Idaho Books

I love all of Rachel Gibson's books. If you like romance you will love her books!

I love anything by Rachel Gibson and this book is no different. Loved the story between Kate and Rob as I do with all of the main characters in Rachel Gibson's books. The only thing I don't like is that the stories have to end.

I have been reading a lot of Rachel Gibson lately and I think this is one of her best. Hot, Sexy and romantic. Good characters. Excellent beach/pool reading!

This is the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it very much.

I had read some of the reviews so I wasn't expecting much - but I ended up really liking it. I know there were some that had a problem with Rob's infidelity (not something I'm a big fan of myself) but I could understand the miserable relationship and just plain bad judgement leading to it.

That being said - this book is a little "less light" than most of Rachel Gibson's other books - but I still found myself laughing out loud! The dialogue was great. Very quick and sharp. I was hanging on the plot and the characters all the way through.

I think it's a great beach read and actually one of my top Rachel Gibson picks.

I thought the book was dragging and disappointing. Lucy is supposed to be a best-selling mystery writer but...she had no idea what all those buttons are for in police car! She's never fired a gun! I write mysteries for a living. I've not only ridden in a squad car, I've driven one. I made it my business to know what all the buttons are for and yes, I can release the shotgun at a moments notice. I have shot guns in competition and made it my business to fire different models and calibers. I stopped reading the book at that point. I, too, was put off by all the product endorsements.

Could barely get through this book - bored me to tears. Don't think the author ever participated in online dating as it portrayed it as dull and full of people who lie and are undesirable. Boring book - best to give it a miss.

Loved this one! I read them totally out of order (4th, 3rd, then 1st & 2nd), but it really didn't matter. I liked that this one had a small suspenseful plot to it (whereas the others did not). I definitely recommend this one!

Sex Lies and online Dating was a fun read: I enjoyed the story and the suspense. This is the first book in a 4 book series: detailing the life of one of four friends.

Loved it! Fast reading, page turner. Characters were enjoyable. Lots of chemistry. Enough mystery and romance combined. A tad of the love/hate relationship to make it interesting. Good resolution in the end. The humor was laugh out loud funny.

Traveling to Iran with her roommate Ian in the guise of a couple on their honeymoon, Canadian writer Alison Wearing paints a touching and often humorous portrait of a country frequently misunderstood by the West. Although she touches lightly on the country's history, geography, and religion, this is first and foremost a book about her encounters with the Iranian people, whose hospitality and generosity are stunning from a Western point of view. It seems that she can barely step outside without being welcomed into a stranger's home and lavished with food and kindness.

Some of Wearing's experiences show the painful history and religious fervor with which Westerners are so familiar. She witnesses the grim Ashura procession marking the martyrdom of Shiites' revered Imam Hussein and meets a man scarred by the torture he suffered at the hands of the Shah. She struggles with the chaador, sweating under the blazing sun and trying to keep the garment from ending up on the ground, yet finds a certain measure of comfort in wearing it. Most of her encounters, however, reveal a multi-faceted Iran invisible to most Westerners, full of complexity and warmth. There is a bubbly Mexican expat devoted to her Christian faith; an impish twentysomething who spent 12 years in California and works a $3 a day job while selling opium in hopes of returning (and who shows off the empty box of condoms above his bed); and a couple who insists on driving Wearing to a desert oasis to cool off, leaving Ian the message: "Mister Canada, we take your wife. We make her cold."

I couldn't put this book down. Wearing's humor, adventurous spirit, and openness to whatever her travels may bring make "Honeymoon in Purdah" a joy to read.

This book is really simple, funny and educational for whom like to know about Iranian culture and their way of life. I suggest all Canadian/Iranian (( the writer is Canadian, who travels to Iran )) to read this book and bet you gonna have moments of tear and laughter w surprising ending.
Also, if you are planning to have an exotic trip to Iran, read this book, bet you gonna buy your flight ticket the day after;>

My bookclub picked this book, that I would never have otherwise given a second thought. I've never been to Iran, I know no Iranians, all I know is what your average person gets from the news and television. I didn't know what to expect, but having read the back cover, I knew that Alison was travelling through Iran with her western husband on their honeymoon. It doesn't take long to find out that this is just a ruse so that she can travel freely. I think she does a wonderful job of bringing to life many different kinds of characters in Iran, but I think she shows clearly how open-hearted, genuine and helpful the Iranian people are in general through portrait after portrait of individuals. Not only that but she introduces us to several western women who have adopted Iran as their homes, and happily.

