. Fuller's book is older (1992 vs. 1995 for this Falcon Guide), but not terribly so. She has some newer revisions for her other quides and I'm hoping this one will be reviced soon as well!

People interested in the history of western agriculture should read this. I found it very interesting to compare the Southern Idaho irrigation projects he describes with what was happening along the mid-Columbia with private small irrigation projects during that period, through my own family, described in "Orchards of Eden" White Bluffs on the Columbia, 1907-1943" Also good to compare with the Autobiography of a woman who actually lived that life of irrigated wheat farming in Idaho during that period, "Sagebrush People" probably out of print now, too bad. Dr. Donald Worster's book "Rivers of Empire" is highly critical of what was done to the natural world in the effort to green the desert, and I tend to sympathize with what he says, while Fiege takes the postion that irrigation has learned to live in harmony with nature. But what happened to those small farmers in the meantime? The good life got swept away in corporate farming I am afraid.

Irrigated Eden

In summary water along the Snake River in Idaho is unpredictable, not quantifiable, fickle and limited. Even in the 1920s when there were no uses competing with ariculture it had to be rationed. The surface water, ground water and aquifer commingle freely and as such should be jointly monitored and managed with "honest" diligence. When it comes to the water there is no such thing as partitioned individual water rights anywhere along the Sanke River in Idaho because we are all inextricably woven together in one tub and an action by one entity will affect everyone else in the tub. What one man passes another man drinks.Mark Fiege has done an excellent job of quantifying both the temporal and philosophical circumstances surrounding the acquisition and use of water for agriculture along the Snake River in Idaho up until about 1920. This book is a great place for one to begin to understand the genesis of water acquisition and husbandry for agriculture in Sountern Idaho. The first two thirds of the book and the notes are the best features of the book. The last third tends to drift away into a philosophical stretch without any real conclusions. Mark should now write a book that brings the use of water along the Sanke River in Southern Idaho up to the present time and weave together all of the contemporary competing uses for that water. Based on his research Mark should take the next step and make some recommendations for the future husbandry of our water. Mark has only done the first half of the job because the story is exponentially dynamic and just beginning. Finnish the story.

I purchased this book last summer as part of a planning effort for hiking the trail in September. Even though I was quite familiar with the Sierra, I had no idea on how to plan the trip out as far as legs and campsites. I found this book to be invaluable as far as proposing a reasonable itinerary and giving the person a good idea of what to expect on each leg and where to find campsites. Castle first gives an overview of what should be done before the trip, and then breaks it out into a very doable 21-day itinerary (with 2 layover days) that range from 10-15 miles per day. He gives you a quick-hit overview of elevation gains and mileage and then a more detailed description of the day's hike. Also, he does a good job of planning the days so that you start with a climb and end with a descent. The one unfortunate is that the book is a bit heavy, though compact in size to actually carry with you -- the person I hiked with did carry it though and we enjoyed reading it along the trail as well as at night. I suppose one might xerox the pages you found necessary. By the way, I also had the Winnett book and found that far less helpful, and less organized as far as actually planning the trip. This is an awesome trip, and I strongly recommend both the book as well as doing the JMT -- it is a life-changing experience!

Just finished the JMT. The book was useful for planning my trek since the book is organized into a 22 day hike and I planned our hike for 20 days, so I would recommend it for that purpose. Having it on the hike itself wasn't very rewarding. The distance and altitude change intervals were somewhat useful, although the numbers don't necessarily mesh with the Harrison topo maps. What was disappointing was the lack of detail about campsite locations. The author basically indicates where they camped, but provides little information about where other campsites are located or their quality. Not a problem if you follow his itinerary, but if you're like us (and most of the other JMT hikers) it doesn't help when it's late in the day and you're trying to figure out how much further you need to go to get to a decent campsite. I basically stopped referring to the book after the first week and relied on the other guide I had which had much more detailed information on the trail and camping. I would have burned the Cicerone guide except we couldn't have fires most of the way and one of my friends wanted to carry it for reading material. The maps it contains were fairly worthless, so you'll definitely want topos. The author also comes across a bit snobbish at times, which certainly allowed my friends and I to poke fun at him and added to our entertainment. Logistical informtation on getting to the trailhead and dropping a vehicle at the end of the trail is also incomplete. YARTS only serves Merced to Mammoth, so getting from Whitney Portal to Mammoth requires a hitch, getting a local to shuttle you, or paying high dollars for a commercial shuttle. Bottom line is this is a decent book for planning a 3 week trek on the JMT, but it's not worth the weight to carry it. The Winsett guide was much more valuable on the trail, although it also has it's flaws.

This book offers an excellent compendium of information about the "calumet", sacred pipe, or "peace pipe", however you call it. It covers the history of this sacred object from antiquity until the past century, with excellent maps, drawings and color photographs. It will satisfy the needs of all, from the casual reader to the serious scholar. The only topic not covered is the techniques of making a pipe from the Catlinite or other pipestone.
It has an extensive bibliography for further research and a very inclusive index.
For what it's worth, I find this book an excellent purchase and it will remain on my reference shelf for some time to come.

