Oregon Books

Brutally honest, but not so cynical that it's annoying.

This is a query as to what happened to the On the Loose Series. Did the big boys (Fodors, Frommers, Let's Go swallow them up?) Any information about the demise of these student writers would be appreciated.

This is the best guidebook I've ever read. It's brutally honest, concise, and seriously funny. Offers great resources and detailed maps. Have fun !

This takes all the guesswork out of spending quality time out-of-doors with ones family, an especially tricky affair when you're dealing with babies, kids, and dogs all of whom are restricted in different ways. A guidebook for parents who want to introduce their children to the natural world one easy, beautiful hike at a time.
(Includes a front-page map to find hikes based on their location, especially helpful if one is new to the area.)

This is a wonderful book for people who want to get their kids into hiking. Each hike contains a detailed description of the hike as well as information about age appropriateness, access to food and bathrooms, and points that will interest kids. Since a friend loaned us a copy of this book a couple of months ago, we have done 5 of the hikes with our 6-year-old, all with great success. I also loaned it to my sister when she visited Oregon this summer. She did not hike with children, but still found this to be a good resource for locating interesting hikes. Since we have to return our friend's copy, we are now purchasing a copy for ourselves. I highly recommend this book to anyone in Oregon (or who is visiting Oregon) who likes to hike, but especially to those who are trying to get their kids hooked on it.

I used this book in planning a recent trip to Oregon. Although my wife and I used to be avid hikers, we're not exactly in shape right now, so this book was an excellent guide to pick out a few short hikes in Crater Lake National Park and another near Bend.

Hikes can be located on a numbered map of western and central Oregon, or through the index in back. Each hike is rated by type of hike (day hike or backpack), difficulty, distance, terrain, high point, when it is hikable and contact information. The narrative gives a clear description of the hike, its popularity, what you'll see and how to get there. There is an explanation of the symbols used in the book, and the introduction discusses why you should hike with children, how to use the book, what to take, safety issues, good trail manners and trailhead fees.

So, whether you're a parent looking for some fun hikes for the children, or you're an adult looking to stretch your legs in the Oregon outdoors, this is an excellent guide to help you plan your outing.

Mamie Beaver & Christian Foggy hook up in northern Wisconsin when Christian takes Mamie's father to her hiding place after learning there is a reward for finding her. She has run away from home and at first it looks like Christian is going to betray her simply because he is greedy, but when he sees how her father treats her, he helps her escape and the two of them manage to stay a step ahead of the menacing father and the law as they roam the farm country and towns of WI. One wild and wonderful adventure follows another and there is never a dull moment. Brenna's picaresque story seems to be influenced by Mark Twain's HUCKLEBERRY FINN and the characters that enter the lives of Mamie and Christian are every bit as memorable and fascinating. At times horrible and sad things happen and you'll find yourself in tears, at other times the book is so funny you'll laugh out loud. Brenna is a masterful writer. a born storyteller and THE BOOK OF MAMIE is truly the masterpiece that Andrea Barrett called it when she picked it for the AWP Award. I wanted the book to go on and on and I turned the final page reluctantly. I will never forget Mamie or Christian, a pair as captivating as Huck and Jim or Steinbeck's Lennie and George. Why THE BOOK OF MAMIE has been allowed to go out of print and is not available in paperback is a mystery to everyone I've talked to who has read it(and there are many of us out here). It is very strange that the publishing world hasn't been able to recognize what a goldmine it has in Brenna's lovable and unforgettable book.