But what really made this book enjoyable is Ms. Wearing's writing style. There are some truly beautiful sentences in this book. Lines that make you want to savor them. A unique perspective.

In almost 3 years of gathering, this was the first book our book club universally loved. Some loved it because it is a travelogue, some because of the suspense, some because of the humor, and others because it is an inside glimpse into another culture. I have purchased this book and recommended it to many people. It is a very enjoyable read.

This is a book written in the typical voice of a westerner who knows nothing about Iran except what they have heard in stories and on TV and what they have imagined Iran to be--based on what they know of the Arab world (which is completely different from anything Iranian.) She presents a very one-sided view of Iran, never mentioning how Iran has the highest level of literacy among Middle Eastern nations, not to mention the highest level of educated women, and never having lived through the Iranian revolution, she gives herself the right to call the former Shah a heartless king who didn't have to think twice about giving the order to open fire on demonstrators during the revolution. She seemed bent on presenting a "simpleton" image of Iranians who are just hungry for anything western. Had Miss Wearing taken the time to educate herself about the history of the revolution of Iran, not to mention the rich ancient history of Iran and it's people, maybe this book would have been a bit more interesting, and a bit less like she is just laughing at the people who have opened their homes and hearts to a complete stranger.

Am a retired California Cop living in Sandpoint. Bought book on recommendation of another retiree living here. Fast read. Interesting how the author changed names of locations, but if you live up here you know where and what they are.

Wow! What a great summer read.
A great surprise, for just a random pick-up.

This book would make a wonderful movie! Intense, well written, fantastic plot, original ending.
-DannyR

This was one of those books that started out with the biggest bang. I just knew this was going to be the best book of the year. I even had to remind myself to breath and then kapoowee. It did pick up in spots, but dry in others.

Another complaint is the believability, especially with the ending. Oh sure, it was a tear-jerker, heavy on the emotions. It still lacked in the believability department. I do think this is a good time to add, I'm a minority in my thinking. Most readers raved and raved about it.

Children are in the wrong place at the wrong time. They observe a murder. Now they are on the run. A story of some police who have gone very bad, counterbalanced by some good guys. The story is set in modern day North Idaho where times are changing as the area becomes a retirement mecca. But the area sometimes attracts the wrong people.

There are a number of villains of various stripes, ranging from murderers to a town gossip. Justice is served out in different ways as bodies start to accumulate.

I've read quite a few of John Saul's novels and I have to say I think I'm growing tired of him. This book just doesn't do it for me. His storytelling skills are remarkable but the plot of this book lacks intensity, interest, and believability. I know Saul can do better than this. If you are looking for a better JS book try God Project or Nathaniel. I give this 2.5 stars.

"Guardian" is one of the least memorable books that I've read by John Saul. I had to flip back through it before I started to remember what it was all about.

It starts off in Canaan, New Jersey, where MaryAnne Carpenter lives with her two kids: 13-year-old Alison and 10-year-old Logan--but quickly moves on to Sugarloaf, Idaho, where MaryAnne's 13-year-old godchild (Joey Wilkenson) is suddenly orphaned when his parents die in separate, but suspicious, accidents. Being the godmother, MaryAnne is deemed his guardian, though it's the mysterious man living in the woods with a wolf that the title is referring to, a man Joey unknowingly has a lot in common with.

Shortly after MaryAnne and her two kids arrive on the Wilkenson's ranch, several brutal attacks occur which lead everyone to believe a wild animal is loose nearby--though MaryAnne begins to suspect something else from her moody young charge.

I'm a sucker for werewolf books, so I enjoyed "Guardian." The biogenetic twist on the mutations was a refreshing take, but a lot of the other twists weren't too surprising. The ending is left open for a possible sequel; but, so far, one hasn't been put out, though I prefer it just the way it is. If you're a Saul fan, then you'll probably enjoy this one.

GUARDIAN was the first novel by John Saul that I read. I don't remember who recommended this author to me, but I'm very grateful for that advice, even though it cost me a few nights of sleep!