The book seems to be assembled from what may have originally been a number of different "papers" on the subject. As a result, there is a lot of repetition, but that and the typos here and there and the mislabeled illustrations are a minor issue. The importance of this book is its validation of what Native America has said all along...the "pipe" has been with us for a long while, and it is almost as universal in Native North America as is the ceremonial/spiritual use of tobacco. The author says he hopes his research on the pipe will make "leaders" in the U.S. and Canada reconsider their positions on the use of the pipe in Native American spirituality, as those positions relate to its use (or repression of its use) in various contexts. As a reader, and pipe carrier, I too hope that it has the effect of allowing the use of the pipe in prisons, schools, etc. to increase. Recently I read that Canada is allowing Native citizens to take an oath in the court room using the pipe. Maybe this book has in some way, had an influence on this change for the better.

The author primarily focuses on pipes with detachable stems, that are/have been used in ceremonial contexts. He suggests that archaeological evidence indicates that the use of the pipe may be older than the institutional religion that by and large tried to stamp out its use. His discussion of Native cosmology was also of interest.

I would love to review this book but I ordered it, paid for it and never received it. Please contact me. Thank you! Cara Fareri

Unique, well-written monologues. Fresh material, with both dramatic and comedic choices. Excellent.

Amazon helped me find this book, and I am grateful, indeed. I'd been looking for it for quite a while, because it is, shamefully, out of print. I can't think why! For fans and students of Frank Lloyd Wright's work, 'Teater's Knoll' is even better than 'Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House: The Client's Report'. The Archie Teater Studio is the only FLLW house in Idaho, and one of his most fascinating. Not only is it a beautiful design, it is one of the best-documented FLLW houses; the original owners saved every scrap of paper with any bearing on the house's design and construction. ....Whiting goes on from this tale of woe to tell of his hands-on restoration of the house; it's one of the few FLLW restorations done by an owner, albeit an owner with a background in architecture. There's also interesting material in the book on Whiting's uncle, Alden Dow, a friend and disciple of Wright's. This one gets four stars- I'm docking it one star only because the photography of the restoration fails to give much sense of the flow of spaces within the house. HIGHLY recommended, nonetheless! Put Amazon on the case and get a copy. You won't regret it.

I'd been looking for it for quite a while, because it is, shamefully, out of print. I can't think why! For fans and students of Frank Lloyd Wright's work, 'Teater's Knoll' is even better than 'Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House: The Client's Report'. The Archie Teater Studio is the only FLLW house in Idaho, and one of his most fascinating. Not only is it a beautiful design, it is one of the best-documented FLLW houses; the original owners saved every scrap of paper with any bearing on the house's design and construction. After falling on hard times and disrepair, the house was saved by Henry Whiting II, who found the Teater archives when he bought the place in near-derelict condition. Whiting has used that material to tell the story of the house's construction. It nearly didn't get built at all, owing to the irascibility of the clients; they hired, fired, and sued contractors and labourers with what can only be called mad abandon. Whiting goes on from this tale of woe to tell of his hands-on restoration of the house; it's one of the few FLLW restorations done by an owner, albeit an owner with a background in architecture. There's also interesting material in the book on Whiting's uncle, Alden Dow, a friend and disciple of Wright's. This one gets four stars- I'm docking it one star only because the photography of the restoration fails to give much sense of the flow of spaces within the house. HIGHLY recommended, nonetheless! You won't regret it.

If you've ever had a child or even a childhood, this book will touch you and remind of how important family, love, compassion and faith really are. Author Larry Barkdull eloquently uses simple, identifiable and very visual stories to show us how our lives connect and affect those we love and even those we barely know. Read this. The characters will move into your heart forever.

This book is told in flashback, and it has an autobiographical feel. It's short, readable, nothing outstanding. It's a good book to read when you want something light, simple, and uplifting. If you're a baby boomer, you may be reminded of your own childhood memories as you read this book.

With Washed by a Wave of Wind, M. Shayne Bell has produced a unique and fascinating anthology which will become increasingly significant and more frequently analyzed as years go by. This book is a must have for any serious reader of Western science fiction, LDS science fiction, or regional/ethnic science fiction. It is also full of unusual, well-written fiction that any adventurous reader should enjoy.

M. Shayne Bell has done an amazing job of obtaining top-quality stories from a talented and diverse group of writers. The contributors to this anthology represent a wide range of viewpoints, from very mainstream LDS authors who teach at BYU and have books sold by Deseret Book (Glenn L. Anderson), to people who are LDS but interestingly "unorthodox", to people who have never been LDS but live in the region. The stories run the gamut as well. Some could be published without causing a stir in the New Era. Others are definitely "subversive" (to use the word from the book's back cover blurb). But none of them are simply mean or "anti."

Many stories contain plot points and ideas and speculations about future that many Latter-day Saints would find offensive. But there is nothing that readers widely read in either science fiction or LDS fiction will be driven to apostacy by. The viewpoints are so diverse, there are only two "messages" a person could take away from the anthology as a whole: Utah/LDS writers are an extremely talented, diverse bunch and Utah/LDS culture is unarguably unique. A book of this sort, so bound to place and so culturally marked, never has been and never could be produced by "science fiction writers from Ohio," for example.

Edited by Hugo-nominated author M. Shayne Bell, this anthology is the first work to collect short fiction by all the major (and many of the minor) science fiction writers to have emerged from Utah in the past two decades. Included are reprinted stories by Orson Scott Card, Michaelene Pendleton, and Bell himself; also showcased are strong original works by the likes of Dave Wolverton, Elizabeth H. Boyer, Virginia Baker, Glenn L. Anderson, Pat Bezzant, Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, Diann Thornley, and D. William Shunn. Uneven, but on the whole quite interesting and worthwhile.