Idaho Books

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)

This is my first use of a Benchmark Maps Atlas and I must say it is a must for the vast wilderness areas of Idaho. Use of a state highway map (say an AAA version) would be a disaster if traveling into the Idaho "outback". Benchmark is fully detailed, and accurate and provides topographical information as well. Organization of this atlas is exceptional. It proceeds from the macro (regional maps) to the micro (detailed Idaho sections) relating to recreational guides and landscape maps. It also includes detail of the greater Boise area. The comprehensive Index includes counties and county seats, cities and towns, physical features, rivers and lakes, and parks, wildlife, wilderness and recreation areas. A great atlas, masterfully done.

Overall a nice map book, but I needed a detailed street map, so I am disappointed; it has been somewhat helpful, I just need a lot more street detail. Idaho is changing fast though; a detailed map today would be outdated tomorrow.

This is a poor atlas I will not buy "Benchmark" in the future. I bought this one because I thought it would show more (it had a newer publication date). The DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer is much better for explorers, hikers, ghost towners, sportsment, hunters, fishermen etc.

Another fine example that there was never any mining done in Idaho. For a full review check out my Oregon and New Mexico reviews. I'm through giving money to Benchmark until they start placing their contents and legend items, actually on their maps.

I live in North Central Idaho. I purchased this atlas because I wanted an up-to-date reference to local roads and recreation sites. I already own an old DeLorme atlas.

When I initially reviewed the maps for my local area, I found numerous errors. Most particularly road names and paved roads being indicated as unpaved. The cover claims that the atlas was "field checked for accuracy." I do not know how much checking was done, or how long ago, but in my area many of these details are incorrect.

In all fairness, the DeLorme atlas also has some errors, but it is copyrighted 1998. I would expect the Benchmark atlas with a 2007 copyright (and claims of field checking) to at least indicate as paved roads that were paved over ten years ago.

I do particularly like the topographical shading and the overlap at the edges of every map.

This book is great, and an awsome read. It has it's funny moments of growing up, and discusses the things that everyone tried to forget when they were little. I was really sorry to finally be on the last page because i felt that i would be perfectly content to read forever the story of iona moon. out of the other books by Thon, i thought this was the best book she has written, and was delivered perfectly to a reader. Don't pass this one by!

The book had a great storyline, but was too disjointed and jumped around far too much.For me that took a lot away from my enjoyment of the book. Maybe I'm just too picky, but this is my take on it.

This is my favourite book ever, it's filled with sadness and makes me feel better about my life. I love how the story is just about life and doesnot have a main plot, such as catching a murderer. This book brought me down to tears.

I came across this book after reading an excert in another source and knew I wanted to read more of it. Concerned primarily with Iona Moon, a skinny dirt-poor farmer's daughter, and the teens she hangs out with (including boys who would be glad to be with her, if she meets them at the movies, buys her own ticket and leaves alone), this book at times approaches the lyrical in its description of human heartbreak. For a young woman searching for love, there are few good options - mothers in this book are dead - either emotionally or literally, and yet, they are also the healers and the "hopers" who provide the voice and the strength to go on - whether the voice of Iona's own dead mother or Pearl, the mother of her Indian lover who heals her with the taste of bitterness. This book combines the smallness of small towns with their narrow class structures and small minds along with the expanse of nature - rivers that run and skies that extend forever, working as a metaphor for the human heart that can dream large and wide, but must return to the narrow confines of the practical in life - where the cows need milking, the choices are few and the easist way out of town is not the road, but death. "Sorrow came in soft waves. She saw that the smallest sacrifices were the ones that drowned you in the end." Still, the book is as full of hope and heart as it is of heartbreak. Thought out of print, it is worth tracking down and reading.

The book's meaning was very heart warming and all, but the story line??? Not so good. Yeah it's easy to read and comprehensive but it's the story line....it can be compared to a good joke delivered by a boring and unenthusiastic person.

