Oregon Books

I grew up in Seaside but my parents owned a house in Cannon Beach so we were considered "semi locals" and when we "went to the beach" as young children in the 50s we went to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock, played amongst the tidal pools at Arch Cape and climbed the rocks at Indian Beach, Ecola Park and everywhere in between. O'Donnell captures not only the spirit of "A Place by the Sea", but "A Place In Time" as well. The Author brings back all the wonderful memories in a truly captivating manner. I read it through cover to cover in one day and look forward to reading it again!

I live near the Columbia River, and when I bought my new Equinox Kayak (from Eddyline) I went looking for a really good book that would describe trips in Oregon that I might enjoy. Philip's book was just the ticket. It describes dozens and dozens of waterways that can be used for something as short as a day trip to something as long as a week or more. He describes trips on lakes, rivers and bays, with most trips being most appropriate for a sea kayak, though there are plenty of descriptions of trips appropriate for canoes and shorter river kayaks, too.

Jones describes the salient issues associated with each trip, such as where to put in, take out, and hazards/points of interest along the way. He has lots of maps, though not particularly detailed (he has information about where to get detailed maps).

Generally speaking I've found the rout descriptions accurate and detailed enough to make it work. If you enjoy kayaking or canoeing in northwest Oregon, this book really belongs on your bookshelf.

Fred Becky has been know in producing the most comprehensive mountaineering guide books for the Northwest. This particular book covers all peaks from the Columbia River (south) to Stevens Pass (north) and from Yakima (east) to Seattle (west). Within this area, routes for over three hundred peaks are described by Becky. This Becky guide also has an excellent introduction that includes Cascade Weather, Special Dangers, Geographic Aspects, and Winter Travel and Climbing to name a few. You will be given enough technical and grade information to fully understand exactly what type situation you are getting into. Please note that although easy peaks are listed, this is not a beginners "how to" guide

Each peak is listed with the exact height and the first ascent history. Since most every peak have more than one way to the summit, this guide explains each alternate route. While most of the routes are classic mountaineering, there are many technical climbing routes detailed. Almost every peak is photographed and accompanied with some other type of drawing to give the reader more detailed instruction. With over 300 pages, this one of the most comprehensive guide books for this particular region.

For example, on popular peaks such as Mt. Rainier, a 9 page history and geological study is given along with backpacking and climbing regulations. 15 pages of route description along with 16 b/w photographs of the Mt. Rainier gives the reader excellent beta that will necessary on summit day.

After reading through the guide, the reader gets an idea how enduring Fred Becky has been over the years. About the author states, " His intimate knowledge of the topography has been gained through many years of personal experience, including the ascent of hundreds of peaks - many of them first ascents - in all parts of the range". Well worth the price tag, this book will pay for itself weekend after weekend. Hell, you may even end up quitting your job and bagging peaks! full time.

The series of books by Beckey on climbing and high routes in the cascades gives the most comprehensive and complete presentation of cascades. Each peak is described with great detail and the photos and pictures are great. This is truly a great guide!

I read this as a casual reader, and found it to be was a very entertaining book -- much more so than other dry, lifeless histories I've read. I can also tell that anyone with a serious interest in the subject can find a huge amount of first-hand information in here. The author apparently talked to a lot of the people who were actually involved in the Cayuse War and got perspectives that, of course, are impossible to get today. Not often you find something fun AND informative!

I am being married for the second time and this book has been extremely useful in preparing for it. It provides a much greater understanding of the Roman Catholic church's principles behind marriage.
It is extremely useful by providng a menu of options for Old and New Testament readings, music, vows, etc which are wedding-related. It also provided the different options available for being married in the Church's eyes (marrying another catholic, non-catholic, oustide the church). It made my life easier at this time, BUT MOST IMPORTANT, this book provided my husband-to-be and me a greater positive appreciation of the Catholic church and made us feel welcome with our decision to marry in the Church.

Chakeipi--"The Place of the Beaver" is what the native Atfalati people called the present-day Beaverton, Oregon. From the time of the Tualatin Natives through the Trappers and Beaver Trade to the Oregon Trail and Land Donation Claims--these events lead to the settling of the area. Since the 1870's when the "town" (store and school house) to serve the early settlers -- Beaverton was platted out along the railroad route. The book focuses on the ordinary people and events that took place. Tt reflects on the past and the early pioneers with an appreciation for their struggles and efforts. It celebrates the diversity of those common hands which helped to make Beaverton the thriving city it is today.

Chief Joseph And The Nez Perces is a beautiful photographic history documenting the epic journey of the Nez Perces made in flight from the army from June to October of 1877. The role of the respected Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph is explored with care and precision throughout the time of the Nez Perces' flight. The authors have presented only photographs of the areas travelled and frequented by the Nez Perces without reminders of modernity, so the land is presented as closely as possible to the landscape known by the Nez Perces of 1877. Tracing the route of the Nez Perces with a color coded map of the area helps explain their tortuous crossing and recrossing of the mountainous area through the main passes. The brief book is divided into three main sections: prologue, flight , and epilogue, with a helpful bibliography of related works. There is no doubt that the star feature of this history is the stellar color photographs, including a beautiful golden sweep of vista of the Bear Paw Battlefield, in Nez Perce National Historical Park, south of Chinook, Montana, and many more. There is also no doubt of the tragic heart of the tale, for Chief Joseph himself, though he worked tirelessly to reinstate his people in their homeland after the surrender, was never allowed to return to the Nez Perce Reservation in the Northwest. This blatant violation of the terms of surrender is blamed upon the army's high command, Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip H. Sheridan, who"ignored the surrender terms as if they had never existed (page ix)." Chief Joseph And The Nez Perces is a beautiful and moving picture account of a sorrowful bloody history.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

This book features an exhibition at the Portland art museum in 1997. George R. Stoemple's collection is an excellent representation of two and a half decades of Chihuly's work, and it shows some pieces rarely seen by the public. I highly recommend this book.

Every student of Chinese fiction, or rather, Chinese literature, should own this book. I started out using a copy in the library, but this is really something that you would want to own after reading.

This great work by Patrick Hanan focuses on the genre of the Chinese short story, and attempts to break through an impasse in literary scholarship¡ª providing inspiring insights into the dating, authorship and composition of the Chinese short story. Using stylistic criteria with extreme care, he studies 149 extant and accessible short stories, dividing into three periods: Early (ca.1250-1450), Middle (ca. 1400-1575) and Late (ca. 1550-1627). This is an important breakthrough in the scholarship of this genre, as it is only after this work that we can have a clearer idea of how to place the individual story in history.

This book provides all the essential information and argument and prepares a reader to enter his another great work, THE CHINESE VERNACULAR STORY published seven years later. I will recommend this book even to people outside the study of Chinese literature. Hanan¡¯s scholarly passion and cautious attitude in research is best presented in this work, and it will benefit any serious reader.