Montana Books

As the previous reviewer notes, the 1995 edition is most useful. Unless you buy used from Amazon, you WILL get the 1995 edition. It contains many crucial updates and additions.

Route descriptions are surprisingly detailed for a guidebook. Most important peaks have multiple routes described. Seeing as how there is effectively zero route information on the internet, you're stuck with it. Luckily, the book is very good!

Be sure you get the 1995 revised edition of this book. I received the original 1984 edition, and it is heavy on text and light on route maps and photos. Many of the peaks and routes have no supporting photos. I suspect the 1995 revision has corrected this. Climbing guidebooks need to be visual.

This guide covers most of the peaks in the park. Many of the mountains not covered here are at least mentioned and Edwards proclaims the apparent ease of these climbs. My experience agrees with this surmission. I have been on the mountains of the park with, and without the guide. When the guide was in possession, the climb was greatly simplified. Well done and a must for those interested in climbing mountains in Glacier National Park!

This is an excellent guide. A fun and exciting read filled with wonderful stories, images and local knowledge.

This book told me all I needed and wanted to know about Montana

I stumbled upon the Compass America series at a local book store and couldn't believe the quality compared to other travel books.

This particular selection was superb. The author is passionate about Montana and the photographs are some of the best. The combination was far supierior to anything else I've seen.

The information provided on areas of the state were vivid and provided a good desription of the differing sections of the state. Within each of these various sections were specific descriptions of towns and cities.

Of course, areas of interest to travelers were highlighted, but not in a generic "FYI" format. The descriptions and trip advice have an actual caring quality, as though its author really wants you to enjoy Montana.

Traveling to Montana? Then pick up the book and get ready to experience the grandeur of the world's most beautiful places.

Not going to Montana? That's fine too. This beautiful book will help you enjoy a get away of the mind.

This is almost the end of the line for Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe. By this time (1969) Stout has become an institution and, sadly, a little out of the mainstream. He'd resolved that his characters would never age, and they don't. However, the world around them has changed so much...

So it makes great sense for Rex to become Tex, and send Nero and Archie out to the wild, wild west. Things don't change here. Men are men, and women know their place.

It's a little similar to "Too Many Cooks," where Wolfe has to curb his irritations and be deferential to a host, whether or not he perceives himself to be a jewel resting on a cushion of hospitality. He's out west, and his pride does not allow him to show his discomfort.

Wolfe winding down...it's sad to see fewer witty and memorable lines, but always great to see Archie and Wolfe working as only they can...

A later Nero that holds up very well. For dialogue between Wolfe and Archie it is one of the best and could be the funniest of them all. I have reread it several times and it is always fun.

Despite the title, this story has (slightly) more to do with _The Father Hunt_ than with _Death of a Doxy_; the research compiled by Amy Denovo on Lily Rowan's father is now being turned into a book. One of Archie's fellow guests during his vacation at Lily's ranch in Montana (the Bar JR) is Wade Worthy, the biographer who's working on James Rowan.

However, the dude of the title was Philip Brodell, who had returned to the area after seducing Alma Greve the year before - Brodell was found dead from a shot in the back on a huckleberry-picking expedition. Alma's father Harvey is now in jail, charged with murder, but Lily and Archie are convinced he's innocent, since they've both known him for years (see "The Rodeo Murder" in _Three at Wolfe's Door_). Archie takes an unpaid leave of absence from Wolfe until the case is finished. Wolfe, of course, isn't prepared to have Archie gone for an open-ended length of time, so after pulling a few strings to find out exactly what the case against Harvey is, he appears unannounced at the Bar JR soon after receiving Archie's letter, and he and Archie get to work on the investigation.

It's cool to see Wolfe loosen up a little; as a guest in someone else's domain, he'd be violating his personal standards if he took his eccentricity too far. (Archie, after watching him a little, says it's obvious Wolfe promised himself not to complain about the food no matter what.) Archie, for his part, has made friends over years of vacation visits to Lily out here: to name two, Woody, who runs what he calls the Hall of Culture (the dance hall and cinema pieces of it support him) and can hold his own in dinner conversation with Wolfe, and Carol, the wife of the accused and an ex-rodeo performer herself, who doesn't have a bible in the house to swear on, so she uses a saddle she won at the height of her career.

Some other neat touches include, but are by no means limited to: the guests at the dude ranch where the victim was staying; checking up on the alibi of Brodell's would-be rival for Alma Greve's affections, involving a history teacher, some chickens, and a roofing company; and a hilarious little passage wherein Archie takes time out to discuss censoring one of the wranglers' commentary on Brodell, a deserving victim if ever there was one.