A great adventure story about a girl who is the size of a linebacker and a boy who helps her run away. She is Mamie Beaver. He is Christian Foggy. Together they roam the countryside and towns of northern Wisconsin, staying a step ahead of Mamie's abusive father and the law. Brenna's picaresque tale carries the reader along on a sea of writing that is both simple and complex. The book brings to mind HUCKLEBERRY FINN & OF MICE AND MEN and the characters in it are just as lovable and unforgettable as Huck and Jim or Lennie and George. The book is a fast read and the reader doesn't want it to end. It makes you laugh and cry and laugh some more. The descriptions of Wisconsin are spot on and reveal a writer who is at the height of his powers and knows his territory. Among other things, this is a book about the power of movies. Mamie is a creation for the ages, part earth-mother, part genius who has uncanny abilities as a mimic. She becomes, in effect, the greatest actress who ever lived. Her chameleon voice and personality become known throughout Wisconsin and her fame as an actress seems destined to take her to New York or Hollywood. But her father also hears about her and he shows up in the town where she is performing and all hell breaks loose. THE BOOK OF MAMIE is the story of one person's struggle to find her place in the world and overcome the traumas of her childhood. It is a vigorous story about a wonderfully gifted girl and her awed companion, who uncovers her genius and falls madly in love with her. THE BOOK OF MAMIE a masterpiece and fully deserving of the AWP Award it won back in 1988. National Book Award winner Andrea Barrett calls it a masterpiece and she does not exaggerate a bit. How this wonderful novel can be out of print is a baffling mystery to me. It is definitely worth searching for. I've loaned my copy out several times and gotten nothing but raves from the friends who borrowed it.

...with the magical Mamie Beaver and Christian. You will laugh out loud and be drawn into an adventure as wild and unlikely as any found in the pages of classic Americana. Brenna is masterful. You'll find yourself re-reading whole paragraphs just to savor the sound of the words and to linger with the delicious notions they provoke. This first book of fiction won the 1988 Associated Writing Programs Novel Award for good reason. The reader's in very capable hands from page one, as the details of Mamie's and Christian's journey unfold with equal measures of wisdom and hilarity. By page 338 you'll be a true believer that in life it's not the destination, it's the journey. Out of print but worth tracking down.

Be careful reading this book: it may change your life. It changed mine. The book inspired me to retrace Mr. Chase's footsteps, or should I say hoof prints. His book is such a delightful "paseo" (leisurely walk) up the stunningly beautiful California Coast that I found myself unable to resist the temptation to do it myself. Thus, there is another description of Mr. Chase's route, produced more than 82 years later, also available on Amazon. Read Mr. Chase's book. Sit back and enjoy the images and personalities of 1911 that Mr. Chase brings to life. Maybe you, too, will be inspired to take your own paseo.

Anyone who appreciates the unspoiled west and california history should find California coast trails by J.Smeaton Chase a pleasant read. Shortly after publishing his diary journals of extensive journeys throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains in Yosemite Trails, Chase embarked on his next adventure on horseback. This trip would take him from Mexico to Oregon along the coastal route of the spacely settled california. Most of the books appeal to me is Chases daily recording of intimate details such as a rare flower or a unique sunset. His daily travels often ended with a campfire on the sand with the ocean waves for a lullabuy. Chases winning personality and knowledge of California history further enhance the book along with frequent references to former events and places of historical significance. California Coast Trails is a trail guide, history book and personal travel diary all in one. You wont regret the read.

In 1910 J. Smeaton Chase and a painter, Carl Eytel, decided to go by horseback down the coast from Los Angeles. They carried their supplies, rifles for hunting, and a boundless curiosity about the landscape that even then was beginning to change. Far from wilderness, the land had a rural agrarian character. But cars were already starting to appear on the roadways and Chase foresaw the coming of an urban landscape that would replace the small Mexican and Native American pueblos and he wanted to see the land as it once was and would never be again.

The 1910 journey only lasted a few months. Highlights of it included visits to what remained of California's Missions, a day among the Torrey Pines, and exploring the table/mesa ecosystem of San Diego County. One of the leading naturalists of his day, Chase writes thoughtfully on all these topics and published scientific papers on several. But this trip only whetted his passion for a longer journey; one that would stretch from Los Angeles northward all the way to the Oregon border. And in 1911, Chase began that trip, replacing his rifle with a fly rod and small pistol.

Chase's journey through the California coastal region includes lyrical prose about both the landscape and the people who inhabited it. A passionate lover of trees, Chase went out of his way to visit Monterrey Cyprus, Santa Lucia Firs, and of course the Redwoods. Of the latter, he wrote, "They seemed to lack the individual majesty of bearing [found in Sierran Sequoias] and gain their distinction rather from the cummulative effect of their statuesque beauty..." Muir Woods, then only a few years old, was described as "the most beautiful of any preserved enclosure that I have ever seen, and the soft gray day gave them their finest aspect." A repeat visitor to Muir Woods, I find Chase's comments still hold today.

