Northwest Books

No sooner had Lewis and Clark completed their exploration of the American interior in 1804, than John Jacob Astor sponsored a fur-trading expedition across the continent. He sent two teams. One would follow the Louis and Clark route on land. The other would go by sea around Cape Horn. The two teams would meet up at the mouth of the Columbia River.

The land expedition included experienced Canadian fur trappers who would be dropped off here and there along the way to trap beavers. A new trading post would be built at mouth of the Columbia, where the trappers would deliver their pelts. The fur would then be shipped to China or wherever in the world they were desired.

It's hard for a reader who enjoys historical adventure to decide which party he would rather have accompanied. The seafarers contended with an aptly named Captain Thorn, whose temper and paranoid disposition caused trouble the whole way. There were also jealousies and conflicts among the partners employed by Astor. They stopped in Hawaii and met King Kamehameha, John Young, and other figures in Hawaiian history. They proceeded to the coast of North America, where Captain Thorn's temper got the whole expedition into disastrous trouble with the natives.

The over-land party mostly followed the route of Lewis and Clark. At that time it was necessary for a continental crossing to be large and well-armed, essentially an army. A small expedition would be wiped out by one or another native tribe along the way. After multiple dangers and privations, the survivors made it to their destination, where they built a miserable, wet fort and quarreled with the natives and among themselves. They called the fort Astoria, in honor of their sponsor. (The town is still there.)

Astor recognized from the correspondence and survivors' tales what a ripping yarn the expeditions would make, and he engaged one of the most prominent authors of the time, Washington Irving, to organize the story and compose it into a book. The result is an immensely enjoyable adventure story. It is also very informative about early Hawaii before the arrival of missionaries or whalers. The readers also learn about North American Indians, a trapper's way of life, the economics of the fur trade, and the political significance of getting there before the British. The book was written before a writer would have been obligated to spin the story in a particular political direction. There is no Indian-hating. Nor is there any tiresome political correctness.

Irving gives the book a novelistic feel by describing the personal idiosyncrasies and personality conflicts of the adventurers and the people they met along the way. He describes, for example, King Kamehameha in his "old suit of regimentals, with a sword by his side, and seemed somewhat embarrassed by his magnificent attire." The king's pig-trading skills are excellent. He makes good use of a royal monopoly and insists on payment in gold.

This book seems overlooked, perhaps because it is out of the mainstream of political history. Amazon will charge you a whopping $50 for it, suggesting that there is specialist interest in it. But I found my copy for less than $10 on a bargain table at a local bookstore, among all the other unshiftable books the store just wanted to get rid of.

A softbound, large-format picture book documenting the development of Athens (Ga.) from 1801 to 1985 in fascinating photos, along with a wealth of historical detail in captions and text. Early street scenes (including a mule-drawn streetcar), many historic homes and buildings, campus and community scenes, some familiar, others long passed. My edition was reprinted by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation.

if you are going to read 1 book on Indians in the next year, read this one.

the author may have written the 'best in world' discussion of how and by whom Indians are defined.

probably the best book on the subject since "The White Man's Indian : Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present" by Robert F. Berkhofer

B Street: The Notorious Playground of Coulee Dam captures an up-close, in-focus glimpse of American history in the making during the era of the Great Depression and beyond. During these difficult times, B Street was a place of recreation for white workingmen, particularly those who labored on the Coulee Dam; filled with shops, restaurants, and brothels, B Street was off-limits to blacks and most dark-skinned individuals, including Indians. Opening with the eyes and memories of author Lawney L. Reyes, a young boy who wandered B Street with his little sister Luana and their dog Pickles while their Indian mother and Filipino father survived hand-to-mouth running a Chinese restaurant, B Street continues through preservations of Reyes' mother's diary, enhanced with stories told by his parents and other members of the Sin-Aikst tribe. B Street is ultimately a profound testimony to the history and culture of the Indians whose way of life was overwhelmed with change through the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam. Highly recommended, especially for Native American reading lists.

I found this book to be very stimulating. The author didn't pull any punches as he chastised environmentalists, timber industry representatives, and even judges for the severe condition of the forests in the Pacific Northwest.

It looks, especially through Bakeless's eyes, as if George Rogers Clark got a bum deal near the end of his life: not only did he have to have his leg amputated after it was burned in an "accident" (he might have been drunk), but he was slandered by James Wilkerson which not only cost him his commission but his reputation as well.

Born in Virginia, Clark started out as a surveyor in the Ohio Valley. Traveling to Kentucky he became aware of British intrigue in that area and Illinois, much of it emanating from Detroit and involving compelling the Indians to harass the American settlers. Clark reported this to the Virginia authorities, who in 1777 sanctioned him to raise a small militia to fight the enemy in the Old Northwest. In the summer of 1778, he and his men were victorious at the British stronghold of Kaskaskia and then turned their attention to capturing Vincennes. In a brilliant and daring mid-winter march across the swamps of Illinois, Clark surprised the reinforcements at Vincennes (Fort Sackville) and captured the place. He hoped to move against Detroit next, but had to give it up when supplies ran low. But the Americans had won control of the Old Northwest.

Life was an anitclimax for Clark after the war until his "accident" and dispute with Wilkerson. Just about broke after that, he lived near Louisville until he died in 1818.
Bakeless captures the man well, but has a tendency to overstate Clark's position. There was also a dark side to Clark, stemming from his frontier culture, most notable in his hatred for the Indians. Personal habits, especially his drinking, are mentioned by Bakeless, but are downplayed. Clark was instrumental in securing the Old Northwest for America, but his military successes there were not the sole reasons for that conquest: diplomacy also played a big role. There's no doubt that Clark was the hero of Vincennes, but he was not, as Bakeless at times portrays him, as the sole hero of the Old Northwest. Regardless, Clark didn't get what he deserved at the end, and 100 years later the people of Vincennes raised a monument to him that still stands overlooking the Wabash where old Fort Sackville stood. Bakeless's biography is okay, but not the definitive work on Clark.

A perfect title. Great recipes AND extra little stories about the recipe's history or special ingredient. It's what makes a good recipe beloved. You can almost see Ruth Allman in her kitchen making her sourdough soft ginger cookies with the wind howling outside. It makes me think these recipes were handed down within my own family. Focus is on ingredients that travel and store well and those that suit Alaska's climate: lemons, cranberries, prunes, and pumpkin in winter and oh those fresh berries in summer.

I received this cookbook from a friend several years ago and it has been in continual use since then. The recipe selection is not exhaustive, and that's the good part. You don't get lost in all the recipes, but this book contains some gems. The Vagabond Blues Blueberry Coffee Cake is one of my favorites with its satisfying lemon-ricotta cheese filling. The author includes some basic recipes (e.g., rhubarb pie, lemon meringe pie, and lemon squares) that are the best I've tried. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves baked goods. Ms. Eppenbach, I wish you would write another.

This book does an excellent job at providing an introductory overview of a large number of "new age" topics in an easy-to-read style. Reincarnation, crystals, chakras, channeling, meditation, auras, lost civilazations and the evolution of religion are covered clearly and simply. The authors (Bartlett and Whiteheart) have many years of experience in the subjects they discuss, and their passion and enthusiasm shines through!

This is one of those books you wish you had all of the time. It's published for meeting and event planners - so that includes anyone planning anything practically. If you need tons of information this is the book - no doubt about it. It comes out once a year at their Northwest Event Show so if you didn't get it - get it here for sure.

This is a fun and charming book that makes for great road reading. There are so many fun things to know, that although we live in Oregon and know a bit about our own state, we learned a lot! We have also given this book as a gift four or five times to visitors. We really enjoy it!