Idaho Books

This was one of my favorite holiday stories when I was a child. Now I share that classic with my children, and I hope someday they will pass that along to theirs.

It's a wonderful, funny, and heartwarming story.

My mother read it to her kids, I read it mine, and I've even shared it with those who'd never heard of it. What? Never heard of it? Shame...but that was resolved.

No Christmas should go by without revisiting one of the finest classic Christmas tales of the ages. And it's so convicingly Seuss, you just have love it. How could we not love all the Whos down in Whoville! While my kids are beyond reading this story now in the off-season, they still like to have their dad pull it out and read the story while assuming the appropriate voices for the characters.
Quite simply, every household that celebrates Christmas should have this story as part of the holiday traditions...whether the kids are 2 or 20 or 40.

Can you imagine growing up without the Grinch? In my country we collectively had never heard of this funny little fellow until the advent of the film. Fortunately I was introduced to him the Christmas of 1990 (still way past childhood, of course) and have enjoyed the story every year since. My children were so taken with the story that at one point we read it daily, no matter the hot summer sun beaming through the windows and there being no Christmas tree in sight.The easy, typically Zeuss-ian rhyme meant that we could recite it off by heart, without the need to actually read. Since, we have widened our library of Zeuss-material to include many other favourites.
There are plenty of reviews detailing what happens in the tale, for me it is important to share the sentiment that accompanies it, especially with the advent of Christmas. The sentiment of Christmas being about sharing, about having peple around you who matter, about enjoying togetherness and being happy.
Final note: I wonder if anyone has explored thematic and plot- similarities between Zeuss' story and Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol'. To what extent was Zeuss influenced by Dickens?

A classic story that everyone who even slightly appreciates Christmas. Dr. Seuss tells a convincing story of the true meaning of Christmas and gives us a surprisingly complex character at the same time, someone who discovers he hates Christmas for all the right reasons. The illustrations are Sessian-wonderland, and the lyrical read is an artistic blast.

Like everybody else, I know the story of the Grinch. It's even better in print than on screen, so, yes, buy this book if you haven't.

This is the first wine book that does exactly what it promises.....you will be able to read a wine bottle label in the store or wine list in the restaurant and know what you are buying and buy what you want. That is a great boon to all wine drinkers out there, the majority of whom didn't have wine training in finishing school or a butler/sommelier at home. I have always know what taste I like but now I know how to read the label to find the type of wine that I want. This book will serve the experienced drinker as well with a system of classifying wine into groups for organizing your wine celler and advice about making those all important pairings with food. This book makes a fantastic gift as well.

If you have room for only one wine book, this is the book to own. Andrea Robinson nee Immer is a master sommelier who started out with Kevin Zraly at Windows on the World, and has become one of the great wine teachers in the world. I met her in 2001 at the Wine Expo in Boston, attended a wine tasting of Australian wines, and took her intensive three day course on wine at the French Culinary Institute last fall. My initial impressions still stand [from my wine diary]:

It was a joy to watch Andrea Immer in action and to discuss her book for a few minutes afterward. Her approach to learning about wine is superb, and I recommend this book strongly to anyone, beginner or more advanced, who has any interest in learning about wine. Her enthusiasm and knowledge is infectious.

The approach works; Robinson has taught her approach to thousands of people -- restaurant guests, sommeliers, chefs, waiters, bartenders, in a wide variety of restaurants and bars. "The light goes on every time."

Check the Comments for a summary of Andrea's approach to learning about wine.

Robert C. Ross 2008

This book came in the mail very quickly and will make a great Xmas gift for my husband.

Andrea Immer Robinson's Great Wine Made Simple (2005) succeeds brilliantly in making sense of the complex worlds of wine. I have read several introductions to wine, including Michael Broadbent's Michael Broadbent's Wine Tasting (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides), Jancis Robinson's How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine, Mark Oldman's Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style, and Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course) and I recommend them all, but I learned the most from Andrea Robinson's book. Her original and easy-to-follow approach will greatly enhance the appreciation of wine for new and experienced wine drinkers alike.

