Washington Books

This story of a small college that made football history is a blockbuster. Little Washington and Jefferson College, averaging about 400 students, from 1890 through 1935 played the likes of Pitt, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, Army, Navy, and a host of others. And W & J won far more of these games than it lost.There are loads of interesting pictures, including a monster bonfire in 1909 at WVU as Mountaineeer enthusiasts implored their team to "incinerate W & J." (But W & J won, 18-5.)The small Pennsylvania college produced many All-Americans, including Wilbur F. Henry, all-time All-America tackle; Deacon Dan Towler, who went on to a great pro career with Los Angeles; Tackle Russ Stein, who starred on W & J's 1922 Rose Bowl team; and Johnny Spiegel, halfback who led the nation in scoring in 1913.W & J produced the first black quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl, Dr. Charles "Pruner" West. This book has the entire Pruner story -- Washington and Lee refused to play the Presidents if Pruner played. The W & J players elected not to play if Pruner did not. The game was called off. In "Battling..." you'll also read about two of the strangest plays in football history, the nasty words WVU adherents used for Pruner West, and W & J's return to grid prominence in the 1990s after decades in the doldrums.

Lee North has done a superb job of recording the early history of football... the first team to wear numbers, the first indoor game, the first college powerhouses and their now famous coaches. Nicely illustrated and laid out. A must for all football enthusiasts!

Very interesting. Most of what I read I always knew but was unable to put in words.

Written by the staff of the Washington Post, this book is a compilation of a series of articles, augmented by some new material, on the issue of being a black man in America. The book offers a contemporary view on the issue and reveals how divided black men actually are on how they view themselves in the context of race. The articles are insightful, candid and highly personal, as they evolved from interviews with many black men from all walks of life and provide a birds-eye view into how black men in America currently define themselves and their lives. I was entranced by their stories.

The writing is superlative, and the reader will find the introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Edward P. Jones, quite poignant. The book also includes the results of a nationwide poll that empirically confirms what the articles declare anecdotally, that black men in contemporary America are divided on how they view themselves, each other, and their country. Those who are interested in social issues, as well as those simply interested in the human condition, will enjoy this well-written, insightful book.

The author is justly proud of his brother "Bernie Whitebear". The book provides many facts and stories of Whitebear's accomplishments in fighting for Indian rights. Many of these facts can be be authenticated by going on-line and reading newspaper articles from that time.

I knew Bernie Whitebear while I was a teenager in Seattle and he was the first Urban Indian leader I had met. Over the course of time, I found him to be a person who mentored youth and he was a visionary in a very enlightening period for Urban Indians in Seattle. His perseverance and dedication is a testament to his character and reading the book written by Lawney, his brother, about their upbringing makes all the pieces in the puzzle fit and make sense. He came from a humble background (perhaps "poor" as far as wealth) but also one that was rich in morals, values, traditions and culture. This book was a very good read.

Good reference of some of the favorite multi-day bicycle tours in the Northwest.

While there are several multi-day trips in the guide, this book is targeted at the more serious recreational rider who is looking for day rides of 25 to 60 miles. It covers quite a large area, mostly in Washington State, with general and detailed descriptions of the routes, augmented by line maps. One nice feature is that it details the vertical profile of each ride so you can see what you're getting into when it comes to climbing hills at various milage points in the rides.

I've ridden about 1/3 of the routes and have found the rides well planned and accurately described. There is always a place to stop for a break near mid-way, and often alternatives to shorten or lengthen the trip. A great book to get you in touch with quiet roads or bike trails that you otherwise may never discover.

This new guidebook to hiking in the coulee, sage and Palouse east of the Cascade crest fills a void in learning about and discovering a region that many overlook when contemplating an outdoor adventure. Many of the hikes and areas described may be foreign to many "westsiders", and some even to their neighbors in eastern Washington! One of the particular thrills in reading through the guidebook is the sense of discovery on finding out things about a land that many have dismissed as a wasteland and habitat for the occasional rattlesnake, tick, lizard and sage plant.

One soon finds out the truth very quickly with the help of Alan Bauer's photography and the writing of Dan A. Nelson. One of the greatest things about the region is that it's a perfect antidote to the wet and gray fall through spring of the Westside. Fall and Spring are mild, winters cold but generally dry with just a dusting of occasional snow. The region is abundant with all kinds of wildlife and without the thick forest can be seen much more readily. The wildflower show in spring is not to be missed either.

I have done a few of the hikes they describe and a whole new world has opened up for future enjoyment. Interestingly, though with most of the 100 hikes featured in the book they are describing a physical trail, jeep track or game trail, they stress that due to the mostly wide-open layout of the land the hiker has the freedom to roam whenever or wherever the need strikes them. Of course private property and common sense needs to be paid attention to!

The book is chockfull of helpful info such as a long list in the front breaking down each of the 100 hikes (in the same order as they appear later in the book) by the name, total distance, hiking time, difficulty and season it can be hiked in. A good introductory chapter gives you background on the region and how to prepare for it. Then follows the 100 hikes covering an area from just east of the Cascades, north to the upper Grand Coulee, east to Kamiak Butte near the Idaho border and south to Twin Sisters Rock near the Oregon border. Hikes range in altitude from the Saddle Mtns to the shores of the Columbia River and inside vast canyons and coulees to vistas over wildlife-teeming pothole lakes.