Chase was something of a Jack London socialist, a romantic heavily influenced by Rosseau. He enjoyed the company of all classes of people but like his literary mentors Henry Dana and John Muir, found his true calling in nature. But unlike today's environmentalists, Chase was not anti people and for the most part enjoyed their presence in nature. Old habitations held a special fascination for him. But he was clearly an agrarian at heart and the urban landscape that was gradually spreading along California's coastline concerned him. Writing about Morro Bay, he wistfully predicted, "This pretty place is destined, I think, to be more of note than it is now." Chase was correct, but I think he would have preferred to be wrong. If you want a glimpse of his California, by all means read California Coast Trails. It is one of the best examples of that truly American literary genre, trail literature, that has ever appeared in print.

If you're looking for a hiking guide to the central cascades, get this one. I hike all over the west and I've got several of the oregon hiking guides, but I like this one the best because it's just so easy to use - it's got everything you need to know right there in the columns on each page. You don't even really have to read the description, but they're good too and funny. I'm not even a mature person (so I'm told) but I like this book anyway! My cousin used it to find hikes his kids could do with him.

I got the first edition of this book last summer, so I will be getting the new one too. I visit Central Oregon every summer and hike a lot. This is the book I will use from now on! I love the way the authors layout each page so you can see at a glance when the trail's open, if it's got exposure, do I need my poles, etc. It makes it quick and easy to plan. Also, I really like knowing the elevation gain before I go, so I can plan for easier or more strenuous hikes. This book is awesome! - also I think I will get this book as a gift for some of my more "mature" friends here in central Oregon who let me come stay with them to hike every summer.

If you live in or just visit Central Oregon, and want to be outdoors and see the area, Walks, Hikes and Strolls is an excellent tool. It contains all kinds of informatation about what there is to see, exact directions, and what to expect when you do get there. The margins have nice tidbits and suggestions of equipment that might make the outing more enjoyable. Facilities,necessary permits, dates the hike is open...they are all included. So, if you want a good vigorous hike, or just a leisurely stroll, they are all here! I certainly recommend this book!

CITY SMART: PORTLAND is a great guide to the Portland, OR, metro area, with lengthy discussions on all the culture, recreation, dining, shopping, and other stuff you'll need to know while visiting there. However, the radio station listing comes up very short, failing to include rock stations KUFO, KRVO, KINK, and KGON. Other than that, though, this book is wonderful, so don't pass it up.

I loved it. It was funny and witty and interesting. For the person moving to Portland, this book is for you. It outlines the areas where one should and should not live. It give detailed and interesting reviews of everything from children's parks to gay bars. It illustrated the history of Portland perfectly and was a hoot to boot. Five stars!

When you browse through the US Travel books for something on Oregon or Portland, this is the one book that you can find that goes beyond the cool places, the neat restaurants and the best deals in hotels. It's comprehensive in terms of including information that a person considering the move to the city will find extremely useful! Thanks, City Smart!

One of the best guidebooks out there. The topos and pictures are clear and the descriptions are detailed. The author has probably done all the climbs so he should know. The topos even give specific gear needed at certain places on the climb. Where the author's climbing style lays is obvious, he seems to dislike anything with a chimney. Quality of routes are measured by a 4 star system. The author uses R and X rating. This guide has everything you could ask for. If you only want one guide to the area, this is it.

This is the greatest guide book to Smith Rock State Park ever. It has it all. That is all there is to it. This is the perfect guide to the perfect climbing area.

Alan Watts did an excellent job in putting together this guide. The topos and maps are high quality, the photos are excellent and it's easy to navigate. But what really sets this guide apart from many others is the quality of the historical perspective and the overall readability of the text. Watts played an important part in the development of sport climbing in the US and thus was a controversial figure for years. His treatment of those tumultious times is worth the cost of the guide.

The scene: 1844, Caldwell, Colorado, high in the Rocky Mountains. Fourteen-year-old Daniel LeBlanc lives with his aunt and uncle while his father is out hunting and fishing. Daniel's father is a Mountain Man, an experienced trapper who knows the mountains, forests, and streams like he knows the back of his hand. Then one day he disappears! No one can find any trace of him.