There are dozens of wine grapes, but Robinson reduces this complexity by emphasizing the "Big Six." These are three white grapes (riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay) and three red grapes (pinot noir, merlot/cabernet sauvignon, syrah or shiraz) that provide most of the world's quality wines. Each group of three is listed in ascending order of body style, i.e., light, medium, or full. She clarifies these styles by comparing their weight, richness, and thickness in the mouth to skim milk, whole milk, and cream. Robinson then lays out tasting sequences with easily available wines that show the distinctive quality and body of each grape. You quickly get an idea of the world's primary wine styles.

In the succeeding chapters on taste, Robinson recommends that you taste wines side by side in carefully chosen pairs that will highlight key tastes. This method is far superior to tasting one wine at a sitting. Wines can generate a seemingly infinite number of tastes and here Robinson simplifies things by concentrating on pairs of wine that exemplify the major style terms of dry, crisp, oaky, tannic, buttery, grassy, spicy, floral, and Old World vs. New World.

In another great innovation, Robinson introduces flavor maps of the wine world combining where grapes are grown with climates. The maps are a bit hard to read at first, but well worth the effort, because they help you predict what a wine will taste like once you know where it's from. For example, white grapes grown in cool climates may produce light bodied wines with apple or pear flavors while white grapes grown in warm climates may produce full bodied wines with pineapple or mango flavors. I found the flavor maps to be the most valuable part of the book, because they help you organize the world's wines into a system that explains why they taste the way they do.

The remainder of the book is more conventional in its approach, with surveys of French, Italian, American regions and so on followed by such topics as shopping for wine, wine and food, and wine gear. In these sections, Robinson continues to communicate key information about wine without oversimplifying.

I think Great Wine Made Simple does make a few missteps. A major omission is that only the briefest mention is made of serving temperatures. She does note that whites tend to be served too cold and reds too warm. Robinson's 2008 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone, which I also highly recommend, does a satisfactory job explaining how to serve various types of wine; but I like Andrew Oldman's general rule that white wines should be chilled for several hours and then removed 15 minutes before serving while reds should be refrigerated for 15 minutes before serving. Robinson could have said more about how to analyze the finish of a wine. Here I like the approach of her mentor, Kevin Zraly at Windows of the World in New York City, who describes what you should expect at fifteen second intervals in the minute or so after you have swallowed the wine.

Robinson occasionally criticizes other wine writers for being too technical. In part she does this because she feels that beginners will lose interest when confronted with overly technical prose, but this assumes that readers don't know how to select a basic introduction to wine as opposed to a more advanced book. Robinson's ideas easily stand on their own and are not strengthened by disparagement of those who write at a more detailed level or use specialized wine terminology.

To end, my criticisms are minor compared to Robinson's substantial achievement. She has assembled an impressive apparatus for appreciating wine. My wine knowledge increased by several orders of magnitude after having read her book, and I know I will be returning to it for years to come.

This is simply the best introduction to wine and winetasting that I have found. Many wine books get bogged down in minutiae, without telling you why it is significant. For example, they will spend three pages telling you about the soil and climate in a small region of say, France, without telling you how it affects the flavor and quality of the wine (i.e., why you should care). Somewhere in there will be a vague one sentence statement about how the wines taste "fruity" or "fresh." Andrea Immer's book actually concentrates on how to taste wine, using all your senses, and what specifically to look for in the color, nose, and flavor. She gives you a list of wines to taste, and through a series of tasting exercises you learn to recognize different flavors and aromas in wine. Her flavor map is an ingenious way to explain what flavors to expect from wines of the same grape grown in different climate zones, and it works! One heads up though, be prepared to drop some change on these tastings. Many of the tastings in the earlier chapters are affordable, but in the later chapters (read France and Italy), we found some of the wines to be cost prohibitive. While the earlier tastings are absolutely essential to getting the most out of the book, we chose to dispense with some of the later ones (Maybe some day I'll buy that $80.00 Barolo). My suggestion: Buy the book, do the tastings in the first five chapters, and learn a heck of a lot about wine.

