Oregon Books

This is actually two writings in one.
The first, "A Day with the Cow Column", is an abbreviated but classical description of a typical day along the emigrant trail with cattle in 1843, by Jesse Applegate. A must read for insight into trail life.
The second writing is a reminesce by Jesse's nephew Jesse A. Applegate some sixty plus years later. Young Jesse was only six and a half years old when undertaking this 1843 pilgrimage and his recollections are persuasive and touching. He recalls such occurrences as to geographical places they visited; descriptions and experiences with Indians; "buffalo chip" collecting; dogs chasing antelope; river fordings; crossing the prairies and sage plains; buffalo; games and mischief of young boys; etc.
Also included are his recollections of the perilous floating of the Columbia River where he lost a brother and cousin to drownings; the first year in Oregon with frugal provisions; the blazing of the Applegate Cutoff to allow emigrants a more efficient means of entering Oregon; etc.
An absorbing read.

This book is a personal reminiscence of the first organized wagon train to follow the Oregon Trail. The author recalls his experiences as a young boy in 1843, traveling west with his family. I found this to be extremely informative and filled with personal anecdotes. Jesse Applegate's story is told from a boy's perspective and is wonderfully expressive. You will read about adventures and activities that usually don't make it into standard histories. Most memorable was the evocation of the hardship and suffering of these early pioneers. When these people reached the Oregon Territory there were no stores - they lived hand-to-mouth for a long time. But I also found Jesse's happy memories of his interaction with Native Peoples to be very enlightening, again from a boy's perspective as he explored the nearby woods and hills. All in all, a wonderful account, full of surprising and unique memories and events.

Stafford's poetry is beautiful and concise. His pacifism, appreciation of nature, and interest in eastern mysticism presage many of the major movements of the late fifties through early seventies.

Yet Stafford's voice lacks the selfishness which would sometimes blight these later movements. Instead of struggling egoistically against an unjust war, Stafford represents an innocent-minded struggle against war of any kind, but grounded in the work-ethic of depression era America.

(Aside: Kim Stafford's introduction to her father's work is every bit as interesting as the main text.)

Oregon's poet laureate William Stafford unassumingly answered the phone, "Bill" and wrote lovingly wrote of mother, father, a moment in his life. Simple, but not simplistic, his poetry draws deep from the well of the everyday. This collection includes the poem Stafford wrote the day he died. How typical of this extraordinary, ordinary man to keep on giving to the end!

Guides to city restaurants and shops are a dime a dozen. How many Web sites were propped up in the late 1990s, purportedly to answer just this simple question: where is a good place to eat/shop? About a trillion dollars worth. And yet, in 2004, the answers are not to be found online but instead in this simple, elegant guide, eat.shop.portland. Not only can you read this purse-sized treasure from cover to cover (like a day and night on the town!), you can trust it as a barometer of cool. Unlike some travel writer's 12-hour synopsis of a town that they just parachuted in on, Wellman dishes out a hip-yet sensible guide to the real Portland that is as well-designed as it is well-written.

eat.shop.portland should be required reading for anyone about to entertain guests from out-of-town or in from the suburbs.

eat.shop.portland is a true treasure trove of what Portland has to offer. If you're looking for authentic portland-style restaurants and shops, this is the book to own. I've been here seven years and there are places in it I have never heard of ... but can't wait to try. In my opinion every Portlander should have a copy of eat.shop.portland with them at all times.

The pleasure of memoirs is that for all that they allow a circumscribed vision of things they tend to offer coherent narratives of the past, and let you know "what it was like." This famous memoir by Celeste Albaret, Proust's housekeeper for ten years while he was writing his masterpeice, gives us thus a better and more complete view of the writer during his most productive years than could be imagined otherwise. Albaret was not a writer herself--the memoir was composed by others who shaped her oral reminiscences--but this work is beautifully shaped, and flows wonderfully. Almost all the major questions anyone would have about Proust--how he wrote, what he was like, who the bases were for the characters in his novel, and what his relations with his family were like--are answered in due course, and though Albaret retains her biases (she refuses to give much credence to his affairs with his chauffeur and others, for example) she is still as honest as can be. It's clear that she considered knowing and working for Proust the great event of her life, and she feels bound to tell as much as what she saw as she can.

If you're a writer, you can't help but feel curious about the habits of other writers -- particularly the great ones, the writers you admire. How and when did they work? How did they accomplish their masterpieces? Of course, a cross-section of famous writers only demonstrates that there is no one way of working. Hemingway got up at dawn and wrote until lunch or so. Kafka had supper late in the evening and then began to write after ten or eleven o'clock, when everyone else was going to bed. Evidently day is as good as night, if you have talent and the will to write.

