Washington Books

This book is highly regarded among divers in the BC/WA/OR area. My only criticism is the latest edition (3rd) wasn't really updated much in that it still lists the Edmonds Oil Dock as a "working" pier. This hasn't been a working pier for a long time. But other than that, it's still an excellent book, highly recommended.

The third edition of this book is an improvement on the previous and includes new dive sites, 55 in all. The dive sites are located in Washington State in Puget Sound and Hood Canal. All include a picture of the site which makes it easy to find them, the written directions are excellent. The tide and current table calculations are great, even going so far as to let you know if you should plan your dive for tides or currents. He even includes information on things to do for non-divers while they hangout waiting for divers to return. The maps are exceptional, most have depth measurements and all include ebb and flood current information that really makes it easy to plan dives at these sites. I have dived some of the sites listed in the book and the descriptions are excellent. Highly recommended for those diving in the Pacific Northwest.

The information is up to date and correct. I use this book exclusively to plan my dives. I have met the author and trust his knowledge of the dive sites and the information given in the book.

This is an excellent historical fiction story about four girls who help an elderly woman make a beautiful, unique quilt of roses. It is set in the late 1800s on the Long Beach Penninsua of Washington State on the Pacific coast. While the plot may sound boring, Patricia Beatty makes the act of quilt-making (not to mention the search for just the right fabric) come to life, much as Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of her childhood experiences.

This title was recommended by the Washington State Centennial Committee in 1989, and was quite popular with upper elementar students in this area at that time. For students who enjoy books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but would like to explore a different part of the country, this title and the companion books, "Sarah and Me and the Lady from the Sea," and "The Nickel-Plated Beauty," are highly recommended.

This is an excellent historical fiction story about four girls who help an elderly woman make a beautiful, unique quilt of roses. It is set in the late 1800s on the Long Beach Penninsua of Washington State on the Pacific coast. While the plot may sound boring, Patricia Beatty makes the act of quilt-making (not to mention the search for just the right fabric) come to life, much as Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of her childhood experiences.

This title was recommended by the Washington State Centennial Committee in 1989, and was quite popular with upper elementar students in this area at that time. For students who enjoy books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but would like to explore a different part of the country, this title and the companion books, "Sarah and Me and the Lady from the Sea," and "The Nickel-Plated Beauty," are highly recommended.

This is an excellent historical fiction story about four girls who help an elderly woman make a beautiful, unique quilt of roses. It is set in the late 1800s on the Long Beach Penninsua of Washington State on the Pacific coast. While the plot may sound boring, Patricia Beatty makes the act of quilt-making (not to mention the search for just the right fabric) come to life, much as Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of her childhood experiences.

This title was recommended by the Washington State Centennial Committee in 1989, and was quite popular with upper elementar students in this area at that time. For students who enjoy books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but would like to explore a different part of the country, this title and the companion books, "Sarah and Me and the Lady from the Sea," and "The Nickel-Plated Beauty," are highly recommended.

I have read several Aaron Elkins books but this was the first involving Chris Norgren. Chris is a curator of Renaissance art at the Seattle Art Museum and goes to Paris to view a newly found Rembrandt that is being given to the museum by Rene Vachey. Rene is known in the field as a jokester and Chris is dubious as to the authenticity of the painting, especially with the limitations Rene has set on what can be used to verify the painting as being a Rembrandt.

Things heat up and get pretty hairy as Rene Vachey is killed and Chris becomes the next target for murder. Who knew that the art world was so dangerous?

If you love mysteries dealing with art then you will love this book. Chris Norgren is a curator for the Seattle Art Museum and he gets involved in some interesting adventures.

Pick up this book or one of the others in the series, I am sure you will agree with me that it is well worth your time. It is an interesting read.

Aaron Elkins wrote three books in the Chris Norgren series: "Old Scores", "A Deceptive Clarity" and "Glancing Light".

I wish Mr. Elkins would continue the series.

When eccentric art patron, Rene Vachey, decides to donate an original Rembrandt to the Seattle Art Museum, curator Chris Norgren is cautious. Rene is known for playing tricks on museums and making them look silly so Chris flies to France to inspect the painting. Shortly after he arrives, he is thrown out a window and later that night, Rene is murdered. Fearing that the painting may be the reason for the murder, Chris starts to investigate. I love this series because of the way that Aaron Elkins shows artwork through the eyes of Chris Norgren as well as for the good mystery.

This book is wonderful. There are places pointed out in this book that are not pointed out anywhere else. If you are going or live in DC please buy this book and use it as you walk around.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!! i love learning about the little trivia type things. And this one is full of them. Now I just want the same thing for other cities.

