Oregon Books

Many of us who appreciate the work of truly great non-fiction writers were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Alistair Cooke.

Although best remembered for his long running radio commentary "A Letter from America" and his various television shows of early years, it makes for a pleasant change to go back and rediscover some of Mr Cooke's more substantial literary efforts.

A graduate in English literature from Cambridge University and a print journalist of considerable experience, Alistair managed to perfect a difficult balancing act. Throughout his long and prestigious career he steadfastly adhered to the highest professional and intellectual standards while still managing to enjoy enviable success within the mass media. In many ways he "Raised the bar" in regard to industry standards by proving that there was, indeed, a sizeable market for quality work if it was cleverly presented in an entertaining and accessible style.

In this book the veteran newspaper man draws upon his impressive array of observational and descriptive skills to create a striking collection of penetrating celebrity profiles. Alistair wrote with the deft, light hand of a popular scribe but also with the probing incisiveness of a psychology professor. At all times he examined the inner workings of his subjects with an almost clinical thoroughness and a commendable sense of fairness. When it came to creating word pictures, the man was an old master.

Alistair Cooke was a consummate journalist - an "all class act" and a credit to his chosen calling .

Mr. Cooke is a very bright, amusing, observant man -- who writes so extraordinarily well you'll wish to re-read passage after passage for the pleasure of the sounds. He has chosen six men of diverse background and writes about them with sympathy -- but more importantly for this reader, with an acute sense of their singularity and what made them so. Any reader would only wish the book much longer because it's a beautiful one.

Six famous transatlantic figures: 3 English and 3 American men, all of whom had a legendary meaning in the seventies: Charles Chaplin, H. L. Mencken, Humphrey Bogart, Adlai Stevenson, Bertrand Russell and Edward VIII. I liked his style of writing and he really provided insightful surprises on each of these famous men. An interesting read, if not for the history alone.

Great book and very helpful for our travels. Many of the prices printed were out of date (Hotels, entertainment, etc...) but prices change often so just call and check.

LONELY PLANET WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST is yet another great book covering the highly bountiful Pacific Northwestern region of the United States, as well as British Columbia in Canada. Although it lacks extensive coverage of media options for each major city in the region, that's more than compensated for by in-depth descriptions of sightseeing, dining, and outdoor activities, as well as discussion of local vernaculars. This is a book that no one who enjoys traveling should be without.

Why is Lonely Planet making the text so terribly small when us boomers can no longer see this tiny print without strong glasses with books like this one? They should be helping us since we are the ones who travel most.

Please reader,s let's get them to increase the size instead of decreasing,

A very good read. If you want a feel of the west today don't fail to own this book.

Maya's Gold is a delightful romantic mystery, with all the right ingredients for an engrossing reading experience. Her eye for detail and character are spot-on, and the dialogue consistently rings true. She's especially good at describing the Pacific Northwest setting, which plays an important part in the plot. Her attention to setting in particular reminded me of a novel set on the opposite coast, but no less well-drawn: Egrets to the Flames by Barbara Anton. Both highly enjoyable reads!

I really enjoyed this book. The diacription of the characters were great. I could visualize each one in my mind while I was reading. It was hard to put the book down because there was always something happening on the next page that was interesting and exciting.
The location where the story took place was right on the money. It made you feel like you were there looking at the old towns and seeing them the way they use to be.
It is a great book for anyone that enjoys history, susupense, mystery and a little love story.

I'm a rather reluctant history-book reader, but I found this book thoroughly compelling! My husband and I read the stories out loud on our trip through Oregon and watched the past come alive. If you are tired of the same, old dusty Western tales, give this one a try. It's sure to enchant you! And thanks to the author for putting these stories together.

I'm a rather reluctant history-book reader, but I found this book thoroughly compelling! My husband and I read the stories out loud on our trip through Oregon and watched the past come alive. If you are tired of the same, old dusty Western tales, give this one a try. It's sure to enchant you! And thanks to the author for putting these stories together.