I enjoyed Digging Dinosuars. John Horner's enthusiasm for the subject is easily apparent. The book is not overly technical, (although a basic understanding of geology/paleontology helps in fully understanding Horner's theories.) and has a very casual tone. The theories presented are full of clever and logical interpretations of the fossils found. While Horner also gives descriptions of things beyond factual support, he identifies which is imagination, and what is supported. The biggest flaw is the book's orginization. Horner seemed to be attempting to explain everything at once, changing topics for every paragraph. But beyond that, I enjoyed Digging Dinosaurs.

Digging Dinosaurs really gave a clear and interesting spin on the work that goes behind finding fossils. I loved it!

"Digging Dinosaurs" is far more than the continueing search for traces of these vanished beasts. It is a glimpse into the mind and lives of the people who have dedicated their lives to understanding this fascinating topic. Co-authored by Jack Horner, probably the most influential paleontologist alive today, the book reads at times more like a novel than a scholarly research. Fast paced, often humerous, this is a great read for anyone interested in our world's far ancient past.

This book is unbelievably detailed when it comes to trails to hike etc. However the book is fatally flawed (for me) in that it has absolutely *no* information about lodging! I am planning a trip to Montana with my three kids and I wanted to know about where to stay in Glacier Park, whether we should consider a ranch stay, and if there were once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as a dinosaur dig or a wagon train ride. Not one of these questions were answered by this book! However, once you are at Glacier I imagine the detailed information about trails and scenery (and a few stores etc) would be quite useful.

If you want to explore Montana, whether you have kids or not,
this is the book to use! There are places to go that are
easy to get to with good directions. The hiking trails are
easy enough for everyone and there are interesting museums
and cultural sites. You will definately find this helpful
and insightful!

Montana or beyond, this is a creative, intelligently written guidebook for both nature and natural lovers of cultural and historical resources. Clear, well written stories depict the landscapes in a manner that both entertains and directs children and adults to the wonders that Montana has to offer. Take a drive, book a flight, either way, this book is a delight!

From There to Here is a wonderfully old fashioned type of story that is hard to get your hands on anymore. Not only are the stories full of surprises, written by an American Cowboy, Wildlife Ranger and devoted familyman, but he shares with us what life must have been like not so long ago. This book is a true gift to friends, family and even tweens and younger. Buy this book now!

A hard book to put down. Very informative on needs for wildlife mgmt. An advocate of natural resource conservation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Alfred Ridgeway's autobiography "From There to Here" was an exciting look into the life of a true American cowboy. If you like a good, honest, heartwarming story look no further.

Great book! Very interesting true life stories that pull you in and let you experience some of these exciting adventures. Once I started the book, I could not put it down. A must read!

My mother loves bear stories and is constantly trying to get me to read them. She had just got Ben's book for her summer reading and I was lucky enough to spend most of my vacation with it. It is a great read and has provoked alot of discussion around the dinner table.
Be sure to read Ben's book on Lewis and Clark, too.

I read this book after reading "Great Wyoming Bear Stories" (which was actually written after this book, and is intended to be a companion piece) and really enjoyed the stories and writing that Ben Long employed in this collection. Many of the tales go back to the late 19th/early 20th century, and into the present. I wouldnt call it a definitive book on the behavior of bears (if you are looking for that information, read something written by Stephen Herrero). Nonetheless, this is absolutely a great collection of stories concerning both grizzlies and black bears. My only complaint is that it wasnt longer. Definitely worth reading.

I had delightfull moments reading that book. It's another winner from author Cheryl St. John. Highly recommended (almost 5 stars for me)!

Brock Kincaid was home and the last thing he expects is to find himself staring into a set of eyes that look hauntingly familiar...the eyes of a son he never knew he had. Is he too late to build a relationship with his son? Abby Watson wants nothing to do with the man who murdered her brother, left her pregnant and broke her heart. But how can she deny a father's right to know his son? Brock and Abby have to work to overcome the past, live through the present and possibly find a future together. Cheryl St. John is known for her tender, poignant stories that touch readers' hearts, but she's outdone even herself with The Gunslinger's Bride, a tender story about letting go and loving.

Brock Kincaid is just as [wonderful] as his brothers, Caleb and Will and cousin James portrayed in the anthology of Big Sky Grooms, another must read and also a keeper!

Be sure not to miss Big Sky Brides anthology of the delightful contemporary sisters, Suzanna and Diana Brennan and the historical story of their great-great grandparents, Isabella and Kyle Running Horse Brennan.

The hikes cover some of the best hiking over a large area.

it encompasses the hikes that every avid hiker must do before or during death.

I have the first edition of this book and it has been an invaluable guide to the incredible hiking in the Northwest. Living in the east and only getting to the west when business or a vacation take me there (for relatively short periods of time) I've always tried to make the most of the time I did have to hike. I have done about 1/3 of the hikes in the book and have yet to be disappointed. I have other, more detailed, hiking books for these areas but I rely on this one for selecting my hikes. I just wish this type of book were available for other areas of the country.