Columbia Books

Harvey describes in considerable but not tedious detail the factors that led to the past and present tranportation corridors in southern British Columbia, spanning a period from the mid-nineteenth century, into the second half of the 20th. Every citizen should become familiar with the shenanigans of the big corporate and government interests that retarded transportation development, and the settlement and livelihoods of the ordinary working people in this part of the west. This account is a good start. The author takes us into the stupid and expensive competition between the early railroaders and the steamboat companies, and the struggle to build roads across the land from east to west. He describes the immense difficulties in creating east-west transport links across a rugged land of north-south valleys, and terrible mountain passes. Given the love/hate relationship many westerners have had with the big railroad interests, Harvey debunks the legends of some of the construction personalities, including the americans J.J.Hill and W.C. VanHorne. He is critical of the short-sighted company and government decisions that led to great inconvenience and delays in development of the interior of the northwest that lasted decades. Clearly a fan of the Sternwheelers in the west, he dwells upon their charms and gives us a clear sense of the romance of traveling the interior lakes, and on the Columbia, Fraser, and Kootenay rivers. He gives us an implicit warning here too, of the dangers of applying yesterday's technology to tomorrow's transportation needs. Harvey knows his stuff, at least partially a result of his long time employment in government Public Works. He has included maps, fascinating photos, good chapter notes, a bibliography, and an index in this well-edited book. This volume is written for the general reader in B.C. and western frontier history, and is recommended for those old enough to remember nothing but dusty gravel roads in the west, youth who think highways and railways have always just been there, rail and steamboat fans, and anyone who wonders why the northern Pacific coast is the way it is! This was an excellent historical read, very entertaining, and hard to put down. Together with it's companion volume, "Carving the Western Path - By River, Rail, and Road Through Central and Northern B.C.", Harvey has written a very good 'popular history' account of the coming of modern transportation and its' enormous effects on settlement and industry in the far west.

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.

Negotiating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the United Nations was not the only post-FDR contribution of Eleanor Roosevelt. This extraordinary woman was a powerful force within the Democratic Party and America until the day she died and left a legacy in her own right on issues of civil rights and civil liberties that finds voice even today.

Black's book focuses on Roosevelt's post-White House years and brings ER's domestic front activities and contributions to light--showing the long-term and deep nature of Eleanor Roosevelt's convictions. The book traces ER's growth in understanding of issues and underscores the courage it took to live her life in the forefront of debate and controversy.

This book should be read by anyone interested in Eleanor Roosevelt for the insight it brings and the truly interesting stories it tells. I particularly found the chapter on ER's relationship with John F. Kennedy fascinating and learned that ER withheld her support for his candidacy until he promised her action on civil rights. Ever the consumate tactition, she even rearranged the chairs at the famous meeting between them at Val Kil so she would be sitting higher than him.

"Casting" is pain-stakingly researched and well documented. Allida Black's interpretation of ER is founded on years of work with Roosevelt's papers and other sources.

I have not yet had the chance to visit the area this book covers.
From reading it:
This is one of the most comprehensive cave guides I have seen for an area giving maps, photos and solid descriptions.
The photos are excellent and make this book worthwhile on their own. A good summary of cave fomation and geology is included for many of the caves.
American cavers generally frown on this sort of book, but with luck the remoteness of these caves will prevent vandelism.

Savannas cover the majority of the world's tropical regions; the majority of the human population living in the tropics live in savannas. This book is the first major publication on the savannas (cerrados) of Brazil written in English, making the vast body of significant research conducted in this important biome FINALLY available to a wider international audience--thank you to the editors and contributors! The chapters are very well written and cover physical environment, plants, grass/tree interactions, fire, herbivory, insects, management, etc. The authors know not only their own systems, but are well-grounded in other work outside Brazil, making comparisons and contrasts throughout. The book is a MUST for anyone working in savanna research, management, and/or development. Prof. P. A. Werner (Florida USA and Australia)

First of all, this book is TRANSLATED by WTS Chan, it is, of course, a collection of the writings of the neo-confucian Wang Yang-Ming (1489-1529). I'm not a Chinese philosophy specialist, I am a zen Buddhist and martial artist. I found the book to be generally intelligible, despite my lack of experience with Confucianism. A scholar of Japanese martial arts suggested that I read it as the most important foundation book for Budo or Samurai philosophy, and it is clear once you read the book. In fact, a fusing of Zen and Confucianism might not be a bad philosophy for any age.-Nick

This book discusses how the children of immigrants are often taller than their parents due to superior nutrition, a cleaner environment, and less physical stress exerted on children born in the United States. This observation was shown through many growth charts from data taken by various doctors over several years. This indepth study was a fundamental study in how nutrition directly affects growth and development and disproved the idea that indigenous people which are short are still actually healthy. Franz Boaz was able to prove that these "short" people actually suffered severe nutritional problems as children which caused their height to be stunted. Therefore these individual's did not meet their full genetic potential. However, the children of these immigrants, in a more favorable environment, were able to reach their full genetic potential and were often much taller than their parents.

For more than ten years I taught a research design course to graduate students at Utah State University, and to help them understand how scientists create hypotheses I made Austin's (an nationally awarded researcher) "Chase, Chance, & Creativity" assigned reading, along with other books and journal articles on hypothesis creation. Consistently they reported that his book helped them most and is on par with good novels in being hard to put down. As for me, I believe "C,C,& C" will help people in all fields (artists, inventors, entrepreneurs,. . .) be more creative. I'll go so far to say to its publisher that it'll be a service to civilization to keep it in print forever.

This is an excellent source on medieval fashion, politics, life style, and even tells how the people of the medieval ages told time and wrote the date! It is a pity that it is out of print, but you could try your local library.

Andrew Rieser examines the height of the Chautauqua movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This movement had its origins in Methodist camp meetings but expanded into a liberal education program that explored art, literature, religion, politics, and social issues. The Chautauqua Institution, in western New York, gave its name to this national movement. This vibrant summer resort still exists, but does not exert the same cultural power as it did at the end of the nineteenth century. As Rieser shows, despite the wide-ranging interests of Chautauqua participants, their view of social justice often overlooked racism and class conflict, which ultimately limited the significance of the institution.

This is the only book I have found that effectively places the Chautauqua institution in its historical, religious, and political context. I recommend this book for anyone interested in American religion, the middle-class, and the Gilded Age and Progressive era.