Daniel is, understandably, hit hard by the loss of his father. He swears that he is hearing a voice --- a voice that is telling him frightening things about his father. He's also having severe dreams at night. Frightened by these hallucinations and omens, Daniel goes out to search for his father. Daniel has many escapades and adventures. One particular stormy night, Daniel sees a scar-faced man stealing horses. The thief sees Daniel, too, and Daniel barely escapes being shot. In fear, he joins a wagon train heading west. After many long months and many obstacles, Daniel finally finds his father. How does Daniel come to understand that he and his father aren't the only ones in danger? Read this book to find out!

I like to learn about the lives of people in America's past, so I thought this book was really informative and awesome. I also liked this book because it was exciting and full of adventure and action, and I never knew what was going to happen next! If you want an exciting book to read then read this book!

--- Reviewed by Ashley, age 13, Book Boss

(...) This is an adventure story, and on that level it works very well. In addition, the characters are diverse, rich, three-dimensional, funny, and complex. No simple formula writing here, though you can see the capture-escape-recapture-escape rhythm that you also see in the best of authors in this genre. Plus, it's a coming-of-age novel. Daniel goes off to find his father, and ends up finding himself. I'd compare it to Gary Paulsen's _Tucker_ series, or even (if you're old enough to remember) _True Grit_. Many YA readers and adult readers alike will find this book a very rewarding read.

Furthermore, this book shows a more accurate picture of the impact of white settlement in the Amer West than most of the popular YA historical fiction. There is no whitewash of the settlers, and no romantic images of the native Americans, either. Compared to some of the "Dear America" books, for example, _Daniel's Walk_ is far and away more historically accurate.

Students especially should get hold of it. (...) It's rare enough that we come across a decent story based on decent historical research.

Daniel's mother died in childbirth when he was just a small boy. After that, his father, a fur trapper, left Daniel to be raised by relatives in Missouri. Aunt Judith believes Daniel's father is a good-for-nothing responsible for her sister's death. She and her husband discourage Daniel from ever searching for his father. But a mysterious voice in the night warns Daniel that his father is in danger. Determined to save him, he sets out to cross the country and find his father in the Rocky Mountains. Daniel joins up with a wagon train and meets a headstrong girl named Rosalie as well as a horse thief determined to kill him. But even if Daniel survives the dangers of the overland journey, can he escape the horse thief's vengeance and find his father before it's too late? This was an exciting historical novel with a new perspective on the Oregon Trail.

This book represents a major achievement in the annals of western exploration, and deserves a prominent spot on anyone's American history shelf. In 1810, Robert Stuart, a partner with John Jacob Astor, shipped to the mouth of the Columbia River, where he helped establish Astoria. But troubles at the post with the British during the War of 1812 impelled Stuart with six other men to make an overland winter journey over the Rockies to St. Louis. Throughout the journey Stuart kept a journal, in which he recorded everything encountered along the way: the precise route taken, various Indian tribes, flora and fauna, perspective trapping grounds - and their own personal hardships, which included, near starvation, freezing weather, and hostile Indians. He gave the journal to Astor, who sent it to President James Madison. Stuart then wrote a more formal version of the journey, which was published in France. The original journal made its way back to the Stuart family, where it remained forgotten until it was discovered in a cupboard and finally published in 1935.

This book publishes both the original journal and the French rewrite, known as the "Traveling Memoranda." Both are meticulously edited by Philip Ashton Rollins, which is the key that makes this edition not only definitive but a masterwork. With Rollin's notes it's possible to follow Stuart's route precisely. He is especially detailed where the men crossed South Pass, the first known whites to do so, though their "discovery" would go unrecognized (Jedediah Smith is credited with making the first "recorded" crossing of the Pass in 1824.) In addition to these works, there is a 70-page Forward that summarizes events and puts the Narratives into perspective and a detailed Biographical Note on Stuart's family history.