Mr. Lewis, best known for his "Chronicles Of Narnia", must have had one of the sharpest minds in his day. In this collection of individual essays / lectures / papers, he addresses many issues that were hot buttons in his day...and continue to be in ours. But, I think that the power behind his words is equally in how he expresses them, not just in the the thoughts behind them. Mr. Lewis was a master at taking rather complex matters and making them understandable to the average reader.
While some of what Mr. Lewis writes I would not fully agree with, I give him much credit and am very lenient when I consider his personal background (atheist-turned-Christian apologist).
I highly recommend this, and other, books he has written.

The book arrived in great time and is another classic of this famous and amazing author. It is all that was expected and I highly recommend it to anyone who is now, a C. S. Lewis fan or will be upon reading any of his works. Thanks gain to Amazon for another honest and quick transaction. Gary Krei

The Essay "The Inner Ring" moved my youngest daughter from the margins of middle school to its social center. Six years ago when she was in the sixth grade, we talked several times about a group of three girls that were the most popular in her school. Because she was so curious about the subject, I read her "The Inner Ring." She loved it. She asked many good questions, related the essay to her situation, and to her friends. By the middle of her seventh grade year, the group had expanded to six and because four of the six members of the group had siblings in the high school, the "six pack" was the subject of high school gossip in addition to being the coolest clique in the middle school. My wife believes that in reading "The Inner Ring" to mathematically minded Lisa, I gave her the rules she needed to become a permanent member of a group who all were starters on at least one sports team and continued to be close friends in high school.

I agree that this collection is often overlooked when considering the best works of CS Lewis. Among the essays, my personal favorites are Weight of Glory and Transposition. I highly recommend this book.

This book is actually a collection of essays. Lewis addresses various things such as, the glory of man as being a reflection of the glory of God, why he is not a pacifist (where he gives some pretty strong moral, biblical, and sensible arguments), speaking in tongues and various spiritual gifts (moreso on their implication, not on the technicality of each or what exactly each gift is), what he calls "is theology poetry" (or in other words, do we believe in theology just because the idea of a cosmic drama appeals to us), the affects of peer pressure and the gradual degradation of one's inner principles and also its positive affects when one surrounds him/herself with Christians, and forgiveness.

Overall a very enlightening read, in which many issues that are not commonly talked about are given attention. Not very long either, but packed full of insight.

I'm unsure how exactly to describe this book. It was definitely humorous, and had a unique tone and structure, as well as quality writing and editing. In fact, it grabbed me from the start, and I couldn't help but devour it. So for those reasons high marks are well-deserved. The colorful characters and crazy situations really brought small-town life to the book vividly. The humor is prevalent, and intelligent.

But I'm unsure as to whether I will be reading it again. It's often frustrating for me to read about self-destructive people, though I'd accepted it by the end of this novel, as the characters accepted themselves. But the book was almost too full of quirky characters and events. There really wasn't the contrast or foil of someone to take a look at all the goings-ons and comment on the craziness of it all. So at times it was almost a bit much: you could assume that whatever would be the most outrageous or unexpected thing to happen would come to pass. Also, I'm unsure what the message was precisely, or if there was a unifying theme beyond something like keeping secrets can destroy you and those you care about.

The characters are likable, though, and it was fun to spend some time with them. I can't tell yet whether spending much more time with them would drive me crazy, though I will likely check out the sequel to test this theory. I do love books in which the characters have a rich family life. So for all it's strengths I'm comfortable with the 4-star display. If you're looking for something well-written and diffferent from the run-of-the-mill girl-meet-girl beach/vacation book, then I expect you'll love this book. I'm trying to think of an apt descriptor...perhaps Napoleon Dynamite meets Trixie Belden?

Joan Opyr has concocted a delicious mystery read that, while incorporating all the necessary ingredients (a dead body, mistaken identities, family skeletons and accidental detectives), also throws in some outrageously zesty herbs and spices --- a lesbian wilderness retreat cum shooting range cum softball battleground, psilocybin mushrooms (or are they shiitakes?), Radical Faeries, Lesbian Avengers, heterosexist preachers and outlandish outings. Jam-packed with witty, laugh-aloud dialogue, this story is sure to start a groundswell for more Idaho-seasoned fare from the eminently talented Ms. Opyr and her fledgling detective, Bil Hardy. (Recommend with a side of spuds and home-made hard cider.) Cheers!