GUARDIAN is the story of Mary Anne Carpenter who moves to Idaho with her two children to become the guardian of her teenage godson who has recently become orphaned (hence the book title). The people in the small town where they now reside don't seem to like her godson, while Mary Anne is trying to understand why they have an aversion to him, she learns about a series of brutal murders in the nearby area. Could they all be connected?

Picturesque Idaho is the backdrop and a teenager that has just lost his parents is one of the main characters, what's so scary about that? You'd think moving to a ranch in Idaho is a dream come true, even if the circumstances are not perfect in the beginning, but this is far from the ideal situation.

Believe me, this is one of the most frightening books I've ever read. It wasn't scary so much for the content and the exact story line, but my imagination went into over-drive because of this book. "What if" became the beginning to many of my ideas and I didn't sleep well for several nights because the premise of this "villain" was so diabolical and present in all of our lives. Could this work of fiction actually come true, not exactly as written, but in an offshoot? You bet it could and that fact is what scared me the most.

I've recommended this book to several friends, all of whom have loved it. Those who never read anything written by John Saul also became avid fans. If you don't mind losing a few nights sleep (first by wanting to finish the book, then because of nightmares) and if you want to be intrigued from the first page until the last, then this is the book for you.

I'd love reading this book, the story keeps you interested all the time, at first the plot of the book makes you think that is a monster on the mountain, but at the end when you see why he was a monster you will think if that could be possible.
It has two ro three things that you wouldn't do if you were MaryAnne Carpenter, but maybe that is part of the book to keep you interested in the story, apart of that is a very well written book.

well,here is an interesting piece of work.I was a bit hesitant at first to write a review,because most of the reviews that have already been written by readers are quite well done.But,however,I have notice that there are gaps and pieces of this hugely chilling book that were not mentioned.So,writing this review now,I am going to explain what I could about the story,but from a different angle to that taken by the other reviewers.
But I must warn you,however,that all my points on the story may not be in order,that is simply because the story takes a while to unravel,and some things happen in the ending of the story which,in fact,shoud have been at the beginning!But nevertheless it is a great read and not too long to bore anybody out.And I definitely recommend it.It is a guarantee.

So,here goes the plot:
(like I said,I would attempt to explain this story from an angle that most of the reviews have chosen to ignore).

Some people in a penitentary were given a choice:if they volunteered for a highly classified experiment,they would get a chance to be released from prison,the ones that volunteered,signed an agreement.(this part of the story was mentioned in the ending!)
Now,the good part.The purpose of the experiment was to make the human body stronger and more resistant to diseases.So,genetic material from an animal(wolf)was taken and used to do this...
Now,a prisoner named Shane Slater,volunteered.He was taken to a hospital where the experiment was being conducted.Everything went quite nicely until he miraculously escaped.(most of the infromation about how he exactly escaped was not mentioned in the book,apparently the author kept it away to keep the story short,but it kept me guessing!).
Then as a result the experiment on Shane began a change to his body,sort of like a mutation,if you will.
He developed a craving for raw meat,his senses were more keen,he grew alot of hair on his body and his body size was even bigger!But all these things began to happen over a period of time...
He ran away from the hospital to a town where he fell in love with a woman.But when the FBI suddenly showed up in the town,looking for him,he disappeared into the hills and was not seen until about thirteen years later.
Meanwhile this woman got married to a man and had a son named Joey.A very rich man,that is.But it later turned out(very far in the story,that is)that Joey is Shane's son.
So,listen carefully.If Shane had mutated genes which gave his certain characteristics.Then,Joey,obviously would have this as well...
Now,the few killings that happened in the story was basically by an accident.Because when the "urge" came over Shane(hidden in the hills,still) he ended up killing people at a campsite.But he was fully aware that he had a son because his instincts told him that.And Joey also had the same feeling although he was unable to explain it.
So,the story is circled around the fact that Shane wanted to find his son and Kill him.And also to warn Joey's mother and stepfather about Joey's condition
But in the very beginning of story,what happens is that:while Joey's stepfather is taking care of his horse,Shane suddenly shows up,not wanting to hurt anyone but only to talk to the stepfather,but the horse was suddenly nervous and trampled over the stepfather,killing him...
That same day,Joey's mother was on top on a cliff,highly distressed by what happenend and she was also looking for Joey who was in the bush somewhere.But Shane appeared suddenly,and she got scared of the strange dark scary figure that was coming towards here,and she fell of the cliff,dying.(now,it is not known if any of the victims clearly saw Shane)...
So,here is where "the Guardian" comes in,hence the name of the story.Marianne,Joey's god mother legally became his guardian after Joey was left without his mother of stepfather to look after him.