These Delorme Atlas & Gazetters are wondeful. They show you many features not available through GPS, maps or other atlases. It is a great feature to have the BLM lands marked as well as the back roads. Good resources are also included in each states atlas. A good addition to anyone's travel tools.

For planning a trip to Idaho, what could be better than having topo maps of the whole state in one book? Locate trails and campgrounds, look up ranger stations and regulations, or just day-dream. Excellent research tool! I have them for every Northwest state.

I made the terrible mistake of touring Idaho with an old (1994) edition of the DeLorme Idaho Atlas. Fortunately I had a whole sackful of BLM and Forest Service maps to get me out of tight situations caused by relying on DeLorme's information. The atlas shows roads that are not there, and does not show roads that are there. The land management boundaries are incorrect in many crucial instances, and sites are drastically misplaced.

I very much like the additional topographical information in the new edition, but I also noticed they did not correct any of the cartographic errors. So-- fine for casual use or for general trip planning, but contact the BLM or Forest Service before you head out on the back roads.

I use the Delorme Gazetteers, including this one, for planning my fishing trips every year. They include comprehensive coverage of the state in question with sufficient detail to identify all the major topological features one will find, including streams and lakes. Also, they show all the roads. One criticism is that they don't contain road mileages between locations, unlike a highway atlas. But, a highway atlas will not show topographic coutour lines, or indicate locations where one may launch kayaks or rafts, or show locations reputed to have good fishing. I keep a Delorme Gazetteer for each state in which I expect to travel on any extended drive. They enable me to find campgrounds (in the indexes and shown on the maps), roads, topography, and all the essentials to plan a trip.

Good points: This atlas is the most available and easy to use topographical atlas on the market. It has helped me get into many off-highway areas with great experiences. The roadnames are particularly useful, as these are not on USGS topo maps. Road condition classification also seems to be more accurate than the outdated USGS quads. Bad points: DeLorme gives a false sense of accuracy. On the reverse side of the front cover they advise to measure distance in tenths of miles. No one should pretend to be this accurate at the scale they use. They do explain that the distance will be "slightly" more than measured. On windy roads this could be up to one more mile for every three. My biggest disappointment with the Idaho atlas came after I looked at DeLorme's atlases for Washington and Oregon. Although I have never used them for off-highway travel, it is plain to see that they are better scale, better detail, and there are more features and attractions shown. All the Idaho atlas is is an updated copy of the USGS 1:250K topo maps. Is Idaho not popular enough or what?

Don't purchase this book for Northern Idaho.

Although "North Idaho" is listed in the table of contents, description of these routes are VERY minimal. In fact, the opening to the chapter "North Idaho Paddling Trips" they reference the book "Paddle Routes of the Inland Northwest" by Landers and Hansen. This book "Guide to Idaho" even states "If you're planning on doing some northern paddling, you'll want to have their book"

Don't purchase this for northern idaho.

Excelent Book,Well writen and very informative. I have already floated many of the rivers the book describes in detail

This book has excellent descriptions of both the rivers and the roads that lead to the put-ins and take-outs. I wish every state had a book like this. It's fun and easy to read. I often find myself looking through it and dreaming about the next canoe trip in the spring. I've used many floating guide boats and this is, by far, the best organized, most helpful one I've seen.

I was disappointed that this book does not cover Northern Idaho. If you want a book for Southern Idaho to the McCall area this book would be a good resource. If you want a book for Northern Idaho this isn't the right book. In fact the authors reference another book that has detail about North Idaho waters. In addition, some of the Web pages that are referenced are not correct. I found them through an internet search.

