Montana Books

Encompassing a half century of outdoor exploits in Montana, Dan Aadland's new book captures the essence of the hunter's bond with the outdoors and companions who revel in the experiences. The lively, frequently humorous recollections allow one to become immersed in the anticipation, exhilaration, and despair derived through our pursuit instinct. For me, the book provides a satisfying and enduring reconnect with what is surely the best of all seasons!

this book is a window into an American lifestyle that few today still experience or understand. adventuresome, humorous, and informative. excellent book!

Though I am not a hunter, I enjoyed this book a great deal. As in SKETCHES FROM THE RANCH, Aadland brings to life a place and its people, and you want to be there, with them. The author describes the rifles he owned with the same affection and sensitivity he brings to his descriptions of nature. You feel his boyhood excitement, identify with the adventures--and misadventures--of family life, and appreciate his extensive knowledge and love of his natural surroundings. Aadland's life as a hunter, from his boyhood initiation to new discoveries with his grown boys, exemplifies what he calls the "hunters paradox" -- the meeting of the willingness to kill with a deep reverence for life. Whether you are more entertained by the hunt or by the Montana love story, this book will satisfy.

I read it ten or twelve years ago, never forgot it. In recommending it to a good friend whose cutting horses are using horses on his own ranch, I began to remember, and relish, the poetic language and rhythm of this remarkable book. So, I'll dig it out and read it for perhaps the 5th time. McGuane, Didion, McCarthy and Ralph Beer. Hall of famers in my opinion. And, tonight, when I feed and fly-spray my own horses, I will see them, my dogs and the land in a little different light. A bit more appreciative.

I read this more than a decade ago, and have never forgotten it. It's a beautifully written novel about what one must lose to retain a traditional life in America. Find it, buy it, read it.

I had no expectations when I picked up this novel, except that I'd read a nonfiction piece by the author, a Montana writer, enjoyed his point of view, and marveled at his gift of language. As a novelist, he offers up a story and characters that are vivid and real, and the language that describes their world is close to poetry. There's a wonderful precision in the detail and the word choice that makes you just slow down and relish each sentence as it evokes the experience of being alive under this big sky through the roll of the seasons.

The story is told through the perspective of a young man returning home to his father and grandfather, outside Helena, Montana. He's had some hard luck, an accident on a firing range that has put him in a military hospital, and before that a rodeo career that has gone nowhere. The stopover is meant to be temporary, but like wild horses drawn unwittingly into the blind corral of the title, he is unable to leave, spending a bitter winter with his dying grandfather, an aging rancher, instead of returning to Canada as planned and a woman he has taken up with.

There is an aching melancholy throughout the novel that fills the scenes with a sense of loss. The ranchland, which no longer supports the cattle business, is being bought up by developers. The generation that grew up there and made a living from it, through good years and bad, is now passing on. They have little to leave their descendants but the land itself, worth little more than what it can be sold for. And there is irony in how losing the land mirrors the same loss by the Indians who preceded them a century earlier.

But it's also a personal story, of the young hero's return from adventures that have left him empty and without direction. His fate is played out in a man's world where women, if they figure at all, are as tough and independent as the men. The toughness is both a strength that protects them and a tragic flaw that leads them into lives of emotional isolation. When an old man dies, the best that can be said of him is that "he was hard on horses; he never forgot a grudge; he either liked you or he didn't."

On the downbeat side, yes, but there is also a quiet beauty in this novel. The land, though scarred and abused, still consoles the soul. And the reader is left on the cusp of both sorrow and admiration for these characters who can tough it out, each a surviving fragment of the old West, clinging to a kind of dignity in a new West that is tawdry and shallow by comparison.

`Powers of Ten' by Philip and Phylis Morrison and `The Office of Charles and Ray Eames' is one of those non-fiction classics which everyone gets around to buying or at least browsing in the library before they reach the age of forty. In fact, I'm quite surprised to see that the book was copyrighted in 1982, since it seems as if it has been around for decades, easily going back as far as the 1950's.

Part of this impression may be due to the fact that the concept is so simple. The heart of the book is a series of forty-two (42) photographs, or simulated photographs, each showing a view exactly 1/10th the size of the previous view. One thing that confirms the vintage of the book is that the views near the middle of the series, those from near outer space, are genuine photographs from some NASA platform or other.