This book portrays the lives of 10 women who successfully made the transition from the "doll or drudge" category of the sterotypical Pioneer Woman. They become independent women leading successful lives in their own right, in spite of being dealt very poor hands when they came to Oregon.

I didn't want to put the book down. "Neely Jones" captured me from the beginning & held me all the way through. Neely is a strong & determined sista who puts up with too much stuff & still handles it with grace & dignity. This is a read thats wellworth purchasing.

I liked this book. I think Neely Jones is a very likable new mystery heroine with lots of promise. However, I did find the author's use of racial slurs to be over the top. Don't get me wrong. Racism is alive and well in America. But, as an African-American, I can honestly say that I've experienced less blantant racism during my entire life than Neely experiences in just one page! I hope MK Wren can tone that down in the next book. I look forward to reading about Neely's further adventures.

African American Neely Jones leaves her San Francisco police officer job to accept a deputy position in the sheriff's office of Taft County, Oregon. She moves because her significant other Jan Kato works at the nearby Westport Oceanographic Center. However, the white male department refuses to take seriously their new black female token. To them she is a double token to satisfy blacks and females. Her lowly situation changes when she unseats the present sheriff, Gill Willis, in a write-in campaign. Surprisingly, Neely did not run for office nor wants the job. However, an irate Gill immediately quits to protest Neely's election.

When she takes office, Neely learns that Gill was on the take as someone left an envelope filled with money for him. She receives anonymous calls warning her of the consequences if she fails to resign. She ignores the threats until Jan is found dead in a pool of jellyfish. She deeply grieves her loss even as she feels guilty by not acting on the personal threats. Still, a determined Neely plans to uncover the identity of the killer regardless of whether she obtains any cooperation from her own staff.

M.K. Wren,s new series is a twenty-four karat winner that reads more like a suspense thriller than a police procedural. Readers see bigotry operate in a de facto open manner as well as hidden in the shadows. The heroine is a strong person who bends but becomes more powerful as she refuses to allow narrow minded individuals to stop her from accomplishing her job. NEELY JONES: THE MEDUSA POOL is book one of what appears to be a dynamic series that looks like it's heading for a wonderfully long run.

Harriet Klausner

Simple, elegant recipes that make a stunning meal. The herb baked salmon, asparagus linguine, and black mussel linguine were absolutely wonderful. Each dish had clear instructions and only required a few good ingredients.

I like reading this book, a lot, and developing inspiration for dishes I'd like to prepare. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, a lot of these dishes and their ingredients are readily available. However, I find that many of these recipes are just too out of reach for your standard American.

If you're someone who has visited many of these inns and restaurants and thought, "A ha! I can finally recreate recipe X!" then this is the book for you. I, however, was just looking for a cookbook that highlights our local cuisine but isn't too complicated. I got one, but not both.

I recently got given this book, and I can see myself making most of the recipes in it as the first 3 have all been so successful. Great variety of recipes, good layout and directions, and the added bonus of a list of great Northwest Restaurant to try out when you don't fancy cooking!

Author: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-
Title: Of men and mountains.
Edition: [1st ed.]
Publisher: New York, Harpers [1950]
Edition Date: 1950
Language: English
Notes: Autobiographical.
Physical Details: xiv, 333 p. maps (on lining papers) port. 22 cm.
Subjects: Cascade Range.
Wallowa Mountains (Or.)

An account of explorations within the tangled, rugged fastness of the Pacific Norhtwest, Of Men And Mountains is informal autobiography, deeply personal and revealing. A book of adventure and discovery, it is full of the excitement, the strength, and the exaltation that men have found in the wild.