What a great book! It is refreshing to read a historical guide that doesn't take itself too seriously. On This Spot brings the sights and history to life for us transplated Washingtonians. While the book can be used as a walking tour guide, it can just as easily take you on a tour through history from your living room. Makes me feel like I am in Washington again!

First of all, this is more than a review about the book but also about the man Mr. Leeland. This book is the story of Mr. Leeland's son at a very young age, needing a marrow transplant, not only did the students at his school come together and help him out so did the whole community.... FROM THIS: Mr. Leeland has founded the Sparrow Clubs in schools around the country and has raised over $750,000 for "broken sparrows". . .and he believes in kids helping kids.

This book is not only inspirational for those who know cancer, and sickness, but for those of us who never dealt with that issue this book is VERY inspiring . . . and very full of hope and love. Mr.Leeland writes a easy to read, human, full of true feeling and very much full of his insight, and HUGE AMAZING heart. I recommend this book to anyone!!!!! Do yourself a favor, read about GOOD people doing GOOD things....

What do you do when you've just moved to a new school and a new job and your 6-month old baby is diagnosed with leukemia? What do you do when the operation costs $205,000 and the insurance company won't pay for it? This is the story of the Leelands, a Christian family who goes through a nightmare, and of the junior high school and community that reaches out to them to save the life of one small sparrow.

I was reviewing this book while creating a library for our middle school. It caught my attention immediately, as one of my former students has leukemia. As I read it, I began to understand the terrible struggle that my student and his family were going through. And I was touched by the honest description of the Leeland's ups and downs, by the sacrifices made by the kids in Kamiaken Junior High, and by the faith the Leelands showed in a God who sustained them as they went though this tragedy.

I was one of the students that attended Kamiakin Junior High when the Leelands went through their test of faith. This book accurately depicts the real life events that surrounded the events leading to the life saving bone-marrow transplant of Michael Leeland. It is refreshing to hear about a community pulling together and turning a desparate situation into one filled with pure hope and faith. Read this book if you ever feel there is something you can't accomplish in life@

Could it be that, just when you thought there was nothing new under the literary sun, Richard Peabody has quietly invented a new genre? Open Joints on Bridge (one of the more intriguing titles to ever see print) is more and other than a collection of very short stories: It is a "poella." Each story has the evocative and titillating precision of poetry. As with films that are so rich in plot, character, dialogue, and visual splendor that they continue to reward on repeated viewings, this jewel of a book invites itself to be read repeatedly. "Dale was the tall brunette in the man's tweed who drank Myer's rum at whatever poetry reading you happened to attend. Shenendoah's pride. Groomed at Sweet Briar, Hood, or Hollins. The kind of woman who'd laugh knowingly when Natalie Barney's name croped up in conversation, while other women laughed nervously." "But as Jesus' stack of beer cups more and more resenbled a handheld Tower of Pisa, and as the girl seemed to giggle and warm to everything he said, it became clear to both Carlos and me that something had to give." "And with the faint grin displayed from any a dust jacket photo, he walked away..." These stories agitate you to return again and again to puzzle over why a particular handful of words are causing such a delightful disturbance in your mind.

This is an excellent collection of quirky short stories; it has wit, humor and intelligence. Peabody has a great eye for the nuances of family and romantic relationships.

Struggling artists, acid heads, sports fans...this collection of 20 shorts offers something for everyone. Set mostly in Washington, D.C., Peabody's tight prose shows us the city that lies underneath the marble veneer in a humorous and often touching way.

As the other reviewers have stated, it is an insightful book depicting the day-to-day existence of civilians suddenly thrust into the role of unlikely heroes and now called Sailors. That makes it unique from other military type books. Fahey enlisted in 1942 as did most of his shipmates aboard the USS Montpelier, not 1945 as the book news editorial review mis-stated. Secondly, the USS Montpelier was a Light Cruiser, not a Heavy Cruiser as one reviewer indicated. It was capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 30 knots which is why it served as the Admiral's flagship. Light Cruisers had nearly the fire power of Heavy Cruiser and nearly the speed of a destroyer which made it a highly versatile ship. It is likely that no other ship anywhere in Naval history has ever been in as much "action" as the Montpelier. Some called it the luckiest ship in the US Navy. If Fahey and his mates had not survived, this book would not exist and I would never have been born. In an ironic note, USS Montpelier was sold to the Japanese as scrap steel many years after the war. Currently there still is a USS Montpelier in the US Navy. The new vessel, which proudly bears this name, is a submarine.