Each hike begins with the necessary info like mileage, degree of difficulty, elevations, maps and permits that are required that anyone familiar with a hiking guidebook would expect. What is nice is a quality photo for each trip (though a shame more are not in color- they are stunning) and a good map, plus accurate directions to get to the trailhead and the hike description itself- where the authors enthusiasm and delight in each spot is contagious!

I eagerly await the next chance to explore more of the region Bauer and Nelson have brought to light in this fine guide. It's a must-have companion for central-eastern Washington hiking.

OK, I'm not a big fan of the east side of the Washington Cascades BUT when there is so much snow in the mountains, the east (dry) side of the state looks a little more interesting.

In my heart, I'm a west-sider but I grew up and am currently in the Yakima Valley. Throughout my life (I'm now somewhere in my middle ages), I never knew there were things to do around here on the dry side! This book showed me so many things about the Yakima area and other areas on the dry side. And dry doesn't mean boring!

Herds of deer and elk, eagles, bluejays and avian galore! The flowers in the spring are gorgeous! We even have a cactus - needles and all but in the spring, a fantastic bright fushia bloom can be found on it. The views are outstanding and are comprised of huge mountains, rolling hills, canyons, as well as wild and tamed rivers. Here and there you even get to go through tunnels and visit old ghost towns.

With this book I've found plenty of things to do when the weather up in the mountains becomes too foreboding. And I'm very glad I have done so!

This lovely, little cookbook combines recipes and fun, inside-the-loop stories about prominant Southern figures. I thoroughly enjoyed Vicky Moon's book "Middleburg Mystique," and I'm glad this book is just as good.

Vicky Moon has assembled a nice assortment of Southern salad recipes that take the reader up the eastern coast, from the Florida Keys to Northern Virginia and Washington, D. C. She calls it "Margaritaville to Egoville." The book is witty with bits of humor and antidotes about her travels.

BEST DRESSED SOUTHERN SALADS has a catchy title and the small, but compact book is filled with some luscious sounding recipes. I like the small size of the book, because you can easily take it with you to the grocery store when you shop for the dressing and salad ingredients.

I tried several of her salads and enjoyed them. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes as we get into the summer months when our produce is at its peak.

I am lucky to have Professor Morrissey for my Photography class in Rhode Island and his book has really touched me and made me look at my photos in a different way. He truly is one of the most sincere people I have met with amazing talent behind the lens.

There are several books with moving and important photographs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This one is a welcome addition as it focuses on the veterans and visitors to the Wall. Mr. Morrissey has obviously spent much time at the Wall and captures the feelings well.

Extremely user friendly -- great for use both by health care professionals and the general public. Very thorough, but not too 'dense'. As a postpartum doula, I recommend giving this to book to all the families you might work with.

This is a very easy-to-read synopsis of postpartum mood disorder. I highly recommend it to other care providers that work with new mothers (OB-GYN, midwives, doulas, pediatricians). It is cheap enough that a practice can buy several hundred a year so they can give out a copy to mothers who look like they are in need.

I am a childbirth educator that gives the Beyond the Birth booklet to my clients before they give birth. I make sure that partners, especially, are aware of its content, and give them all "homework" to read it and watch for mom's symptoms after the baby is born. With giving out this booklet, I feel that I am more effectively preparing the new parents for the inevitable hormone drop, relationship differences and social changes that accompany the birth of their baby.

Highly recommended. Easy to read, easy to give, full of information.

I checked this book out from the library and knew I had to have a copy on hand for my own research. It has more information between its covers than several other books I've read on kimono combined. Extremely valuable for anyone interested in the history of kimono and Japanese textiles. Beautiful color photographs, well-written and well-researched sections, copious footnotes and good quality paper all make this book worthy of a place on any textile collector's bookshelf.

This publication gives an excellent and extensive overview of the traditional Japanese folk textiles that are in the collection of the Seattle Museum of Art. Articles include an overview of these textiles and their use of color and bast fibers. Other articles highlight sashiko, kogin and hishizashi embroidery; katazome, tsutsugaki and yuzenzome, kasuri (ikat) weaving and the textiles of Okinawa. The book is lavishly illustrated with very high quality photographs of garments from the museum's collection. This will be a nice additiion to the library of any fiber artist or someone interested in Japanese design and crafts.

Forget Cecil - Slip and Ellie blow the socks off the mystery adventure genre with an exciting saga up the Inside Passage. More twists and turns than the Needles Highway and a roaring ending that knocks your ribs in! John Straley is certainly the best American writer today.

With this book Straley has proven he can 'change horses' and still ride. Or, in this case, write. Although I will miss his Cecil Younger character, I found a whole new slew of characters to like in this new book. Setting it in 1935 is unique because Alaska barely existed in the eyes of the world prior to 1941 and the outbreak of WWII. The characters in this book, the misfits and the people they run into on their escape up the Southeast coast of Alaska are so 'real', I felt like I knew them all. People credit the gold miners with 'settling' Alaska but it was every bit the others as well, the bartenders, storekeepers, cannery workers, fishermen, and loggers, the everyday folks who people Straley's books who really pioneered Alaska. Hats off, John. It was a great read!! Keep 'em coming!

Once again, John Straley takes you into the misty, wild realm of Southeast Alaska in a way that few authors can. This time it's with a new cast of characters easily as rich and interesting as the old crew of Cecil, Todd and the rest. Straley fills a leaky dory with a cargo of innocence, strength, tenderness and hope then sets it on a journey as unpredictable as the waters it travels. A clever mix of mystery, action, history and heart, this story will pull you along with each stroke of the oars and each stroke of Straley's masterful pen. I loved this book.