Now,what happens from here is important but not as important as what I have already written.And most of what I haven't written are already done by other reviews.I just wanted to write what they left out...

So,I would just write a little more...While taking care of Joey,Suzanne and her kids noticed that something was unusual about he boy...Joey,poor boy,literally put Suzanne through hell.
And Suzanne was recently getting over the shock that her husband had been cheating on her...She surely went through alot...And now she has to deal with the terror of Joey and his development into a so called "werewolf".

Now,I guess I have said alot,and I hope that It gives you the general idea of this magnificently written book...enjoy...Nigel

As lovely as her first memoir, Hungry for the World demonstrates that Kim Barnes writes beautifully. Although Hungry for the World retells some stories from her first memoir, I did not mind reading them again. In poetic fashion, she tells of her experiences beyond her strict Pentecostal upbringing in a world where she falls prey to an extremely controlling and dangerous man. The account is breathtaking.

I was surprised that this memoir was not nearly as good as her first memoir.

I immediately ordered this book after I finished Barnes' first memoir. Imagine my dismay when it appeared that the first 70+ pages were a recap of what I'd just read? When I read closely, I did discover that additional information was included in the first section, especially concerning her teen years. So, all is forgiven!

That gripe aside, Barnes' tells an even more painful story in this book than in her first. She does a convincing job of drawing parallels between the male domination of her early life in the church and her later life as a cherished, debased object used at the pleasure of an older man. She isn't preachy, either. She assumes the reader's intelligence will draw the lines from one set of requirements for female behavior to the other set of requirements. I appreciated that.

Whether trying to please church elders or a sadistic trucker, Barnes is compliant, tireless, self-abnegating and completely, totally, tragically lost. Except...she isn't. She retains, somewhere deep in her core, a sense of the right to exist, to express, to grow. She survives. It's one harrowing tale, even with the care Barnes takes in relating some of the more sensational aspects.

I read this book as a part of the Utne book club, whose previous fare is either really good or too new-agey for popular consumption. This book is a powerful work about Kim Barnes' life which was no doubt very cathartic to write. It also shows that everyone has a story to tell and meaning to find in their lives, whether real or perceived. The book starts out with such promise, as a young girl coming to grips with the Pentecostal dichotomy between reserved behavior and exuberant expression. This theme ultimately becomes a symbol of her adolescent and young adult years as a quest to make sense of her upbringing. However, the writing overuses metaphors and vague imagery to cause the reader to linger over some descriptions and quickly pass over others. The work also grossly overuses sentence fragments to make the reading at times clipped and other times drag on forever. It is more of a hybrid of average poetry and excellent prose that is difficult to write, and can pass for readers who are engrossed by the content over its execution. Overall, this book is an average story of an above-average struggle for self-enlightenment.

i think this book is a good book. i would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about other peoples life and the hard and good times they went through.

Amazon seems to be including all the reviews of different editions and translations of Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde" on the same page. If you read the reviews here you will be very confused. Some refer to an original language edition (either the one made by R. A. Shoaf or Stephen Barney's Norton Critical edition), and some refer to a translation, at least one to the translation done by Nevill Coghill. The reader needs to pay careful attention to what edition is actually on the screen when making a selection.

If you want to read the original text, I would recommend Stephen Barney's edition. Barney is the editor who made the critical edition for the Riverside Chaucer, and his Norton Critical edition includes ten excellent critical essays in addition to Chaucer's poem, Giovanni Boccaccio's "Il Filostrato" (Chaucer's source), and Robert Henryson's "Testament of Crisseid." Shoaf's edition is also good, but twice as expensive, and it does not have as much contextual material. Coghill is a fine translator of Chaucer, and for the reader who does not want to tackle the Middle English he will provide an adequate experience. But beware: His smooth couplets sound more like Alexander Pope than the vigorous medieval writer he is translating.