One similar book that comes to mind is `Flatland', the `fictional' description of a three-dimensional person visiting a two-dimensional world. A similar work, far more whimsical than these two, is `The Point and the Line'. One advantage the geometrically premised works have on `Powers of Ten' is that their underlying mathematical bases are virtually secure for the ages. Not so with our `Powers of Ten'. Even my layman's knowledge of modern physics can spot at least two out of date aspects in the book. The first I spotted was the statement that the largest share of mass in the universe is in stars. Modern theory posits a mysterious moiety called `dark matter', which now explains a lot of facts about astrophysics which were a mystery under the `all mass in stars' point of view. The second out of date perspective is the absence of any fine detail at the sub-atomic particle level. In the early 1980's, the most advanced physics relied entirely on a particle-based paradigm for sub-atomic structures (The last quantum physics advance cited is the hypothesis of quarks). Since the mid-1980s, the theory of choice is based on strings or even `superstrings'. The conjectural pictures at this level know nothing of vibrating strings. The `big' perspectives also don't really do justice to hypotheses about deep space entities such as black holes and quasars.

Still, this is a great classic. If, for no other reason than it is a great tutorial on getting someone acquainted with the metric system of measuring distances, as all steps are in tenths or tens of a meter. On a more general level, this is a great little lesson in the history of physical science, as the book contains a chronology of the discoveries that pushed our perceptions of the world in one direction (big) or the other (small).

Any family with at least one scientifically curious child should own a copy of this little gem!

With a start at 10e+25 meters, from the far end of the universe (~1 billion light years), the book takes 1 power of ten steps downward to the subatomic level, about 10e-16 meters - or smaller than a hydrogen atom. A very good book to get lost in the comparison from one power to the next - be it higher (bigger) or lower (smaller).

Charles and Ray Eames give us a photographic tour of the universe we can hold in our hands. Starting with a picture of the dark emptiness of at the edge of the universe, each page brings us closer to our galaxy, solar system, planet, and down to the one power of ten on which we humans live. But then we continue to dive deeper -- skin deep -- shrinking smaller and smaller through the cells, molecules, and finally sub-atomic space of which we are composed... finding the empty space within the atom to be eerily reminiscent of outer space itself. It's an exciting, thought-provoking five-minute journey you'll want to take again and again.

I found this book a great read. The information on memory is very interesting, and the exercises are easy, stimulating and effective. Following the program Gediman outlines really works.

It is rare that vitally important information is presented in such a fun,easy, and friendly style. Corinne Gediman's book, Brainfit, is a personal trainer for your brain. Not only will I enjoy making it part of my weekly fitness routine; I'll recommend it to my customers at the bookstore.

I like a challenge and this book is just that. I feel ready to go after my exercise.

Author Susan Wells artfully weaves together inspiring stories from three points of view: social change-makers, her role as a mentor, and, for the reader, the power of open space to restore us. Her book is a counterpoint to today's obsession with benchmarks and metrics (in nonprofit and for-profit settings) rather than the people who create change.

While I'm not in the non-profit world, I found this book to be incredibly inspiring. This book is about community, supporting the people on the front lines, retreat and the difference one or two people can make.
The writing is poetic - so much so that I felt transported. I wish I knew of a way to get this book into a wider variety of bookstore subject areas as many more people would benefit from this than just folks in the non-profit world.

What a lovely story - full of simple truths that any one of us can benefit from. It's a pretty fast read (less than 200 pgs), full of heartfelt, revealing portraits of real people and their experiences of renewal. The author and the people profiled provide us with a solution to the always-present problem of burnout - specifically for those who work in the fields of social and environmental justice. I think the story is applicable for anyone who may have 'lost themselves' in their work and now suffers from the various symptoms that so easily creep in.

It's a beautifully written, personal reflection by one of the co-founders of an inventive program they call Windcall. I readily recommend this book to anyone who has a spouse, friend, sibling or coworker that could use an optimistic reminder that we are not simply our work. And that the vital life force and creativity that often gets snatched away if one's identity becomes too locked and identified only with work-related responsibilities can indeed be restored and renewed.

