Idaho Books

Any person who can't spell "truly" correctly shouldn't be taken seriously. Corbet's a great writer.

I do not claim to have read this book in its entirety, but I have read far too much of it purely out of morbid fixation. This book is so terrible that you have to keep reading just to convince yourself that it is real. There are few truely good books on wine appreciation, however, this is the only one I know of that did not have a single thread of valuable information. I would recommend this book to any real wine expert for a good laugh. WARNING: Only attempt to do this if you have an excellent bottle of wine on hand. You will need it to stomach this!

Without a doubt, this book is a big undertaking and doing it well has to be very difficult. There were a number of interesting chapters, but the style of writing, compound sentences combined with hyphenated phrases that went on for line upon line, made it very difficult to read and follow. This was probably the most frustrating book I've ever read, and I only finished it as a matter or principle.

This book gives alot of good information about the settling of the west and about many key figures who influenced the settlement of what was a vast wilderness area. The writing style is sometimes a bit too pedantic and this is not light reading that you'll go through quickly. However, the volume of information makes this book worth it. The closing of the American frontier and the settlement of the west are interesting subjects and this book does a good job of covering them.

I welcome feedback on this and all reviews at wstrnlibwarrior@yahoo.com

Gives excellent and adequate description of the Boise, Idaho trails and surrounding area. I would recommend this to anyone who loves to ride or even hike the trails in the foothills or surrounding areas of Boise, ID.

I decided to purchase this book to perhaps find a new trail or two. I have attempted to use the book to locate three "out of the way" trails that were new to me. Unfortunately, the book is hopeless. The maps are unclear and the descriptions are inaccurate (i.e., "go 200 yards from the pavement and turn left" when the reality is 70 yards or "go 0.3 miles and bear right" when the reality is 0.48 miles"). No, it's not me. I have had years of orienteering and navigation training, and I have a Master of Science in Engineering. In other words, I can read a map and accurately judge distances (I also have an odometer on my bike). I found the three trails, but having to deal with inaccurate information from a book whose "job" it is, is to be dead accurate is very annoying. The book was no more help to me than having a random mountain biker say "I think there is a trail over there" while jabbing his finger at a foothill. I am assuming that the author hasn't biked some of these trails since the first printing of the book in 1994 and things have changed over the last decade. I gave up and bought "Mountain Biking Boise" by Martin Potucek (I have not used it on trail yet, but the maps are clearer and the descriptions are better).

rather typical pseudo-stream-of-consciousness from one I suspect lacks experience, and so, invents it. no surprises here.

When it comes to writing poetry, Mike Tyler makes not one false move: his work is SMART smart smart, funny, fully conscious and right on the money. You will think about things you read here for years to come. Never a dull page and lots of groovy pictures and reminiscences of his days as a founding member of the late great Nuyorican Poets cafe Live! performing group. Get it now! His work has a way of disappearing...

This book is a little out of date now, but it includes all the basics we needed to plan our ski trip. We wanted to do a road trip through several Western states, and with the information in this book, we were able to plan where to go and where to stay without breaking the bank. It helped us balance our trip between big resorts that everybody knows about a little resorts that we hadn't even heard about.

No much more than a compilation of generally available information. Was hoping for reviews, tips, insight, etc.

Although historical fiction, the author has done her research most commendably on real life trapper and western explorer Andrew Henry. With only scant first hand knowledge of this legendary frontiersman, Margaret Hawkes Lindsley breathes life into Major Henry and all the people in his immediate circle of the early 1800's.
While not claiming to be much of an historical fiction devotee myself, possibly due to the copiousness of literary "fluff" so characteristic of fiction, and this book is no exception, fictionalization can and does somewhat hamper the flow rate of a smooth and purposeful read.
Overall, an insightful novel of a true to life pioneer of the fur trade era.

In the litany of Northwest coast history little has been written about women in the marine environment. This is unfortunate considering the vastness of the coastal waters within which women have operated for years: there are over 800 miles of coastline that stretch from Puget Sound in the south to Prince William Sound in the north. One probable reason for omission is that the realm of the marine environment is "other worldly," "out there," and consequently eludes our focus. Another is the notion that women are naturally more connected to the earth/shore than are men; a fallacy rooted in a patriarchal world-view and one that has limited serious research of women at sea. "Women's literature remains poised at the edge of the water," Pagh writes, "and has not come much closer in this century, to exploring women's real experiences in marine environments." In her book, At Home Afloat, Nancy Pagh rectifies all of that as she examines the roles of women traveling the coastal waters of the Northwest coast. With her careful consideration of travel accounts penned by women marine tourists between 1861 and 1990, Pagh analyzes the spaces that women have occupied on boats and the language they have used to describe their experiences, the natural environment, and their contact with First Nations people.