Geoffrey Chaucer's fresh, but, sometimes very sentimental text tells the story of the brave knight, Troilus, a `slave of love', Criseyde, a realistic widow, and their go-between, the intriguer and opportunist, Pandarus.

For the idealist, Troilus: 'Next to the foulest nettle, tick and rough, / Rises the rose in sweetness, smooth and soft.'

For the realist, Criseyde: 'Am I to love and put myself in danger? / Am I to lose my darling liberty? / She who loves none has little cause for tears. / Husbands are always full of jealousy' / And men are too untrue /Or masterful, or hunting novelty.'

The sly intriguer Pandarus brings them together: 'Just as with dice chance governs every throw / So too with love, its pleasures come and go.'

However, the love between Troilus and Criseyde cannot blossom for political reasons. The realist betrays the idealist.

For Troilus (Chaucer), the fundamental question is: 'Since all that comes, comes by necessity / Thus to be lost is but my destiny.'
Was his fate ruled by predestination or was there only foreknowledge by God? 'To prone predestination, yet again others affirm we have free choice. To question which is cause of which, / and see Whether the fact of God's foreknowledge is / the certain cause of the necessity.'
Chaucer's answer is `determinism': 'And this is quite sufficient anyway To prove free choice in us a mere pretence.'

However, the priests are not his favorites: 'The temple priests incline to tell you this / That dreams are sent as Heaven's revelations; / They also tell you, and with emphasis / They're diabolic hallucinations.'

For Chaucer, 'Think this world is but a fair / passing as soon as flower-scent in air.'

This poem is not as strong as the Canterbury Tales, but it is a must read for all lovers of world literature.

This is a great edition for the masochist literature lover who wants to attempt middle english text. The footnotes are well researched and the supplementary papers are great additions.

As to the actual story, it is a wonderful, if not a little too realistic, love story taking place during the Trojan war. It mixes Greek customs and period with Chaucer's life in the middle ages. The story confuses itself with middle age customs with ancient greek traditions, with some parts completely unable to be understood (as the footnotes can atest with the same difficulties).

A good edition for English majors, bad for the faint of heart.

Please be careful! Everything on this page gives you the impression that this is a hardcover version of Shoaf's edition of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. IT IS NOT - IT DOES NOT EVEN CONTAIN THE POEM. This is a collection of essays about the poem that is really only suited to Chaucer scholars. Don't make the same mistake I made. It should be subtitled - ESSAYS - or have some other clear description of the nature of the book. I can not evaluate the essays, because I haven't yet read the poem because of this mis-identification of these Essays with the Superior Shoaf edition of Troilus and Criseyde by Chaucer.

Your web-page is misleading. It quotes, and the image displays, the Middle English original of the poem. The inside pages shown are from the Middle English edition. However, (and the modernized title should be a giveaway, but it wasn't) the edition on this page is in modern English -- a translation, not Chaucer's poem. You need to clean up this page, take away the Middle English quotations, state that it's a modern translation, and refer the prospective buyer to the actual, modernized edition -- which the buyer may or may not want (in my case I did not), with assistance in finding the actual Middle English masterpiece.

This is a very touching story that examines how our society has made it so convenient to forget the elderly. Nursing homes are thought to be the ideal place the elderly: they are clean, effiently run, and safe. But they lack one thing--family.

In this story two women in a nursing home attempt to rekindle the Christmas spirit--and they even bend the truth in their attempt.

This story is sweet and sad. The writing flows smoothly, making it a quick read--perfect for Christmas eve, perfect for reading aloud to family members. Pearson is a gifted writer...and her book is truly a literary holiday gift.

Also recommended:

Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--a wonderful story about the power of giving, and the power of healing.

The Christmas Shoes (Christmas Hope Series #1)--another very touching holiday story. It will make you cry.

Ok, it is predictable and very sugary sweet ~~ but I love it anyways. It is just a simple reminder of what Christmas is all about ~~ being with your family and friends. Sometimes, there are surprises in life and they are wonderful.

This little book is about two friends in a nursing home who decided to take on a little project of their own. They wanted to find someone who would take in a little old lady from the nursing home and provide her with a most wonderful Christmas they could imagine ~~ sitting around the family table with plenty of good food to eat, sit around the piano and play Christmas music and having a great time. It is about family coming together in spite of their arguments and squabbles. It is about family taking in strangers, as Myrna was always telling her children, "What is one more?"