The previous review outlined the plot. All I will say is that this book is the most humourous and rivetting read I have experienced in over 30 years. Then once you have finished the book the thought provoking issues behind the story come though. This author is a genius and very very funny.

I read Father Frank on the advice of a friend earlier this year. We were camping and I needed a new book to read. I was expecting a simple, funny beach read and I got that, but it is also much more than that. Francis Dempsey, a lapsed Irish Catholic, gets into Oxford to study theology and eventually becomes a priest, despite his total lack of belief in a higher power. The book, pleasant and enjoyable to read, manages to tackle subjects like faith, sex and the role of religion in every day life without preaching and author Paul Burke does a surprisingly good job of it. The seemingly silly, unbelievable plotline works brilliantly thanks to Burke's impressive comedic talent. This is a purely fun read, and one that will, amazingly enough, leave you pondering faith. Outraegeously funny, sometimes heartbreaking, 'Father Frank' should be required reading for everyone who ever questioned God, and love.

I really loved this book. Frank starts out as a young man who really doesn't know what to do with himself when his school career finishes. On the advice of a guidance counsellor, he enrols in Oxford to study Theology, with his marks that is the only course he can get into anyway -theology not being such a popular subject and people to fill places in the course hard to find.

Surprisingly, Frank turns out to be rather good at it, depite the fact that he doesn't believe in God, or even a higher power. He then goes on to become a Priest. In order to meet people and raise some funds for his church, he drives a cab in his spare time, which is completely charitable, you can donate whatever you wish and he will take you wherever you wish in London.

One day a beautiful girl hops in, and in spite of himself he finds his feelings for her grow. She even starts calling his cab on vague pretexts.

The most lovable thing about Franks character is that he really is a good man, and never compromises himself. There is quite a lot of drama with the church, trying to get the hall renovated and people interested in going there again.

A really fun read with a happy ending, but beautifully written and funny too.

Highly recommended.

Schullery's review of the historical development of fly fishing in the West and the unique contribution of Westerners is a valuable and needed contribution to literature. It is well written and adds to the body of knowledge about Western fly fishing. Up until the past few decades, most writing has been about Eastern fly fishing.

Enhanced with 30 illustrations, a bibliography and an index, Cowboy Trout: Western Fly Fishing As If It Matters by Paul Schullery (former director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing) is a 288-page book that is basically devoted to answering the question posed by the author in his introduction: "Can fly fishing make you a Western?". Schullery writes with an articulate flair about flying fishing in western culture; fly fishing in the Yellowstone country in 1870; fly fishing in the Yellowstone country in the 20th century, fly fishing rivers in folklore and history, fly fishing as sport and to put food on the table; spiritual aspects of fly fishing; demystifying some "sacred cows" of fly fishing, and how the life lessons of fly fishing have historical reached far beyond casting a line in a pond, stream, lake or river. Cowboy Trout should be considered "must" reading for anyone who ever threw in a line off the back of their boat, waded hip deep in a stream, or just sat on a river bank and waited for a nibble.

Paul Schullery's Cowboy Trout: Western Fly Fishing as if it Matters is not another fishing story about the big one hanging on the wall or the even bigger one that got away. Rather, this collection of essays explores how fly-fishing shaped the attitudes, identity, and culture of the West, especially in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone region. Fly-fishing was not a new sport when it arrived in the West in the mid-nineteenth century, but since then, according to Schullery, a distinctive western style has emerged. Cowboy Trout demonstrates how westerners made fly-fishing their own without abandoning angling's traditions.

The first essay examines our ideas of "sport," comparing modern catch-and-release fishing with the seventeenth-century practice of tying a pike to a goose (both alive and both very unhappy) for the entertainment of English noblemen. Two essays describe the fishing in early-day Yellowstone National Park--from the time visitors fished to avoid the threat of starvation to the time when the visitors themselves became a threat to Yellowstone's fisheries. Another essay, titled "A River Runs Through It as Folklore and History," features Schullery's somewhat controversial reactions to Norman Maclean's fly-fishing classic.