Her thesis is centered in the ideology of the home. The notion that a woman's place is in the home tends to shape the expectations and assumptions of both women and men regarding the interests and abilities of women on the water. When women step aboard a boat, Pagh notes, power becomes an issue. Traditionally women entered a vessel through the sponsorship of a man and once aboard, operated within a number of limitations. Women were domestically defined, they were thought to be bad luck aboard a boat, and they had less working knowledge and experience of the marine environment than the men who sponsored them. For all of these reason's women found themselves confined within a gendered space. The cabin became their space; this was where they produced the food and tools of comfort, this was the space within which they set about making "a home afloat," this was the only area over which women had relative power.

Marine writers also fell prey to the tenet of women's place. Feminine discourse led female tourists to depict themselves in traditional domestic roles, for they could not construct themselves as an authority on events outside the realm of the home. Hence, they were self-deprecating, often apologizing for the deficiencies in their work. Their portrayals of the natural environment were cursory using descriptors such as "lovely" or "noble," whereas the more familiar human environment was offered in specific detail. They brought their Victorian ideals about home and limiting notions of morals and manners when they wrote about First Nations women. Rather than connecting as women and individuals they considered First Nations women to be lacking in morality and feminine subtlety, making them only a facsimile of a "real" woman. Pagh attributes this to the influence of gendered perceptions and gendered language coupled with the distancing effect of local steamship travel which led to the "othering" of First Nations women. It was not until forms of marine tourism evolved allowing longer, closer contact that travel writers moved away from such a limiting focus.

At Home Afloat has filled a gap that has been woefully evident in women's history. Pagh's writing is engaging and sprinkled with quotes from actual travel writings. At Home Afloat does, however, require careful reading as Pagh winds us through the tenets of feminist geography and post-colonial theory. Her interdisciplinary approach in combination with her scholarly research makes At Home Afloat an important treatise to add to the annals of women's history.

Pagh has shown us that there is clearly a need for serious scholarship in addressing the issues and the lives of women who travel, work and live upon our coastal waters. Perhaps the next step is to look at other types of marine experience and the distribution of power. Questions that we might address are: Does the type of vessel and the needs therein create a different distribution of power? Is power shared more equitably when the demands of being at sea require a partnership of workers? What kinds of restraints do women who work in the coastal commercial sector face and how do they broker power? There are many more question to be sure, for this area of research is just beginning.

This guidebook will help you to find each of the National Wildlife Refuges operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Rocky Mountain states. There are a 3-4 pages for each refuge, focusing on its history, directions to get there, opportunities for driving, walking, and bicycling in the refuge, and a discussion of major wildlife species protected by each refuge, as well as some of the political issues surrounding certain refuges. I had hoped for some general information on Rocky Mountain wildlife; the book was not at all helpful for that, and had very few pictures or photgraphs of wildlife, but it did alert me to a refuge along the route of my upcoming vacation. So without the book I would have missed an opportunity for some spectacular wildlife viewing with only a 27-mile detour. The book accomplishes its purpose very well; I gave it only three stars because that purpose is very limited.

This book is an encyclopedia of Colorado River runners. As such it's not as riveting as any number of books out there regarding the many river expeditions mentioned within its covers. Think of this as a quick reference to river runners or a good directory of places to continue your search of Colorado River history.

Roy Webb also wrote a book called "If We Had a Boat" which I found much more enjoyable - as it tells full stories of early Green River runners.

If you're into Colorado River history - this is an important book, if you're just wanting an adventure read, other books would be better.

The format of this series of guides provides for really limited information, just a list of standard information about public campgrounds.

We only looked at three campgrounds from this book, and in all cases the list of information about them had significant errors.

For example, we stayed in space 25 of a campground listed as having 15 spaces; two campgrounds that we drove to were down dirt roads while the book stated that they were down paved roads; one of these was down a completely different road than the book said.

These might seem like nitpicking complaints about insignificant details, but there is nothing in the book but insignificant details.