The book indeed is a major accomplishment. Anyone interested in the early exploration of the West must read this book. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent first hand account of the original discovery of what was to be the Oregon Trail (in reverse). Robert Stuart originally left New York on the ship the Tonquin, funded by John Jacob Astor, and sailed around the tip of South America and then eventually up to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to establish a trading post. Stuart then proceeded to head back east to report to Astor about the state of affairs of the trading fort. With only a handful of men, they went by canoe, horseback and mostly by foot, from the mouth of the Columbia to St. Louis, then eventually to New York. This historical narrative is beyond words. They faced the hardships of hunger, fatigue, Indians, weather, and about everything else one can think of. It is truly a fascinating portrayal of day to day survival in the 1812 wilderness written from the hand of the man who was there. What I also enjoyed about the book was the Appendix on Wilson Price Hunt who, also working for Astor, took an expedition by land from St. Louis to Oregon at about the same time. His written account is also mind-blowing and puts the whole book into perspective. There is also an excellent forward by Rollins which gives you a background on what you are about to read.

Robert Stuart, a partner of John Jacob Astor, was sent by ship to Oregon on company business, and returned cross country by horseback, canoe and foot. Along the way he kept a journal, written in berry juice, which is reprinted here. Washington Irving also wrote "Astoria" based on this journal.

Our whole country should be grateful to Robert Stuart for his discovery of the Oregon Trail and his courage against unbelievable odds in making such a tortuous journey. This book was first printed in 1935 and the original copies are scarce and valuable. So I was thrilled to discover that Amazon not only sold it but that it was now in paperback! When the word gets around to the rest of his descendants, we will have this book on the best seller list, where it belongs. So take that, Lewis & Clark!

Once in a great while an author tells a story that is both awe inspiring and down to earth at the same time. , Dayton O. Hyde, author of "Don Coyote" has compiled such a work. His tale is the great American novel that not only speaks, but also sings from the heart, Hyde's story is told from his own point of view, and is about his life as a struggling cattle rancher in Oregon and the amazing friends one can meet thru tolerance and understanding. His is a tale of the brilliance one gains when one stops and listens to his environment instead of destroying it. It teaches that one can live in harmony with all of its creatures. In Hyde's life he has experienced the hardship of honest work, the toils and troubles of dreams not working out, and the friendship of one extraordinary creature. When Don Coyote first came into Hyde's life he was but a nuisance, a so called "threat" to his cattle, a threat that by all of the old laws of the west needed to be poisoned and snuffed out of existence imeadetly. Hyde was a good rancher, a good husband to his wife and a good father to his children, an over all a good person. So when it came time to raise his rifle in Don's direction Hyde couldn't kill him, no matter the old myth that coyotes live to only kill sheep, and should be destroyed on sight .Hyde didn't know it then, but that simple decision to not take an "animal's" life would change his own forever. The New York Times Book Review says, "Mr. Hyde is an engaging writer, and he portrays his coyote characters as charming, quirky and almost irresistibly appealing. He also convincingly demonstrates the senselessness of those who kill the wildlife he loves." Experience the extraordinary true story of a man who decided to observe nature with not just his eyes but also his heart, therefore discovering that man is not the controller of his environment but very much controlled by it. Welcome one and all to a tale of true friendship and

camaraderie. "Don Coyote" was published by Ballantine Books and is available wherever Ballatine Books are sold. Also by Dayton O. Hyde: "The Major, The Poacher and The Wonderful One-Trout River," "One Summer In Montana" and "Thunder Down the Track."

Don Coyote is one of my favorite books of all time. I have just finished this book - again - as I have done every year since 1990. This book is such an easy book to read - it is very hard for me to put this book down once started - and every year I am re-aquainted with Don, Coy, and the Hyde family. I have recommended this book (and the author) to my friends and family and cannot wait to share Don Coyote with my grandchildren.

Dayton Hyde has a wonderful command of the English language and paints pictures with words so you can actually see whatever he writes about. The story was engaging, humorous, informative, and well-written. It is a story of his own struggle to be at one with nature and habitat. He taught his children this love. He was a good father and a good husband, and he maintains his sense of wonder throughout the whole book. He draws the reader into his thoughts and world. I loved the book. I have now read two that Dayton Hyde has written, and this was my favorite, but I loved both books. He is a man I truly admire. He is a good teacher. I read the books before giving them to my son for Christmas, and I want to give other people his book. He shares his life with several coyotes on his ranch and learns their ways and their habits. I learned a lot. Thanks, Dayton!!!