As one reviewer said, it's not all that well-written, but it still managed to tug at my heartstrings ~~ which is quite a feat for me this holiday season. It is a very simple book, one that will serve as a reminder that Christmas isn't all about Santa Claus and gifts under the tree ~~ it is also about the verse that is in the bible, "Ye Took Me In and I was a Stranger. Ye Took Me In."

And isn't that what Christmas really is about?

12-11-07

This was a nice short read as I was able to enjoy it in one evening. I liked the banter between the two elderly characters. I did feel that the story wasn't finished when the novel ended. I thought it could have gone in a few other directions to show me more about what would happen if a stranger did come for christmas. It does poise an excellent question and made me think "could I open my home during the holidays?"

This is possibly the best Christmas story I have ever read. I have bought dozens of them for friends and students.

My request was for the original book and that is what I thought I would get. I had this book before with great pictures and used this story for Sunday School classes around Christmas time. The book I received had the same words but was a much smaller copy and as such would not be useful in the way the original book would be. Since there was not way to know this before the book was bought, it appears it would have been much better if I had bought this book at a bookstore, so there would be a way to know this was not the original book from that artist/author.

What can I say. Either this guy can have decent premonitions or he just got inspiration from the event at Ruby ridge and the Weaver family. The only bit that changed was the last few pages. Apart from that. What a load of c**p.

If THE STANDOFF does nothing else, it again proves how our constitution has been "adopted" by people who use it for anything to justify their psychotic and anarchistic behavior. Here we have this guy holed up in his cabin in the Montana mountains, arming even his children with aforesaid guns, and accusing the Federal Government of instigating the war which is about to take place. Considering the fact that a US marshal was killed, and that the whole thing started when the redneck anarchist shot at a sheriff simply doing his duty. John Banish, the antihero of this book, has a past few characters would ever want to claim, and Hogan uses the book to show just how frustrating it is to uphold the law and save lives. The media, stupid supporters of this redneck, and countless others get into the melee. Hogan's problem: Why did he have to have baddies in the picture? Ables is simply a no good racist who uses his own family as protective shields.
This book angered me with its portrayal of gun-crazy fanatics who claims their right to bear arms gives them the right to shoot lawmen. That's why it's so good. Hogan succeeds in exposing these racists for what they really are---guntoting cowards.

An absolute gem! This story of a white supremacist's confrontation with the U.S. government could be taken from the headlines but is described on several levels. Chuck Hogan, in his initial published novel, humanizes the difficult concept of armed conflict. The mesmerizing quality is found in the realism of dialogue and the differing perspectives of all the main characters representing different branches of government and law enforcement. The different points of view and agendas come into conflict with each other and are driven by their personalities, past experiences, and personal demons, especially of the chief hostage negotiator, Special Agent Banish of the FBI. He fights his own personal Hell as he attempts to secure a safe surrender while manipulating the situation so the US Marshall or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will be blamed if anyone is killed or if anything goes wrong.

This is fast-paced, thrilling and suspenseful with enough depth and surprises that you'll think about it well after you've put it down. As added enjoyment, I suggest you also listen to the audio tape. Stacy Keach does a yeoman's job; his voice along with the accompanying music makes this a listenning experience of the first order. Both book and audio are highly recommended.

If Hammond Innes (e.g. "Campbell's kingdom") and Donald Harstad (e.g. "Eleven Days") had written a book together; this book could have been the result of their effort. Chuck Hogan's novel mixes police procedural with a high-tension drama up in the remote mountains of Montana. The main character FBI Special Agent John Banish is not only trying to save the innocent people taken as hostage, he must also handle the local police and population as well as trying to come to terms with himself and the tragic events of his past. This is a book that you remember afterwards and it is good enough to read a second time.

I am glad that I read Mr. Hogan's second book, Prince of Thieves, before I read his initial effort. Had I not done so, I probably would have not bought the second book, based upon my view of the first. That would have been my loss.

This book is loosely based on the events at Ruby Ridge and the Weaver family. Hogan clearly shows what pitfalls and difficulties await those in charge of managing such confrontations and weaves throughout it the various personalities and prejudices that are present at such confrontations.

