Oregon Books

David McCullough and Theodore Roosevelt both say that they consider Francis Parkman to be their favorite historian and the author who had the greatest impact on their own writing. If you read the Oregon Trail you will understand why.

Parkman made his journey in 1846. It was before the Civil War, and 15 or more years before the West portrayed in most westerns. The outposts of the American Fur Company were 700 miles west of the farthest reaches of the U.S. Cavalry, and Parkman was truly on the cutting edge of frontier. This is a very different view of the West than we get from the movies.

What is most interesting here is the portrayal of the American Indian. Traders, merchants, immigrants, trappers, and frontiersmen live side by side with the Sioux Indians. The Sioux are are war with the Crows, and the six nations are gathering to finally wipe the Crows from the face of the earth.

The West resembles a multi-racial society, where the settlers and traders try to get along with everyone, but where the Indians seem to have a little more trouble than the settlers living in peace. The Sioux look upon the trading posts as a source of protection and manufactured goods. They leave the bodies of their dead chiefs on scaffolds nearby Fort Laramie for protection, to keep the Crow from desecrating the bodies of the dead.

There is a great deal of mixture between whites and Indians. Traders and merchants have squaws as mistresses or even wives, and the families, the in-laws, live inside the fort with them. During one pare of the journey, Parkman leaves the Oregon trail to go with a friend and find his dying wife, a Sioux squaw who is with the tribe.

This book is a classic. It is the type that should be read by every educated American. On top of that, it's well written, and as timeless as any modern American history.

This volume is a reader's delight, for it presents not one but two of Francis Parkman's classic works: The Oregon Trail and The Conspiracy of Pontiac. Rightly hailed as America's greatest historian, in The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman relates a journey to the 1840's American West - undertaken for the express purpose of living among "real" American Indian tribes of the Great Plains before their way of life passed forever. By this experience Parkman hoped to better understand and relate what eastern tribes had so tragically fought for and lost in the preceding century's struggle for the continent. The Oregon Trail is a great book in its own right, and has been reviewed by this reader previously (see more in "About Me/Other Reviews"), but the primary focus of this review is Parkman's study of a crucial chapter in the development of North America as we know it today: the disastrous consequences France's defeat in Canada would bring to the remaining eastern tribes. For this event would inexorably lead to the explosion of the English colonies across lands heretofore held by them under French "dominion".

While the Iroquois Nations had long maintained an uneasy alliance with the English as they pushed their way into the western reaches of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, those further west knew what the defeat of the French would bring: utter destruction. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, Pottawattami, Delaware, Shawnee, Illinois, Sauk and Foxes had long fought the intrusion of the arrogant and land-grabbing English from Quebec to the Mississippi. Pontiac himself had fought beside the Marquis de Montcalm as he tried in vain to save New France from ruin during the French & Indian War. But at last, in the mid-1700s France finally capitulated to her English rivals, her hold on the North American continent broken forever. The only task left to the conquerors was to make their way across the Great Lakes, into the valleys of the Ohio, and down the Mississippi into the Illinois country to make their claim upon the former French forts and trading houses. For a brief time a singular leader and a dozen nations blocked their way: Pontiac and his assembled allies.

Parkman sets the stage by briefly relating the history of France and England in America from the early 1600s-1760s, then meticulously details the source of the tribes' many grievances - grievances which would directly lead to Pontiac's bold attempt to decisively halt the English advance.

Though doomed to ultimate defeat against the onslaught of English guns and armies, traders and pioneers, for a short time Pontiac's initiative was remarkably successful. He brought war to nearly all of western America at the same time - from the siege at Detroit to the forests outside the gates of Niagara, from upper Michigan and Wisconsin to the Ohio valley, into western Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York, down the many rivers and tributaries leading into the Mississipi. A dozen forts fell before him and hundreds of miles of frontier settlements emptied in terror.