The narrative at times rises to those solitary moments when man "under conditions of grandeur that are startling can come to know both himself and God." At homelier levels it moves with authority and expertness through the accumulated lore by which man has found how to survive in the wilderness and to accommodate himself to it joyfully. But always the narrative is characterized by a freshness of observation, by a shrewd wit, and by a reverential humility that mark Justice Douglas as unmistakably of the company of Thoreau. -- from book's back cover

Living in Brazil, I can't remember exactly how I happened to find this book. The important aspect is that I found it, I read it and even some years later I still carry some passages in my mind, so I have to regard this book as a good one.

It is a kind of autobiographical narrative of the youth of Mr. William O. Douglas, who later in life became a Supreme Court Judge in America.

An interesting aspect, is that later I learned that as a Judge, Mr. Douglas would very often give shelter to the 5th. Amendment in his sentences, and by reading the book, we can sort of understand how his personality and his passion for freedom was formed many years before.

It is a first person narrative of his early years as a child and later as young man, and we can clearly understand his respect for wildlife and independence in a human's being life.

Recalling his early expeditions as a boy in nearby mountains, Mr. Douglas describes us the forests, rivers and rainbow-trouts of his youth. At a certain time I started to think there was too much information about trout-fishing, but we should always forgive and understand a man when he decides to tell us about his childhood. :)

This book is not about the Supreme Court Judge, but on the contrary, it is about the poor boy who grew under the mountains and borrowed some of their magnificent dignity from them.

I hope to read some of Mr. Douglas' Law writings one day, so I can finally understand the whole man and close this chapter. But this will still take some years, and until then, all I can say is that I have nice memories from this book. By the way, a pretty hard to find book.

Ms. Bittner tells a great story about love, hate, and revenge. This book is about a woman named Marybeth who travels unwillingly to Oregon with her hated in-laws. On the way she faces friendship, danger, sickness, and true love. A truly great and realistic story! Don't miss it!!

This book combines all the elements, a wagon train to Oregon, young widow with a child traveling with her really, really mean loutish in-laws (the men), down trodden mother in law and of course the handsome hero. I really enjoyed this book and have read it several times.

In a land of raw winds and merciless sun, Marybeth MacKinder was a quiet, raven-haired young widow traveling westward with her former husband's family and the memories of a loveless marriage. Here she was losing the batle to protect herself and her infant son from the brutish brother-in-law who was trying to claim her as his own. Then Joshua Rivers stood before her offering her a tenderness she had never felt. He was a man of the frontier, a man both tough and gentle, whose very touch gave her a thrill she had never known. As the wagon train pushed across a continent, Marybeth would see new horizons opening up before her and feel a passion-bred crouage to face both danger and a new destiny. But the joy she felt in Joshua's arms would be threatened by savage jealousy--and a bullet...for the journey of her heart had just begun.

Oregon Descents is the best guide to the area for skiers and boarders. All the classic peak descents are here and a few great stashes too. The aerial photos offer excellent perspective while the route descriptions hold all the info you need to know. This book inspires confidnece - It is obvious the author has actually skied the routes!

The book is extreamly well writen and inspires confidance. I've used the book more than once to organize a backcoutry tele trip with friends and they are always impressed with the routes we take. And the pictures are wonderful.

A useful guide with great pictures. I recommend it to anyone skiing the backcountry in the norhtwest.

This book from Amato publications is truly outstanding. It mixes great maps for over 30 Oregon Rivers, with current and historical information (returns, catch rates, etc.). It lets you know what the best seasons are, shows you the best methods to use, what species to target, boat launches, knots, fly's, hatches, guide contacts, public parks, etc. There is information for both the gear angler and the fly fisherman alike.

This is a good primer on most of the MAJOR (read crowded) rivers in Oregon. It does not mention any of the hundreds of smaller great fishing rivers, any river tributaries or the Snake River (the second largest river in Oregon). This is a good general guide but most information in this guide is available from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service in much more detail - and for free.

Large scale maps. Very easy to follow. Shows all launching sites along most rivers and creeks. Even tells you what baits work best (Ha Ha)and where to use them. Also info on fly's and lures. Very interesting and helpful. Another "must have" if you fish in Oregon!