Rollicking good read! Highly entertaining characters.

More than a mystery - more than a romance. Unique story telling with a huge cast of odd-ball characters. I was so delighted by the characters populating the story that I didn't care how the mystery was resolved.

Unlike any story you will read this year. At over 300 pages this was a substantial read.

Not sure what to expect, but intrigued by reviews of the book, I picked up `Idaho Code' with high expectations. I think my expectations were too high because, although I enjoyed the book, I was not wowed by it as others seem to have been. Opyr's text is well-written and easy to follow; and the characters are interesting. However, the story is lacking something I can't quite identify. It didn't grab me and hold my attention from cover to cover. There is a lot of humor peppered throughout the story, much of which is intelligent humor and not slapstick. The humor was probably the best part of the book. This is much shorter than my typical book review, but I'm not sure there is much more to say.

Having looked through many of the lesbian books offered and reading a few of them, I find myself tired of the same old mystery, heartbreak and seriousness. Where are the amusing but well written stories? Idaho Code is just the ticket for that.

While there is a mystery that takes a back seat to Bil's life. Oh yeah, she's the main character. See, she's a young buck who returned to live at home and go to college. Her bigger reason is to hopefully get a shot at dating the young woman she's been in love with since she was a teenager, Sylvia. But Bil never sucked up the courage to come out to ask her out. Um... no, her family doesn't know she's gay.

Along with that is her brother Sam who's in jail, and not for the first time. Known for dealing drugs and hanging out with his good for nothing girlfriend it never surprises the family when he is in jail. This time, however, for murder.

Mix this all up with her strong willed mother, three strong willed older sisters, a silent but loving dad, a saucy gay best friend who of course has better fashion sense than her, his lesbian mother who runs the local lesbian wilderness commune, an ex-girlfriend who doesn't want to let go... whew! Wait, there's more! But I'll let you find that out when you read it.

Brilliant story, I'm looking forward to getting the sequel.

This is the best western I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them.
I see that message on almost every western that is on amazon, but this time it is true. The book is excellently written and the characters are very colorful and well made. I have never done a review before for a book and probably will never make one again, but I just had to for this book.
I really recommend buying this book, you will not be disappointed.

Great book ! Emotionally, I had to put the book down several times for a few moments to" soak-in "the impact Jose' and McAllister were having on me - I became them and their feelings were my feelings. Awesome reading experience.

A wonderful epic read beautifully by James Drury. I give it 5 stars, it is one of the most engrossing books I have ever read (or listened to). However I am having some difficulty with the sadness of the story. I thought it was a little too tragic for my taste.

I read for pleasure and escape, and I like to be happy when its over. This is why I have read most all of Louis Lamour, some at least twice. There is good and bad, and good always wins in the end. Everyone lives happily ever after.

This is my first Jonas Kirby book. I probably won't be able to stay away from the rest, this one was so moving.

A sculptor taps away at a rock and reveals the body he finds beneath the stone. A painter looks at a blank canvas and sees images coming to life at the discretionary wave of his hand. It is the essence of the artist that we are left to interpret as we often see little of the toil that brought the piece to life. However, sometimes, we look upon an artistic rendering and know the artist suffered, or enjoyed, or was fulfilled by the work; and we get to see the secret innermost reaches of his soul. It speaks to us because it was so very real and important to him. And in that moment when that common thread is found, we smile and say, "I understand what he meant." Now the inverse of that would be the artist that looked at his audience and said, "I understand what they want." This book, like all those of Jonas, gives the lover of the West just that. This man ushers his readers into a time machine and brings the west alive in a way that no writer, in my experience, previously has done. Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour will always be the standards to which this writer is compared as people will find it hard to step out of the genre. But I challenge the reader to compare Jonas' work to the pieces completed by Hemingway at this stage of his career, even Kipling, or Yeats. There is a poetry and fluidity to this young man's style that happens to be portrayed in the west but should be respected on any level of writing quality. You see, PASSION, in all things, is what separates those from the common soldiers that allow the momentum of mediocrity to rule their lives. Jonas speaks volumes of heart and soul in "Eagle" because the voice he has found rings true and with a commitment to accuracy. Much like a proud man would protect his family heritage, Jonas takes the responsibility of "story teller" to the highest degree. "Death of an Eagle" is a must read. It's portrayals of accuracy, kinship, loyalty and heart are merely the superficial assets of the "piece". Lying below the sculptor's rendering, surrounded by stone, beats a heart, available to all and proudly offered by this great author.