The essay "Dark Stones and Devil Scratchers" describes the evolution of the artificial salmonfly. This giant, orange-bodied flying bug hatches in early summer out of western rivers and causes a trout feeding frenzy, yet because the salmonfly was unknown in the East, early anglers had to imitate the bug using traditional patterns tied on big hooks. But fly tiers in western Montana began crafting their own imitations, like the "Bunyan Bug" with its hand-carved and -painted wood body (made popular by Maclean's A River Runs Through It after its original popularity among Montana anglers), the "Mite" series of woven hair flies developed by a Missoula wigmaker, or the "Black Creeper" tied to imitate the aquatic salmonfly nymph. Today, some of these flies can still be found in flyshops alongside more recent attempts to imitate the same bug. The newer flies often combine natural materials with the latest in fly-tying technology, like rubber, foam, and shiny plastic, yet the classics still seem to catch fish just fine.

In this and other essays, Schullery's extensive research and witty writing style convey the tales, tricks, tackle, and techniques of legendary western fisherman like George Grant and Warren Gillette. This history helps today's fisherman connect to local traditions whether he is floating past the rain-spattered rocks from the basement of time that line the Big Blackfoot, stripping a streamer along the undercut banks of the Big Hole, or tossing a salmonfly imitation behind the pier at Varney Bridge on the Madison.

Cowboy Trout's message that fly-fishing has influenced western identity as much as westerners have influenced fly-fishing satisfies those seeking a greater role than mere sport for fly-fishing or those who need justification for the disproportionately large amount of their life spent fishing. But if this latter group shares Schullery's great love of fly-fishing, they should need no justification.

"Danny's Dragon" is a fictional account of ten year old Danny who is working through the stages of grief after the death of his father in the Iraq war. Danny, his mother, and teenage sister all deal with their personal grief and subsequent healing in different ways in this dramatic fictional story of death and family loss as the result of war.

Losing their father and the family "breadwinner" the resulting financial difficulties made it necessary for Danny's mother to sell their farm in Montana. Relocating in Denver, Danny had to adjust to a new school. A classmate and neighbor from Iraq reached out to become Danny's friend. Incidents in the classroom with a group of rowdy boys turn around to be a bridge building experience, in helping these boys understand individuals from other cultures.

Their teacher, Mr. Thornton responded when Carl shouted, "That's a lie!"
"Carl, if you don't agree with someone, state your evidence instead of saying it's a lie. It's possible for each of us to have a different perspective, different information, and to state truth as we know it. It doesn't make any of us liars, and I will not allow any more accusations of lying. Is that clear?"

As the boys work out their differences through classroom activities and after school sports team participation, Danny finds healing from his grief. The author has captured the pain and sorrow of a child processing grief. Author Janet Muirhed Hill is a gifted communicator and story teller with an important and timely message. I was deeply stirred as the plot moved to a climactic surprise ending.

This book is an excellent resource tool for care providers, teachers and counselors. It is helpful in dealing with grieving middle school children, opening the way for introducing important dialog. "Danny's Dragon" is a book that should be available in school libraries and on the suggested reading lists provided by crisis counselors.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

When Danny's father is killed in Iraq he faces the different stages of grief. His family must give up their home in Montana because of financial strain. They must find a way to build a new life for themselves. Danny lives for the memories of his father; they bring both pleasure and pain. Danny's imagination turns his horse named Dragon into a real dragon. Guilt consumes Danny, because his father returned to active duty so that he could buy the horse for Danny. He blames himself for his father's death because he wanted a horse.

Danny's mother seeks help for him through therapy, but he refuses to share his grief with anyone.

It is an honor to not only review this book but also highly recommend it. This book belongs in every household. Children do not understand death and grief. They do not know how to handle it; neither do adults so how can we expect our children to cope with something that we struggle with. Ms. Muirhead is very intuitive and an inspiration to us all. I commend Ms. Muirhead for offering us a book on this topic. While it is something we don't want to face, death is a fact of life and we should be prepared so that we can help our children through it.

This book is well written. The story flows smoothly. The characters are endearing. Their lives are too real for comfort. Danny, Mindee and Mom are true to life. The illustrations add to the story line and are well done. The cover made me want to delve inside.