This is exactly what I was looking for in a canoeing guidebook. Kathy and Ron breakdown the current river classification of Class I waters, into more detailed ratings 1.0-1.5, giving detailed descriptions of each level. This book if for people who aren't comfortable with whitewater runs without an experienced guide. Familes can do alot of these runs. The books consists of flatwater rivers and a few easy whitewater rivers just to spice things up a bit and get a bit of practice. Most of the rivers in detail are below the McCall area, which alot of concentration on southeastern Idaho, which is great for me since I live in northern Utah. They also describe very well the routes to the put ins, take outs, and the roads condition. Your basic lake canoe is suitable for almost all rivers described in this book, but getting into the Class II+ and III rivers, they suggest a river-running canoe is better suited for this. Keep in mind, "beginner" does not mean those who are on a canoe for the first time. You do need to know the basic paddling strokes and be able to read rivers.

I wish every state near me had such a great easy water guidebook like this.

While this is a nicely organized and easy to use guide, it has so few birds in it that I would recommend almost anything else over it. If you're a rank beginner, you might find it useful. If you have ANY experience at all, don't bother.

This is a wonderful little book that is easy to use, even by a novice bird watcher. It is organized by the predominant color of the bird, starting with black and progressing through the colors to yellow. If males and females look different each will be listed separately, with a page reference to the other, a feature that I found very helpful.

Each bird entry consists of two pages. The first page is a nice photo of the bird. The second page includes a small diagram showing the bird's range, and the following description fields: size, male, female, juvenile, nest, eggs, incubation, fledging, migration, food, comparison to similar birds, and Stan's notes.

Finding birds by their predominant color was very easy to do. Where I wasn't quite sure which of two or three entries was the right one, the size, comparison to similar birds, or Stan's notes narrowed the choice down to the right bird. If you are a beginning bird watcher like me, I don't know of a better book. Advanced bird watchers may already know everything in this book and want something more detailed and comprehensive, but for the rest of us, I don't think you can beat the compact size and usefulness of this little gem.

I found this to be a great easy to use guide. It is intelligently organized, easy to use, and loaded with color pictures and detailed descriptions. I have really enjoyed having this handy this summer. An excellent value for the price.

This is an ok book. It covers Idaho Birds. Perhaps not as in depth as I would like.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO TAKE ON THE TRAILS. THAT WAY YOU HAVE IT WITH YOU WHEN YOU SEE THE BIRDS.

Received this as a gift from my wish list (thanks, best friend of mine!), and have been working my way through it. I truly love a lot of the thoughts, musings and stories shared. The poetry is also beautiful; I find the book thusfar to be particularly empowering at this stage of my life.

This book is poorly organized and suffers from a lack of proper editing. It's a ra-ra book for women in their 50's, but the friendship adventures are fairly boring. Throughout the book, there are poetry passages....actually some of the best writing. Otherwise, it's a badly written composition of disconnected stream-of-conscienceness experiences. It contains many, very lengthy boring descriptions that should have been replaced by more interesting dialog. Only at the end do you find out that the author had a difficult life and survived through family love and friendship.....Two very important messages for which you only had to read one or two chapters, not the entire confusing, boring book! It's hard to believe that anyone would have spent any money to publish this book! It needs so much work!!!!!

I bought this book and read it in one weekend. I have re-read it a few times now. The stories are inspiring, sweet, tender and beautiful. I loved the poems. It's a good book for women "of a certain age". Focus is on the joy in life.

Highly reccomend it

Beautifully expressed profound observations are itermingled with poorly expressed mundane thoughts. Uneven writing style. Humor and pathos co-exist. Probably would not buy another selection by same author.

I ordered this book on the recommendation of a friend. I could not put it down and raced through it in two days! I then began to read it again. This time I made myself read it slowly and reflectively and savored the poetry and wisdom of each story.

I now keep the book within reach on my desk. When I feel overwhelmed with work and the mundane details of life, I look at the cover and smile. The joyous abandon of the women on the cover reminds me to take a break and play with friends. When I feel unappreciated and tense, I randomly read a highlighted section. I always take away a bit of lyric wisdom that never fails to brighten my spirits.

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your hard-earned wisdom and the secrets of the Blackberry Tea Club!

Namaste'