John Banish is the FBI hostage negotiator in the middle of things with some skeletons in his past and something left to prove. He has to manage the various law enforcement agencies, angry residents who are sympathetic to the holed up family and others on both sides with itchy trigger fingers and short tempers.

This is probably much like what a hostage negotiaion is all about, but I'm not sure having read about it I find that it was really worth the effort. Go for his second book. That is a winner.

I really wanted to like this book, because the photographs are good, the writing is good, and there is at least SOME useful information. And, it's a good pre-trip motivator. The problem is, it's the kind of book that should NEVER have been structured as a guide - instead, with a bit of rewriting, it could have (and should have) been a high quality coffee table book. To be fair, I found the overviews of each trail segment and the trail profiles to be quite useful. But, after hiking 430 miles of the CDT in Montana/Idaho, I have concluded that: 1) this guide is nowhere near detailed enough, 2) it is, unfortunately, not adequately set up for north to south hiking. My approach now is to sift through this book and extract whatever useful information I can find and add those tidbits to Jim Wolf's excellent, detailed, and comprehensive guidebooks, which are continually updated with new trail information.

During three months of 2003 I did a 1362 mile ultra marathon across the Rocky Mountains. One section was a climb and hike along the continental divide in the Beaverhead Range. I used this book for info on access trails to awesome CD ridge that separates Idaho and Montana. The book is informative, accurate and a good read. I recommend it.
Jerry S. Dixon, Biologist/Teacher of the Gifted
Science Advisory Committee Alaska SeaLife Center
1997 McAuliffe Fellow 2001 BP Teacher of the Year
VP Seward Iditarod Trailblazers
Judge, National Outdoor Book Award
Advisory Council Winter Wildlands Alliance
USFS/BLM/NPS smokejumper/FMO/fire ecologist (Ret.)
[...]
Gates of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, May 12 to August 12, 2003, a 1362 mile ultra marathon across the Rocky Mountains. [...]

Mr. Morgan, in a review below, says that the book was written for armchair reading, from the seat of a car and offers as proof the trail description near Schultz Saddle. On page 151 of the guidebook the text reads in part "The Forest Service has plans to cut a trail through the trees above the road to Gibbons Pass, but that trail was incomplete when we hiked the CDT..." On page 23, the author notes, "The Continental Divide Trail is a work in progress...Significant improvements have been made in the past two years and the pace of change is accelerating as interest in the trail increases. Sections of the trail have changed since we hiked them; more will change in the future." It's great that the trail from Chief Joseph Pass to Schultz Saddle is now complete, and I've heard that further work after the fires of 2000 improved the trail even more. This book shows interim, proposed, and alternate routes for the CDT and also tells the reader which routes are depicted correctly on maps. Extremely detailed information throughout the book confirms a step-by-step familiarity with the trail. While the mileage info is accurate, I agree that the book would benefit from the addition of a table showing landmarks and miles for each segment.

Great book that is a must for any hiker thinking of doing a CDT thru-hike! My friends and I found this book most helpful in planning our hiking trips on the northern part of the Continental Divide Trail. Charts and graphs are all top-notch. ( If there is a better guide book on the Northern CDT, I would like to see it!!!) Great color photos of each trail section in the book. ( There are 32 sections with all phone numbers of close by Post Offices, grocery stores, and cafes) I highly recomend this book for all section and thru-hikers! Mad Monte PCT thru-hiker and CDT section hiker

This is a great arm chair book, but questionable as an on trail guide. I just did a 300 mile through hike in Idaho/Montana. I picked up this guide, in addition to Wolf's, because it was written for northbound hikers. It's great for at home reading. For use on trail: Good parts: -Strip map style *contour* maps, a big help -Current information Bad parts: -I am virtually certain that some of this was done from a car window. Examples: -The description of how to find the spring above Pattee Creek. This is an important source, in an unlikely place on a hill side. This guide's location description boils down to 'over there some place'. -The guide misses and never notices that there is good trail leading north to the Schultz Saddle, it walks you there on a road. -The within the text mileage figures, counting sometimes from section start, sometimes from other important way point makes nice reading, but bad on trail use. This sort of information needs to be in a (boring) table, to make it unambiguous and easy to figure from. ...Tom M (PCT '94)