Northwest Books

I purchased this book for a friend in the hopes that it would arrive on time and be in excellent condition. I found it to be exactly what we were looking for and it was sent promptly. We will look on e-bay for items in the future based on this first buying experience.

We've read all the books in the series. At 9 my youngest has probably out grown them, but for a developing reader 5 to 8 its a good series, nice family and friends set in an interesting Alaskan setting, a sense of the frontier and nature. Highly recommended, should be in all libraries or school collections aimed at this age group.

This is a wonderful read for emerging readers. The story is simple and straight forward, and the wonderful illustrations help drive the story. Finding books that feature an adventure story [for young kids]can be tricky. Add in the fact that it takes place in Alaska, which could be used as a jumping off point for a quickie geography lesson..... Sam "reads" like a real life boy. His emotions are true and honest.

I always liked the work of Emerson Daggett. Actually, once I wrote a small piece for him on the topic of nursing homes. The Sentinel deserves five stars, whether finished or not. And if Emerson's daughter, or anyone who knows Sally (Sarah K.), reads this please let me know how Sally is doing these days.

When it comes to Western history, and narrative history, this is the absolute best book I have ever read. If you like your cavalry and Indian stories in the best "John Ford/John Wayne" tradition, with the advantage of intensive and even-handed research, you simply have to buy this book. It reads like a novel, captures all the pathos of the era, and plays fair with both sides. In Hamilton's west, there are no good guys, and no bugles and guidons glory; there is only survival, and the understanding that, in the end, might does really make right, and the strongest do indeed survive. A fantastic read, and with the footnotes and bibliography, a must for the general reader and the specialist too. AND, the best treatment of the Warren Wagon Train Raid, one of the most important events in the history of the Southern Plains, ever done. FOUR STARS!

TRUE!! This is about our wonderful inventors of the Pacific Northwest--(I'm not tralking about John Keyster, Pat Cashman and the cast of the late, thoroughly lamented, locally-produced "Almost Live" comedy show..) But I feel that this book is also about our state of being as a region as of 1991---THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE (as Fremont still so boldly proclaims!) Microsoft and the the never accepted geeks invaded after the heroin-laced grunge era here in Seattle faded in the 90's. But this book still instills something of the new spirit of inventiveness that derives out of the old, which is leading right now to a new era of creation!
Profusely filled with pictures and drawings (so that you don't have so much to read), this book will give you a uniquely Northwest USA perspective on inventiveness and creativity!!!

This book is a great resource for learning about the history of the S'Klallam tribes and their struggles and triumphs. It goes into detail about their way of life before European contact, and on through the first known European sighting of the S'Klallams, the Treaty of 1855, and continues into later times. It displays the ways in which S'Klallams and non-natives interacted with one another in early times.

As a newcomer to the Northwest, I sought a book that would enable me to identify the various seashells I had begun to collect on area beaches. This book is the only complete "non-scientific" field-guide type of text I have found on the subject. In other words, species are referenced by English common names, rather than simply by their more correct, but intimidating Latin names. All species are depicted in color photographs, with corresponding descriptions of habits, habitat, physical features, abundance, etc. Of particular interest are the color photos of the "shows", or siphons, of buried live bivalves.
There is some room for improvement in a future edition. I would like to see more specific information on distribution and abundance, collecting techniques, and on distinguishing species of similar appearance. However, it is the best existing guide to the topic that I yet know of, and it has greatly expanded my knowledge and enjoyment of Northwest shells.

The best piece of fiction I've ever read about sports car racing. Written by an author who obviously knows what he is talking about. A more accurate treatment of the subject would be hard to find. The hard-hitting story line and an array of strong, fascinating and varied characters carries the reader along at the speed of the racing cars. Al Karasa's Sherridan's Rain is a great read not only for sports fiction lovers and racing fans, but for anyone who enjoys a well written, thoroughly researched and authoritative treatment of an unusual subject in modern fiction. As the book is out of print, I had the good fortune to discover it is still available directly from the author (signed copy, no less). E-mail him at belgate@juno.com

While there have been literaly thousands of shipwrecks along the Pacific coast from mid-California to British Columbia, author selected unique wrecks and rescue operations most of which are not found in other books. The first 15 chapters detail all of the ships along the coast that were attacked, some sunk, by Japanese submarines shortly after the start of World War II--the "Pacific War" as the Japanese call it.

Many readers will find it amazing to learn that folks could stand along the beach and watch American ships sink, because of Japanese submarines, before their eyes.

A real surprize chapter is the detailed American sinking of a Japanese submarine (the I-12) in 1944 between the west coast and Hawaii, the sub having been spotted by an American civilian passenger airplane. The all Coast Guard crew on an American Naval frigate (USS ROCKFORD) sank the sub!

Book includes some specuacular U.S.Coast Guard rescues (with pictures).

Book's most unusual chapter is about the 1916 loss of an early American submarine on the beach north of Eureka, Califronia, then the destruction in early 1917 of the 10,000 ton USS MILWAUKIE cruiser that tried to haul the sub off the beach and got stuck herself.

In all there are 86 amazing true tales of shipwrecks and rescues in this book. There is adventure and action on every page of this book. Highly recommended

Pictures galore. Maps, Appendix. Bibliography. Index.