Parkman's work is perhaps the best chronicle of many of these tribes' last desperate fight for their lives and land. Those interested in the history of the struggles destined to come shortly to the tribes west of the Mississippi will derive much insight from Parkman's treatment of Pontiac's war. For his "conspiracy" was the original "last great battle" for the "American West" - 100 years before the battle for the further western Plains would come to an ignominious close. To understand Pontiac's war, the motives of both his people and the English and French, as well as the burgeoning force who would soon thereafter cast off their identity as "colonists" is to understand much of what would follow as American history.

I am planning my first trip to Oregon and found this book to be extremely thorough and informative. I am amazed at how much information is in this book concerning places to stay, eat, and visit.

Frommers Guides provide a well rounded informational review of a particular area. The Oregon Guide is no exception. The reviews of restaurants that we tried were spot on. As well, the overviews of cities were written pretty accurately. It is great for all parts of Oregon, giving equal importance to each region - north, south, west coast, east, and Portland. This is not the book to get if you are wanting more back road information or fully off the beaten path and into nature facts. For that, the Moon guides are a bit better. Overall, definitely buy this one if you would like a full overview with well written and reviewed places to see in Oregon.

This book makes important and original contributions to the understanding of Gender and Generation on the Far Western Frontier. It teaches valuable lessons for today's Americans. I am reading this as a gradutate student of history at the University of North Dakota. It is informative and rich in detail as any textbook with footnotes, but surprisingly easy to read and understand. (Unlike too many post-graduate dissertations.)

(Full Disclosure: I am a student of Dr. Prescott's.)

I heartily recommend this easy-to-read-and-follow work in the areas of western history (with real women included and portrayed) and for anyone ready to advance beyond 'hollywood history' of the American Northwest.

Buy this book to read, learn and enjoy!

Dr. Prescott offers an insightful look at first and second generation settlers in Oregon's Willamette Valley during the mid-to-late 19th century. Dr. Prescott contends that favorable farming conditions in addition to generous land grants made it possible for women as well as men to progress very quickly from frontier farming roles to a more consumer-oriented middle class way of life. Using the diaries of Maria Locey, the quilts of Zeralda Carpenter Bones Stone, and many other sources, Dr. Prescott presents a very readable glimpse of pioneer life in Oregon.

This book manages to smoothly move along several tracks. The historical track captures vividly the amazing
risks taken by families during that brief period of western expansion before the golden spike changed it
forever. The contemporary journey with Braden's family is full of hilarious observations of various things and people found along what's left of the Oregon Trail. The stops in what pass for "campgrounds" and the characters
encountered there made me put down the book to laugh. The third track, which was perhaps the most compelling, was the author's attempt at chasing down and describing some aspect of the American character that still permeates modern living, an ongoing search for deeper resonances than appear on the surface. I was struck by how he managed to conjure up intimations of this in me. Little shadows of epihanies hiding between
the words in this casually told but utterly engrossing tale.

This is a wonderful intermixing of a contemporary family and a historical account of a journey west following the trail of the early settlers as they traced the path of the 1840 wagon trail to Oregon. It fully recognizes the tragedies and challenges of the early settlers while sharing the humorous adventurous of the struggling efforts of the author's own family. A very good read!

Heaven Bound represents what all true art forms are---they entertain yet make us think. We agree with your view of heaven.

Interesting interaction between the artist and the poet. Paintings are well reproduced. Poems pithy and to the point, quirky and fun. I would recommend this one to any one interested in both poetry and the fine arts.

This book weaves the history of Oregon into its hike descriptions making it stand out from other hiking books. I had never been to Oregon before and the author is my tour guide as she describes the history of different parts of Oregon as well as the geology and plants and animals. The author also promotes responsible hiking with her dogs. I hike with my dog everywhere and this book gave me the nuts and bolts information I needed for how to train my dog for the trail and where to purchase gear which was very helpful.

This is a very well researched and written hiking book about Oregon. It stands above the crowd with its well researched hike descriptions (especially the Munra Point hike) which are filled with history and interesting geologic tidbits about Oregon. It is obvious the author loves what she does!