One of the more unusual schedules had to be that of Marcel Proust. Unlike Kafka, who wrote at night even though he had to get up in the morning to go to the insurance firm where he worked, Proust was a man of independent means and was thus able to maintain as irregular a schedule as he liked. Or rather, his schedule was highly regularized, it just wasn't exactly "normal." Typically, Proust woke up around four in the afternoon -- if he even really slept that much, which is an open question. Upon awakening, he would "smoke," which was his term for a fumigation process meant to relieve his asthma. Afterward he would drink one or sometimes two cups of cafe au lait prepared according to very stringent requirements. Sometimes he would eat a croissant, sometimes not. If he were staying home for the evening, as he often did in the years he was writing A la Recherche du temps perdu, he might begin work right after this "breakfast." If he was going out, he might not return until the middle of the night. Arriving home at, say, three in the morning, he might spend a few hours telling his chambermaid all about his evening -- and then, at perhaps six in the morning, after having been up all night, he would begin to write. What's more, he always wrote in bed. It really gives new meaning, when you consider this, to the famous opening line of his masterwork: "Longtemps je me suis couche de bonne heure." For a long time I went to bed early -- this was written by a man lying in bed after having been up all night.

The chambermaid who was Proust's nocturnal confidante during the last decade of his life -- precisely when he was writing his masterwork -- outlived him by more than sixty years. (Proust died in 1922, Ms. Albaret in 1984). For the bulk of those years, she maintained a strict silence about her former employer, honoring Proust's own sense of privacy. But finally, late in life, she felt the need to set the record straight and thus agreed to be interviewed for this "as told to" memoir. This is fortunate for fans of Proust, and for fans of literature in general, for her memoir is as intimate a portrait as you can find of any writer. It is the kind of view you produce of a person whom you love, respect, admire, but also serve in the most minute and detailed capacities. You can practically smell Proust's underwear in this book -- which is not to say that it's a lurid tell-all, because it isn't. Ms. Albaret seemed only too content to keep Proust's underwear perfectly clean.

Too clean, some critics have said. And it is true that Ms. Albaret flatly denies Proust's homosexuality. She admits he went to a certain male brothel, but only -- in her view -- to gather information for his book. Otherwise, if he had any trysts during her decade with him, she didn't see them, or didn't want to. But then again, so what? Do you really have to look for stains in the man's underwear? In comparison to all the vanguard writers who were absolute jerks, it comes as something of a relief to read of a writer who comes off as a sweet, generous, nostalgic, insightful man.

Not that Proust didn't have his eccentricities, because certainly he did: his nocturnal schedule, abstemious diet, the cork walls lining his bedroom to prevent noise, the curtains closed to keep out the sunlight. It can almost be harrowing to read of Ms. Albaret's indoctrination into Proust's neurotic universe, and yet at the same time you can recognize that this controlled climate was necessary to enable Proust to recreate the splendid universe of memories in his book. Ms. Albaret says it best herself:

"Now I realize M. Proust's whole object, his whole great sacrifice for his work, was to set himself outside time in order to rediscover it. When there is no more time, there is silence. He needed that silence in order to hear only the voices he wanted to hear, the voices that are in his books. I didn't think about that at the time. But now when I'm alone at night and can't sleep, I seem to see him as he surely must have been in his room after I had left him -- alone too, but in his own night, working at his notebooks when, outside, the sun had long been up."

And perhaps that is also the truest thing anyone can really say of a writer's schedule. Hemingway's dawn, Kafka's evening, Proust's night -- what they all have in common is their own internal rhythm, a private sequence of sun and moon. It was Proust's thesis that writing could recover time lost in reality, and yet the unspoken irony is that in reality you also lose time just in order to write.

A story of courage for a young girl. The author put her in dire straights and had her use her ingineuity to get to freedom. Once there she made good use of her experience. Held the readers interest the full length of the book.
should be required reading for history buffs.

I thought this was an excellent novel. The plotting and characters were very good, but what really caught my attention was the detail with which Mr. Barber treats the everyday facts of life -- how jobs were done, what things looked like, how people talked, etc. He truly re-creates the period.

Description from the book back cover:

His memory of her was a fire he couldn't put out. Judd Calhoun - fire fighter trapped in his own burning hell. Darcy Kerrigan Fisher - widowed mother with a twenty-year-old memory she couldn't forget. Years ago Judd Calhoun had accidently started a fire, a fire that had taken her father's life and his foster sister's love. Burned and scarred where no one could see, and alone with his guilt, he had become a firefighter, desperately trying to expunge his memories. Now Judd was fire chief in the town he had thought he would never come home to, desperate to see something other than hatred burning bright in Darcy's blue eyes ...

In 73 Judd Calhoun created his own hell!

Years later he returns to Grantley to the funeral of Chief Michael Francis Kerrington. His thick blond beard now heavily threaded with gray, his uniform that of the San Francisco Fire Department, his badge the gold of a battalion chief. A great guy to have next to you in a burning building but lousy husband material. Definitely a loner.

Darcy Kerrigan Fisher, now twenty years late, is a widowed mother with a pear orchard to manage, daughters to raise and a hell of her own to clear up.