It was great to see James Drury's name again. There are still some of us fans left, I guess. He's definitely teling the truth too. I read Death of an Eagle, and it is great from the first page on. How can anyone write such a good story? There is a bear attack from a huge grizzly bear right away, and the main character fights that bear heroically. It was so much like I was fighting it. You can't believe the depth of these characters and how close you get to them. You don't want to let them go. Bring back more of these people, Kirby Jonas! Bless you for writing a book I can read to my eight-year-old or loan to my mom. We've needed a good clean western writer since Louis L'Amour died, and now I've found one better!

What a beautiful book! I'm sure that every state would love to have such a stunning pictorial review. Anderson is a master.

Idaho Discovered does an incredible job of capturing the beauty of Idaho in pictures. The pictures are breathtaking and the quality of the book is outstanding. I would highly recommend this book!

Idaho is one of our scenic treasures. This book doesn't really do it justice. There is something lacking in many of the photos and I wonder if it isn't in the printing. A lot of the photos lack 'pop'. I would like to compare the book to the originals. It is a nice collection of images from around the state giving you an idea of the variety of scenery available in Idaho.

I truly "discovered" Idaho in this book. Having spent several years of my high school days in Northern Idaho, I didn't ever dream that such beauty surrounded me. I have since traveled over alot of the state, country and some foreign countries, and have been astounded at the scenery which had been practically in my back yard. There were landscapes that were breathtaking and Anderson's ability to capture the most minute detail of each one was magnificant. Of course, skiing, hiking and biking to some of these locations was an added bonus that most people don't have the opportunity to experience. I discovered this book on [the photographer's] website...

As a native Idahoan, this is the first book I have ever found that truly represents the entire state. Idaho is a very diverse landscape and a huge area to cover by any means of transportation. Kirk Anderson's commitment to intimately discover and share his Idaho journey is a gift to all who know or wish to know this beautiful state. The photography proves to be of the highest caliber. Great !

I had read this book some 40 years ago and thought it was great! Recently I purchased it on Amazon and read it again; even better the second time around. Provides fascinating insight to a time of historical importance to the American West.

I read this book many years ago and then lost my copy of it, so I ordered another one on Amazon. This is the most moving book I have ever read. If you're into non-fiction westerns, this is the book for you. I found the first half a tad slow but the second half was fantastic. To this day, when I think about it, it almost brings tears to my eyes. The story was written from the memoirs of Andrew Garcia, a scout for Custer and tells of his adventures traveling through the west with his native american wives. I loaned this book to a friend and he shares my enthusiasm for it.

I purchased this book for my husband. He enjoyed it and passed it on to other readers.

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
This book's handwritten manuscript was found in a dynamite box in its author's Montana cabin after his death at age 88. Garcia was an original Western settler, arriving in Montana in 1878, one year after the famous Nez Perce Chief Joseph's surrender. If you want authentic Old West, here it is. Garcia tells it like he saw it, favoring neither Native Americans or Europeans. He marries three Indian women (sequentially) and leaves his past world behind. This book has romance, beauty, humor, deadly adventure. Danger. Thrillers come nowhere near this true story. Most of all, Andrew Garcia's soul shines through his writing. What a dear, good man. I wish I could have met him.

A Spanish-Texan quits his job wrangling for the Army in Montana to set out trapping and trading with the Indians. His stories - full of grandeur, intrigue, death and romance - never cease to have a ring of truth.
In Garcia's accounts he is never the hero, but rather the hapless greenhorn who escapes by the skin of his teeth and a generous apportionment of luck.
Written in true trapper/trader/rancher dialect, this book is a joy to read and a pity to finish. I love his insights and Tom Sawyer wisdom, self deprecation, and observations about life with the Indians (and life with whites).