I bought this book in Northern California at a Ranger station. I asked what book to buy and was directed to this one. The descriptions of nature - the flowers, trees, animal life - is a pleasure to read. If you can't actually be there, just reading about the beautiful places is satisfying. Also the author's love for this natural country and his awareness of how precious it is, and how endangered, is moving. All of the places he describes are in danger of being logged or abused by grazing cattle, and in fact I noticed both in some of the hikes I did based upon his book. The most beautiful place I visited was Young's Valley. I highly recommend visiting there if you can. It is 17 miles into the wilderness on a dirt road which can be traversed by auto, though the last couple of miles are very rough and have to be taken extremely slowly. You'll come to a large pond before the final stretch. Stop and take a look. There are flowers around but what you'll be struck by the most is the absolute quiet. Look in the water. It is filled with Western newts! Then drive the last couple of miles, park and hike down into deeply forested country below. You'll find abundant meadows on all sides, fragrant white Azaleas wherever you see water running, flowers of all kinds....Once you come to Young's meadow you'll find a huge expanse of grass and wildflowers with many smaller meadows around and snow-topped mountains ranging around. At the bottom end of the meadow you'll find a trail which follows a creek, ranging through deeply forested country with mossy rocks along side the creek. Red monkey flower adornes the creek and other flowers grow along the banks where there is some sun or opening in the forest. All I can say is it is beautiful country and I hope to God it is not destroyed. The author has done his best to insure that these beautiful places are kept that way for posterity.

This little (fits in a jacket pocket. Handy!) book is a masterpiece and worth every penny. Not only do you get detailed maps and descriptions of trails in the Kalmiopsis wildland, Red Buttes and High Siskiyous, but you are also given good advice: walk it(don't ride, bike or drive). Pack everything out with you (rather than burying it. The bears *will* dig it up). John Hart tells you how to access some very obscure and little-known trails, how to follow trails which are faint, neglected and devastated by natural or human-inflicted disaster(s), gives you a "heads up" about areas where you might otherwise unwittingly trample salamanders and/or rare plants and speaks about wilderness areas that were (and still are) threatened by the activities of loggers and miners in Northern California and Southern Oregon. He gives potentially life-saving information, pinpointing locations of clean drinking water and shelter, weather conditions and recommendations for clothing and gear. Even if you never get off the sofa and go for a hike, this book is a terrific read!

This book should be on the shelf of every historian. It gives a graphic description of the importance, and necessity, of ferries in the development of the Northwest. And the photos are great, too!

This book is an excellent reference on the historic ferries that used to cross the rivers in Oregon. The author has put a lot of work into writing this book.

The Horseless Rancher
Great book of modern day ranching feature articles. Fun to read, humorous and the stories are true to live of everyday ranch life in Eastern Oregon. Great follow-up book to Tails of the Countryside. Anyone who relates to ranching and farming will enjoy this book.

.......Debby Schoeningh is to life in the country. A second book with side-splitting stories about country life in Eastern Oregon, filled with amusing interactions about cows, four-wheelers, critters, cooking, dogs, kids, her husband Mike, life and morals of the story will keep you spell bound wondering what could possible happen next. And what you expect, isn't necessarily the rest of the story. It's another one of Schoeningh's books that you just won't want to put down until you have read it from cover to cover.

This book is written in a way that presents understandable language to the avocational archaeologist, or man on the street. An in depth look at the ages of north american artifacts, and thus man's presence on the landmass. Also covers the evolution of mammals in NA, the effects of the glacial ice retreat, what the land was like in post glacial north america. From Clovis, Folsom, Cody, Goshen, Plainview, Agate Basin, Hell Gap...to the chip artifacts from sites such as the Burham site, Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Dent site, etc. The dates for human occupation seem to be pushing further back. This book will reawaken the curiosity and interest of the reader, that it is a wonderful time to be alive and pondering these new finds and their implications! I thank the many authors who contributed their writing into this workhorse of a book.

This book is an absolute must read for scientists and laymen interested in the peopling of North America. It contains up-to-date articles by the world's experts in ice age archeology and the complex conditions that lead to the early population of the Americas. The book is well illustrated and summarizes much of the most recent data available on this subject. The articles have been written clearly and concisely. If you are curious about the Paleo-Indians who first settled the Americas, how they got here, and why they came, then you must read this book. As a researcher interested in this subject, I find this book indispensible.