Danny is a ten year old boy whose father was sent off to war in Iraq as part of his Air National Guard unit and who was killed in action. Danny struggles with the various stages of grief as he remembers good times with his father, uses his vivid imagination, and the horse named Dragon that his father had given him. In addition to the pain of losing his father, Danny's family is also plunged into financial problems because of his father's death, and along with his mother and sister, Danny is forced to leave their Montana ranch. Danny must learn about himself, his family, the world, the "fellowship of suffering, and the emotions he feels when attending a Denver public school he discovers has as a classmate the "enemy" -- a boy from Iraq. A skillfully written novel for young readers ages 8 to 14, enhanced with twenty black/white illustrations by Pat Lehmkul, Danny's Dragon is a critically important book that needs to be a part of every school and community library collection in the country as thousands of children find themselves in a similar position to Danny with their fathers (and sometimes their mothers) going off to war, being wounded, and even killed, their lives and families savaged by war and the death of a parent.

An easy to read and understand book with a wealth of information for those planning a trip to this Montana jewell of a river. Broken down by seasons and hatches so you can key in on the time you plan on being on the river and disregard, if you like, the rest or save for another time. A great hip pocket reference for fishing the Madison River, where to fish it and what to bring. Perfect for the novice or expert alike.

If you're heading to the Madison for the first time, this book is a must. It gives you all the insight you need to prepare for the trip, the right flies to tie up in advance and proper line and tippets. Once you're there, you'll know where to be at what time of the day to get all the action you can handle.

Volume three in the oustanding Greycliff "River Books" series, Fly Fishing The Madison offers the aspiring angler a distillation of decades of experience, knowledge, and insight in this "user friendly" guide to fishing Montana's Madison river. Here is a wealth of information on the hatches, seasons, and reaches of the river, along with "tips, tricks & techniques" for unlocking the secrets of an surprisingly diverse river. The authors show how to fish the Madison with dry flies, nymphs, and streamers, as well as pointing out the right moments for each type of fly. Of special interest is Craig Mathews' contributions about fishing the Madison's two "stillwater" areas -- Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake. If you are planning an excursion to the Madison, begin by a thorough reading of Craig Mathews and Gary LaFontaine's Fly Fishing The Madison! Also very highly recommended for the angler's reference shelf are the other volumes in this outstanding series: Fly Fishing The Beaverkill; Fly Fishing The Henry's Fork; and Fly Fishing The Yellowstone In The Park.