The late Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian Alexander Schmemann once remarked that Christianity lost the world when Christians lost their Joy. This collection of 127 themes gathered from Lewis' extensive corpus remind us that "joy is the serious business of heaven" precisely because God is love and love is truth and humans are created to live in the conscious joyful reality of praising God in the love of our brothers and sisters through our union in Christ.

If you have never read anything by Lewis, or if you have be long-acquainted with his genial and witty prose, you'll find this Lewis Reader a true joy to read. But the appeal of this collection will extend well beyond the perennial veneration of Lewis to the very heart of Christian living, thinking and defending. This book is also an excellent way to see what Lewis books you would be interested in reading at length.

Topics include: life on other planets, right and wrong, atheism, miracles, death, the historical Jesus, liturgy, eucharist, salvation, prayer.

You will not be disappointed in this book. Joy is attainable through reprentace.

This collection of Lewis' essays is a good read. It's well-categorized and as such, makes for a good "bathroom book". You can open it randomly, read a bit on a given topic and set it aside.

And it contains some of Lewis' best work and pithy sayings and profound wisdom. Lots of quotable quotes and also includes ideas that can be life changing if you let them hang around in your consciousness long enough.

I love "Jack's" writings anyway and this book is just a good collection of his best ideas.

However, my #1 favorite Lewis book is "The Screwtape Letters" which should be read in it's entirety.

The 127 excerpts gathered together in The Joyful Christian give an excellent introduction to the scope and range of C. S. Lewis' thought. The bibliography and list of sources in the back of this book are a panoramic picture of the legacy Lewis has left us.

These 127 excerpts also illustrate the cohesiveness of Lewis' thought. An excerpt from Surprised By Joy is consistent with what is found in The Abolition of Man. Other readings from Christian Reflections are consistent with what you would expect from the author of the Narnia and Perlandra series.

The excerpts, for the most part, are relatively short. One or even two readings can be completed in a relatively short time. A "daily reading" approach allows time for cogitation and meditation on the thoughts presented.

C. S. Lewis remains one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th century, and rightly so. This collection is an excellent representation of the breadth of his philosophical and theological thought.

For someone looking for a representative sampling of Lewis' writings, The Joyful Christian is the one book to get.

"The Joyful Christians" is definitely a 5 star volume.

Contained in this book are 127 readings from many of Lewis' greatest apologetically works ("The Abolition of Man", "Mere Christianity", "Miracles", "The Problem of Pain"), and even a few from the fictitious "Screwtape Letters". Topics range from deep theological matters - such as prayer, Divine omnipotence, the three-personal God - to more applicable subjects like sexual morality, marriage, divorce, Scripture reading, etc. This is a superb compendium of Lewis' main arguments for many subjects pertaining to the Christian life. New Lewis readers will find "The Joyful Christian" very interesting and delightful, especially since the book is organized according to subject. If you're looking for a Lewis quote on a particular subject, this is an excellent resource. Great for new readers and old timers alike.

C.S. Lewis' works, insofar as I have read them, are philosophically and theologically well considered. Of course, that is an understatement. He shies away from no serious question or "problem". He was the most important apologist of the twentieth century.
The Joyful Christian is a collection of 127 readings drawn from his extensive body of work, varying in length from a few sentences to several pages. This reader found only a few discussions in which (I believe) Lewis errs. Most of this collection is very sound (again an understatement). At the same time I was reading this volume, I was reading the thoughts of another well-known 20th century theologian, who was in search of the "historical Jesus." Lewis' thoughts on the subject were much closer to being correct: "In the last generation we promoted the construction of such a 'historical Jesus' on liberal and humanitarian lines; we are now putting forward a new 'historical Jesus' on Marxian, catastrophic, and revolutionary lines. The advantages of these constructions, which we intend to change every thirty years or so, are manifold. ...for each 'historical Jesus' is unhistorical. The documents say what they say ...each new 'historical Jesus' therefore has to be got out of them by suppression at one point and exaggeration at another ...religion of this kind is false to history..."
Lewis on 'Prudence': "Christ said we could only get into His world by being like children... as St. Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary, He told us to be not only 'as harmless as doves' but also 'as wise as serpents.' He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but he also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job... He wants everyone to use what sense they have."
Lewis on 'Hope': "The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither."
Lewis on 'Apologetics': "The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it is true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it or think it good for society or something of that sort..."
'The Joyful Christian' is one of the best collections of theological thought and Christian apologetics you are likely to find.

