Oregon Books

In the early nineteenth century, Chief Paulina proved to be the fiercest human enemy the early settlers of the west ever encountered killing unknown amounts of them, just one of the many stories from the Oregon of the old west. "Crooked River County: Wranglers, Rogues, and Barons" is a non-fiction tale of Oregon's wild past focusing on twenty eight years starting with 1825. Reading like fiction, author David Braly insists it's a true story, and the wild exploits and actions one will read about are just crazy enough to be just that. Thoroughly researched, scholarly, but still intriguing straight through, "Crooked River County: Wranglers, Rogues, and Barons" is enthusiastically recommended to anyone with an interest in the old west, and deserves a spot on community library American history shelves.

I am mainly familiar with the routes near Portland. The author describes routes on logging roads, marked blue diamond routes thru the woods (often a hiking trail in summer), or unmarked cross country routes in some places, and places to try your Telly turn in others. There are "maps" of the area, which do not replace topo maps. There also some black & white photos. It does not cover major mountain climbing with ski descent, except to warn about the difficulty in doing St Helens. He mentions those few areas with higher avalanche danger, other areas avalanches are rarer, particularly when the general avalanche danger is low.

There maybe some problem keeping this statewide book update.

My son and I have read this 4 book series together and have thoroughly enjoyed these books. The author has captured the attention of my 9 year old son and has maintained it throughout the series. Great read!

A must have if you live in or close enough (like me) to Oregon to camp there, and you insist that your campground has a hiking trail, like I do! I found a wealth of information on where to camp and hike in my neighboring state, and even though I haven't had time to go camping yet, I have used this to find hiking trails to explore. Many nice, enticing photos throughout the book, and decriptions of the wildlife and scenery at the campgrounds and hikes, all nessesary information about the campgrounds and hikes are given, such as how many tent sites are available (I was surprised to see one campground had only one tent site!) and how long the hiking trails are. If you need a guide for Oregon on camping and/or hiking, I think this is the book you've been looking for.

This is an excellent reference for painting and carving decorative or gunning decoys. The information is presented clearly and the color pictures provide exceptional, close-up detail that waterfowl artists require. The reader will gain realistic carving patterns and painting instructions from this book. There is information about 22 species of dabbling and whistling ducks (male and female). The information I found most useful was the paint mixing instructions. The mixing instructions are easy to use and provide a great quick reference to get the correct mix of colors. This is an excellent choice for the novice or expert waterfowl artist.

I've studied under Dr. Miroff, and let me say, the man definitely knows what he's talking about. This book proves that too, and it is written in plain English, and ties everything together nicely.

I enjoyed this book wriiten about the building of the Oregon Trunk Railroad in Central Oregon. The book begins with a credible, yet understandable look at the geology of the watershed, continues to the overall history of the competition between UP and GN railroad presidents and then to the particulars of the construction of the lines on both sides of the Deschutes river. I liked it because it wasn't only a railroad book, nor a roadside geology book, nor a history book, but all three to some degree. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Deschutes river canyon, it's history, geology, or railroads.

This is a rare training manual on the use of Therapeutic Diamonds. They can be used like Clear Quartz, but have a different energy quality. The effect is more surgical, focused, and precise. There are some aspects of subtle anatomy called "gates" that are covered in the book as well as special procedures where the diamonds are places on sticks and spun in different ways to affect the energy field as well as being combined with spheres of different stones and gems. The book includes three charts which summarize much of the use and applications. The book seems intended for a workshop training, but can be followed by careful study and intuitive experimenting. It presupposes that a person has had some experience with energy healing and the use of other crystals. I was fortunate enough to have received several treatments by someone who had studied this system and who was willing to share the basic procedures.

When I started reading the book, the first story seemed disappointing. As I continued reading the book I was fixated by the writing style and the way the stories interconnected. The subject matter is bleak and sometimes disgusting, but he seems to have a supreme command over his words.

This guidebook can used as either a coffee table gift book with its multitudes of beautiful colored photographs or a guide to suggested hikes in Oregon's Wilderness areas. The author, for years a resident of Oregon, gives you one hundred of her favorite hikes to some of the Oregon's wild areas. The pictures in the book, like the two-page layout that shows a hiker on the Cooper Spur Trail in the Mt. Hood Wilderness viewing Mount Adams and Mount Rainier, or the close-up head shot of a common garter snake eating a bullfrog, are stunning. All photographs in the book were taken by the author, a renowned scenic and wildlife photographer. She describes Oregon's 36 wilderness and provides photographs that will entice you to visit them. The author has hiked every trail described in the book and provides the reader with information of the trails length, difficulty, highlights, elevation gain, maps required, best season, if permits are required, management contacts, highway directions, and trail information to the tenth of a mile. The author, who has written several Oregon hiking guides, knows what she is talking about, so if she says these are her favorite hikes you just to believe that they are going to be special. Don't take her word or mine, you will have to see a copy for yourself to appreciate its value.