Judd soon learns from Prudy, a pregnant 16 year old, that Darcy had been like her, wanting to plan her life with her love, only he left her and broke her heart, like Prudy's Arturo.

Darcy had fallen in love later and married a great guy but he had drowned in the Rogue River a few years ago.

But now Judd has a mystery of fires to contend with and he wants to help Darcy - but can he?

You will not believe who the villian turns out to be or his reasons.

Judd and Darcy make strong efforts to find each other. Their love is revitalized and encompesses the children.

The characters are great! the story inthralling. the mystery is satisfying.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --M - Ah well, don't pass this one up.

I managed to pick up a copy of this book and have been very impressed. The book covers a selection of the top Oregon destinations and provides excellent maps and straightforward suggestions on what to use and where to use it. Good general advice is also interspersed throughout the book. I feel that with this guide one could approach a new river or lake in Oregon with a higher level of confidence. His writing style is informal and enjoyable, like a day on a river with a guide who you are comfortable with.

This book first came to my notice on the public library shelf, but I was so impressed after reading it, I had to have it and purchased it on line through Amazon. This is an extremly informative book, for both beginner (such as myself) and advanced fisherman. It tells you where to go and what time of year is best for that spot, also what flies are best suited for what is in that particular river. It sure beats trial and error. I especially like the lists of trout fly patterns and fly shops. There is also a list of guide services which I hope to utilize in the future.

Excellent and up to date info on fishing in Oregon! Everything you need to know!

I have bought every revision of this book since the seventh. Why? The updated information it provides can be priceless. This fishing bible is not limited simply to what fish are biting and where. You'll find this reference book filled with random tips on what species are most common in different areas of your destination, what to catch them with throughout different seasons, if payment is required to park at certain places, accessible roadside parking, new changes to laws in the areas, where private property may border waterways, the latest state records and individualized tips to help you venture forth and catch your next trophy or meal. The information is endless and the maps are very useful as they show docks, roads, trails, put-ins and take-outs. Coming from an Oregon native and avid fisherman, this book is well worth its weight in gold. One thing to keep in mind is the information in this book is not designed for fly anglers seeking information on hatches and casting techniques. It is a general resource to help you plan for your next trip sufficiently and what to expect when you get there.

I'm a Sports Science major with a concentration in Physical Therapy and this book was used for a undergrad Lifetime physical fitness class. Man, a lot of books lack key information needed in this field but this book is right on. The chapters are well put together in a great order. No skipping around chapters. It's a great beginners good. two thumbs up!

This is a solid book for teaching you the basics of leading a healthy life. For people not well educated on basic wellness ideas, this can be a godsend: it will guide you through many topics that are considered common knowledge but, unfortunately, probably aren't as well-known and properly understood as they should be.

Topics covered here include:
- basic methods to studying and eliminating unhealthy habits
- stress sources and management
- strength exercises, including photos and descriptions of many common ones: good for an exercise novice who'd like to avoid the embarrassment of looking totally confused at the gym (though there's no substitute to a trainer who knows what he's doing)
- healthy eating habits, and detailed analysis of carbs, fats, and other things food is made up of
- coverage of diseases, including STDs and other chronic illnesses

This book is great for independent study, which was the method I used it. Augmenting it with help from a teacher could highlight other areas the book doesn't go quite as in-depth into; in my class's studies, many web sites had to be visited, which added some good knowledge outside the book's scope. Also, each chapter seems to be a little long; splitting some chapters up into shorter sections would have made me feel like I was moving through the book quicker.

However, this is a quality-written book from McGraw Hill. It could be good for anyone, young or old, who doesn't know much but wants to learn how to live a healthy life. If you're looking to get into shape for the summer, but have never paid attention to your health habits before, this book can actually be quite a good starting point: it can help point out how certain foods will affect your body, and give you a quick overview of many common, effective, good exercises. Very recommended for either class or independent study.

Oregon holds some of the finest wilderness river canyons in the world - and floating them is really the only way to thoroughly see them. That's why Floating & Fishing Oregon's Wilderness River Canyons is so important to planning such a trip: maps, river logs, and recommendations pack a guide which covers everything from low and high waters and class ratings and descriptions to vivid descriptions of shoreline scenery and each river's points of interest. From places to hike along the way to rapids, eddies and waves, each river receives explicit condition descriptions, color photos, maps, and recommendations. A 'must' for planning any serious Oregon river journey.

Oregon holds some of the finest wilderness river canyons in the world - and floating them is really the only way to thoroughly see them. That's why Floating & Fishing Oregon's Wilderness River Canyons is so important to planning such a trip: maps, river logs, and recommendations pack a guide which covers everything from low and high waters and class ratings and descriptions to vivid descriptions of shoreline scenery and each river's points of interest. From places to hike along the way to rapids, eddies and waves, each river receives explicit condition descriptions, color photos, maps, and recommendations. A 'must' for planning any serious Oregon river journey.