THE BIG BURN is a fascinating and harrowing historic novel set in the midst of a forest fire that trashed Northern Idaho and Western Montana in 1910. It was a large forest fire. "How large?" you may ask. Okay--If there are 640 acres in a square mile and there were nearly three million acres affected by THE BIG BURN, then we're talking an area nearly 4700 square miles. Sonoma County, where I live, is one-third that size. If you consider the San Francisco Bay Area counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, AND Sonoma together, then you've got a sense of the scale of the destruction. For those of you on the East Coast, we're talking Long Island, plus all of New York's boroughs, and the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Columbia.

"Field Notes: In the summer of 1910, rangers who were used to working in isolation suddenly found their forests filling with strangers. With new fires breaking out daily through July and older ones stubbornly resisting control, the Forest Service's District One had no choice but to hire more and more men to fight them. By the end of the month, there were almost three thousand firefighters scattered across the district's several forests...W.B. Greeley, would later write, 'It was a case of hiring anyone we could get. We cleaned out Skid Road in Spokane and Butte. A lot of temporaries were bums and hobos. In a bad fire year, the temporary is the weakest link in the chain'...They went into the burning forests wearing the clothes they'd been recruited in, and the ones wearing street shoes or snug wool suits would regret that. They worked for twenty-five cents an hour with board, thirty if they provided their own food..."

In THE BIG BURN we do meet a few scoundrels. But the main characters here are three young people--Jarrett, a local boy who leaves his harsh dad; Seth, a southern kid in a black regiment who is trying to live up to the memory of his dead father; and Lizbeth, a young woman originally from New England, who is falling in love with the land she's found herself homesteading with her young, widowed aunt. All three cross paths before finding themselves in the midst of Hell on Earth.

Perhaps the publisher is calling this an "ages 12 and up" to spare younger children potential nightmares from the vividly drawn scenes of towering flames bearing down on our heroes. But for any kid whose tastes run to disaster and survival, mixed into a coming of age story, THE BIG BURN is a riveting read.

Jeanette Ingold has pulled out all stops in her book called The Bug Burn. In this exciting tale of Idaho's wildfires in 1910, three young adults battle the forces of nature. Seth, Jaret, and Lizbeth each fight life in their own way, and overcome personal obstacles. Seth is an African American trying to fit-in in the army. Jaret is a rebel son as he goes looking for a job in firefighting after he got fired from his railroad job. Lizbeth is a niece who is trying to convince her aunt not to sell their homestead. I like this book because it is full of action and adventure, but educational at the same time. I would give it five out of five stars because I had a fun time reading it and learned a lot from it. I can't tell you the ending, but I can give you a little sneak peek. The strong wind blows many fires together, creating a giant blaze. That blaze charges forward, burning everything in its path. Eventually it comes to a city named Wallace, and everyone has to work together to try to stop it. Do they succeed? Read the book, The Big Burn, to find out.

I think that The Big Burn was a very precice and educational book. The main carachters were Jarett, a young man wanting to fight fires with his older brother; Seth, An afircan American young man trying to show his pride for his country by joining the army; and Lizbeth, a young women trying to stay and keep her aunt from selling their home. The setting is 1910's, in Idaho and Montana. They over come some goals, and others are crushed. This all adds up untill the climax were all the flames come together and

In light of the recent wildfires in Colorado and Arizona, THE BIG BURN is an interesting book, but it would certainly be noteworthy under any circumstances. The story follows two young men and a young woman as they encounter and combat the infamously ferocious Montana wildfires of 1910. Jeanette Ingold deftly switches perspectives throughout the tale to keep the reader interested in this well-crafted historical novel.