This book realy tells it how it was for sailors of the U.S. Navy during WWII in the Pacific theatre. Fahey kept a diary of his daily experiences on board a heavy cruiser. All the little mundane details of life are revealed, which is what distinguishes this book from the "formal" history books. No student of history should miss this book.

This is a fascinating book. Written by a young man who joined the navy in 1942 and served through 1945 out in the Pacific aboard the light cruiser "Montpielier" Fahey is neither a career sailor, or a writer. But he accomplishes an amazing thing; that is transporting the reader to the author's time and place, and making you feel as if you are there, day by day. It's delightfully simple and fresh.

For anyone who is interested in WW2 naval history, this is a highly recommended companion to all the more formal works concerned with the great events and famous people involved. It really rounds out your perspective of what it was really like.

It also makes you appreciate the sacrifices made by this generation of Americans who left the safety of home to fight against evil in far away places.

This is a great activity guide to Seattle from the point of view not only of a Dad, but of the Dad and his daughter [now five] and with a range of activities for tiny through teenage kids. It's not only for whole families, but for Dads and Mothers alone with a child or children on an excursion. It's enticing and reassuring at the same time -- so that, for example, a grandmother [myself] can imagine exploring new places with her grandchildren in a spirit of confidence. There are many helpful hints and asides along the way. And there are a few places most long-time residents probably have never heard of. Certainly even those with no children at home will find it helpful when out-of-town guests with kids come to stay. The Guide also includes some pedagogical suggestions, such as the one on preparing your little one(s) for an hour or two at an art museum. Buy, read and reap the rewards. I'd be glad if Hobson would start scouting out some other Pacific Northwest cities. Vancouver B.C., Mr. Hobson?

Every parent knows that before one can call a vacation "successful," the kids have to be happy about it. Before heading out of town, what's the first thing a wise parent does? She calls her good friend who either A) lives in the city she's visiting, or B) vacationed there last year. We all need a little advice on where to eat, what to do for fun, what to avoid. The problem is, we don't always have a friend handy in our chosen destination. Well now we all have a friend in Seattle, and his name is Tom.

Tom Hobson's book, "A Parent's Guide to Seattle," is frank and humourous, and packed with information not every friend has at his fingertips. You'll find tips on restaurants, funky stores and educational opportunities, as well as maps, historical facts and ticket prices. It's a full-service guide obviously written by a true fan of Seattle, and someone who treasures it's unique offerings.

Whether you're visiting Seattle for the first time, are a new Seattle-area resident, or a native looking for some diversions, you'll enjoy Tom Hobson's book. And we can all use another friend.

A REVIEW FROM A MOTHER OF 4 CHILDREN (ages 4 months to 13 years) - - - That should add credibility!

What a fun book!!! Definitely a "must have" for visiting families and a wonderful opportunity for Seattle residents to re-visit their beautiful city through the eyes of a child.

Unlike other guide books, A Parent's Guide to Seattle is not just a directory listing of all the places to go and things to see in Seattle. Mr. Hobson has hand-selected his favorite Seattle destinations and his thorough descriptions will arm busy parents with enough fun facts and background information to make the most of every visit.

It is obvious that Mr. Hobson's selections are based on real-life experiences with children and an ear to his own "inner child". The result is a book filled with recommendations that will appeal to both children and parents alike.

Fantastic book! I love the characters, the sparring yet stimulating kind of conversations they get into; the introduction to Rugby was excellent, and quite a kick! I really, really love these two. And though I am not particularly actively a christian, if a 'love inspired' sounds good enough, I give them a try. I especially enjoy catching the passion the heroine has for sharing her message, and how she wants to do it. I love the book!
The serious banker guy is really cute. There's something very hot about him.

I too have always dreamed of owning a coffee house. This book helped see the "real" side of owning a business as well as being a delightful romance novel. I especially enjoyed learning about the asian tea and want to learn more. I highly recommend this to all.

I liked this book so much I couldn't put it down. The plot is very good where Maggie is trying to get a loan to open a coffeehouse. She has to take a course so she can get the loan and ends up falling for her loan officer. I think it was the cover that got me to buy this book. I reccommend it to anyone who likes coffee.

I got my items in about three days and it was just what I was expecting

I am a graduate teaching assistant at Old Dominion University and we use this book extensively as a reference for muscles and blood vessels. The drawings are very accurate and the text is easy to read and flows well from a dissector's viewpoint. In addition, there are simplified "road-map" type sketches to aid in understanding the branching patterns of the major blood vessels. This "catlas" has proven to be quite indispensable for our purposes.

An excellent companion guide for laboratory exercises. The sketches and drawings were able to add much more detail than many other manuals which had photos. I found it invaluable.