When I cracked this novel I didn't know what to expect. Really. First off, romance novels are not my cup of tea. Even with three spoonfuls of sugar. Not even Mary Poppins could make THAT medicine go down. Still I dove in undaunted fully armored in case anything romancey gushy gushy tried to gun me down. It's a war novel I thought, it can't be all bad. How pleased I was to find out I was wrong. Inside the covers of this book I found not the cheap cookie cutter category romance I half expected, but an intelligent, expertly woven and detailed story.
For fans of romance novels, I believe a different sort of conceit is in play: war stories for guys romance stories for girls, never the twain shall meet. Should this line of thinking find resonance with you, then you owe it to yourself to read this book. If for nothing else to challenge your deeply held conviction that war novels, are not for women, no no, but for men who seem to thrive on the stuff. Would it surprise you to find that this novel uses the concept of war only as a neatly encompassing framework within which to cast the main characters as they step, and struggle, and yes "grope" for subsistence in this strangely alien world called "my homeland?" If you answered yes then your surprise will be adequately rewarded as Janie Pendleton undertakes to show you that romance and war are not mutually exclusive concepts. In fact, one amazingly highlights the other. Like a hand in a glove or wrapped around a grenade.
Neatly fusing topical events with a timeless romance, Pendleton conjures a tale that is equal parts cozy seduction and psychological thriller. Beginning with a brief scene setting we are soon allowed to sit in on the inner thoughts of the tale's heroine, Jade Pickard. Equating this character with an alter ego for the author is easy to do as the author is a ranking officer in the U.S. Marines who has not too long ago shipped home from the Iraqi battlefront. How much in this tale is derived from her recent experiences we can only guess with a shudder as the unconscionable and brutal scenes depicted in flashback would test the moral fortitude of most. Yet this is not after all a gruesome slash 'em smash 'em melee of blood and gore. No, it is a love story told against a backdrop of disturbing horrors endured, sanctuary embraced, redemption sought. The story's mysteriously haunted and appropriately flawed hero, John Lewis, fills out the ensemble nicely as the charming, attractive, perhaps roguish complement to the gorgeous, self-reliant, suitably dangerous Ms. Pickard. In counterpoint is a multi-skilled and extremely capable heroine, someone who needs no one hence appears entirely unapproachable, with an adventurous and willing companion. Thus far her self reliant posture has keep her safely ensconced within a self imposed cocoon of rustic comfort with only her rural lifestyle, majestic mountain views, and simmering Irish temper for company. Until John ambles along that is, at which point her every word and action make it clear that her blissfully complete life is at best cold comfort. Joined by a similarity of military background and purpose they are quickly on the trail of a former comrade who has seemingly run amok and gone on a killing spree. At the disclosure of this fact the story quickly steers as promised to the suspense portion of the tale.
Overall the author elicits a satisfying mixture of intrigue, suspense, danger, and naked flesh. If one had cracked the covers of this novel hoping to drop in on a soft-core porn rendering of tumbling bodies, bare-chested hunks and ripped bodices, one should stand down and visit more beastly quarters. Pendleton avoids the lure of cheap salacious production and delivers an intelligent blend of romance and suspense worthy of ascension into the ranks of the reigning industry masters. Sharing glancing similarity with Nora Robert's 2006 novel, First Impressions, does nothing to detract from Pendleton's esteem as a romance novelist but rather bestow upon her work the mark of one whose methodology is established and whose attention to genre precepts will earn her the well deserved praise of the steady legion of romance fans who know what they like and where to get it. It will not be long before the praise and attention of these selfsame fans will be lavished upon this author as they quickly absorb her initial offering then await her next with breathless anticipation. This novel is highly recommended for those bored with the grind of daily responsibilities who hunger for romance and intrigue and something more stimulating than cubicle camaraderie and microwave cuisine.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKUFUWJUSC9FG Video(Book Trailer)compliments of LinkedIN.com

Janie Pendleton's Novel, 'The Gates to Love and War' is a must read, as it took me on an action-packed adventure that carried a rare taste of real-life human perspective, in which I saw my own war-torn thoughts reappear. I cried and laughed with each character throughout their trecherous journey. This novel is filled with surprises and intrigue. This author knows how to put pen to paper! You will not want to put this book down! I will read again and again!

My overview of 'The Gates to Love and War':

After serving her country for twenty years, Lt. Col. Jade Pickard finds herself alone in the world after learning the last of her family has passed. Burying both her parents on their beautiful Montana ranch, Jade is forced to change positions in her military career in order to save the sprawling family farm. When a stranger hikes up her mountainous road and stops at her garden gate for directions, the two find an odd connection. But with the onset of a fast approaching storm, Jade invites the war-torn traveler to stay in her bunkhouse to help him find peace again. When the local sheriff comes knocking on her remote door in the middle of the night, she is forced to choose between believing in the soldier and turning him in as a murderer. The next morning, Jade finds she is right in her notion to trust him and packs her horse and mule to set out on an adventure to save the real culprit, a childhood friend. Soon these three soldiers' worlds collide, as their haunting secrets take them deep into the heart of the Black Bear Wilderness where an emotionally charged romance suspense novel begins its great journey. But don't trip over your own mind while traveling deeper in the beautiful Montana wilderness, as things are never as they seem in the Special Forces!

If it mentions "Montana", it's going to be AWESOME! or if it mentions anything about our military heroes, it will be AWESOME!

I've been waiting for this book to be released! The author is a close, personal friend.. so I knew it was coming soon!! I can't wait to get my copy!!

After reading the story, it is even better than I imagined. It is about love lost.. and found. It's about two soldiers on two very different missions, and how they can find strength in each other to help each other through the most trying times. It shows how they lost all faith and hope in a previous love, but they found new love and strength in each other. Although it is fiction, you can put yourself in the story and examine your own life and where it is headed. It is a book of inspiration and hope... and love.