Jarrett, the brother of a forest ranger, is on a quest to prove himself to his gruff father; Lizbeth, living with her widowed aunt, wants to preserve her adopted Western home; and Seth, a young black soldier, is dedicated to serving his country and overcoming racial prejudice. Apart and together, they transcend traditional teenage roles and attempt to save their homes from the fires that ravaged the Montana and Idaho wilderness during the summer of 1910. Some of the plot developments may seem cliché (romance blooms where you'd probably expect --- close calls end with last-second rescues, etc.), but overall the adventure is unlike any other book available. This overlooked event in US history provides a wealth of excitement for a talented writer. The parallel stories of the three protagonists allow for several viewpoints of every episode; Ingold paints a comprehensive portrait of the true historical events of the period.

Ingold intersperses the chapters with "field notes" chronicling the wildfires and wilderness firefighting from an objective standpoint. These sections are actually where she writes best and they are a testament to the thorough research that went into writing the book. Both historically accurate and dramatically engaging, THE BIG BURN is a great choice for anyone who is interested in learning about the phenomena of forest fires while also reading a great story.

--- Reviewed by Lowell Putnam

Ingold tells the reader that if you talk with anyone in Idaho or Montana for long enough, the subject of the Big Burn will come up, and the person telling you about it will expect you to know all about it. After reading Ingold's well-researched book, any reader would be able to contribute to the subject. Set in 1910, when forest rangers were new, railroads were huge, and immigrants were still flooding the country, The Big Burn tells the story of the wild fires of the northwestern United States. Ingold gives us three main characters: Jarrett, Lisbeth and Seth. These teenagers each deal with the fire in their own way, and find that there is more to fighting fires than a little water or ditch digging. The three do meet in the tale (it is plausible), and each tell their view of the events in concurrent chapters. Ingold breaks in with facts and accounts of actual events, which makes the fictitious story feel all the more real.

Ingold has done her homework, and it shows in the story. Her afterword, acknowledgements, and list of suggested reading at the end all provide valuable information. The only problem I had with the book was a bit of charaterization--the relationships between the characters felt forced and unbelievable, particularly the budding romance between Jarrett and Lisbeth. On their own, the characters were strong, interesting, and contributed to the story. But when they came in contact with the others, even the minor characters became a bit forced in the relationships in which they were observing or participating. Otherwise this is a wonderful example of great historical fiction.

This cookbook is absolutely gorgeous. It is a wonderful guide to the Pacific Northwest for both locals and visitors. The recipes are fabulous (try the Chipotle Chocolate Cake) and very easy to do at home, while still elegant. And the wine pairing suggestions are spot on. Outstanding book that would make a great addition to anyone's cookbook collection - and one that you will actually use.

Braiden has captured the unique flavors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and B.C. with her lively commentary of the distinct ingredients you can find there. Her profiles of people and places make me want to visit each and every destination. If I can't get to that farm or winery, at least I can make the meal myself - and pour a glass of Braiden's hand-picked Northwest wine recommendations to accompany it.

The recipes are easy and delicious, inspiring us to use local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. So far, our family favorites are the Grilled Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinaigrette and the Dungeness Crab with Ginger-Cilantro Mayonnaise! Yummy~

This book offers many exceptional recipes however there are two from Chef Maury Bennett in Idaho that are amazing his passion for local fares radiates through his ideas. I would like to see an entire cook book done by him!!

For the wine and food nut, this book is of epic proportion. Vivid and lively pictures combined with the real people and real stories of the Pac NW illustrates the connection between Braiden Rex-Johnson and her subject. The
wine country traveler's guide to the good life in the Pac NW. Bravo!

To counter the damp and dreary days of winter I surround myself with distractions that promise better days to come. At the top of my pile is Braiden Rex-Johnson's Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining. Just looking at the cover of this love letter to NW cuisine warms me. I imagine myself dining al fresco on the patio of this restaurant or a myriad of others. Then I pour over the interior pages, like a gardener pouring over a seed catalogue in winter. I indulge in the descriptions of familiar restaurants and wineries as well as intriguing new ones. I plan our next excursion into Eastern Washington or the Willamette Valley or the always promising Vancouver area, while noting the recipes from these areas that we want to make today and the wines we will want to serve with them. I smile at the quotes from favorite and unfamiliar chefs and feel as though I now know something of what makes them who they are. And then I remember another friend who I want to share this book with and I'm back online to order it. What a perfectly luscious way to wile away the winter days.