Montana Books

Looking forward to Jake's next adventure.

Excellent, entertaining reading for young adults. This and each title in the Jake Montana series provide exceptional insights into native American culture in an informative and entertaining manner. A modern day Hardy Boy Mystery series with spiritual and mystical elements.

Well, you won't want them in your backyard if you're raising cattle. This story about the Ninemile wolf pack in northwestern Montana is a fascinating account of a wolf reintroduction program, and it deals with the complexity of the situation thoroughly and compassionately. Bass makes no secret of his own opinions--he wants wolves to make a comeback in the lower 48--but he discusses the concerns of the ranchers and all parties involved in a professional, fair manner. I learned more about wolves from reading this book than from any other source, and it helped me to clear up many of my own misconceptions about these canines. Bass very cleverly shows us the human side of the wolf reintroduction issue, the often predictable pattern of what happens when you put wolves and people together. And it helped me to think about wolves in a new way--if there's an antonym for anthropomorphism, Bass's writing is it. And like all of Bass's other books, this one displays his uncanny economy with words. If you think that all nonfiction writing should be devoid of passion or color, this isn't the book for you. But if you love wolves, you'll love this book.

I can't believe that only ONE person read that book! I LOVED it. And I am just a kid. I read two books on the same pack and this one was the second one I read. At the sad part I cried in this book even though I already knew what happened and I don't normally cry in books. He was a strong author and he told about his life he left his own soul in that book and no one bothered to even write a REVIEW even except for one person. This book is extrodinary! You should really read it. You will be pulled in to it as he tells about how wolves changed so many people's lives. You have to read it. I may be just some kid reading a book that is ment for 15+ but I have as much say in it as anyone else. You have to read it. You will never see wolves in the same way again.

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favorite scene with hope-
confrontation with her father before walking out on him.

favorite scene with collin-
welcoming hope's father to the family.

favorite scene with hope and collin together-
at the labor day festival at the reservation.

The basic premise of The Outlaw Marriage is the old story of feuding families. Laurie Page does a wonderful job in this installment of the Montana Mavericks. Colin Kincaid and Hope Baxter develope an intense interest in each other. Unfortunately her father is continuing an old feud with the Kincaid family. Hope stays true to her father until she is faced with the truth of his hatred. Jordan Baxter will do anything to bring down the Kincaids. Colin tells Hope he will wait for her and he does. In the end happiness is found for everyone. The small side story of Jordan Baxter and Meg Reilly is a nice touch. Ms. Page does a nice job of weaving the current Montana Mavericks series with the original series of a couple of years ago. It is nice to hear the references to the central characters of that series.

I enjoyed the descriptions of all the shows and appearances of Patsy Montana, but also a private look at the person, herself. There is a lot of history about country music and the effort put into it by Patsy Montana in keeping this type of music alive and going well. Many of her subjects bring back memories to me of when I was young and my parents had the radio on, especailly listening to the WLS Chicago National Barndance. Patsy knew so many of the stars of this radio era and shared lots of stories about them in this book. One doesn't realize all the thousands of miles that stars travel to entertain and especially back in the time when artists did not fly from one event to another. Many times it was an automobile and perhaps not a new one, at that, which carried them to shows.It makes me very happy to know her work is being carried into the new century by the next generation of country and western music artists. Ther are dozens and dozens of artists mentioned in the book, from Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson to LeAnn Rimes, the Dixie Chicks and all the wonderful entertainers through the years in between.

I just got my copy, and I can't put it down! This book takes the reader from Patsy's childhood, through her amazing rise to fame with her big hit, "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart", and beyond. It goes behind the big headlines, and brings Patsy right into the room. The personal insights about life in California at the outset of WWII are particularly interesting. By today's standards, Patsy Montana's popularity in the 1940s would be astronomical, and it's high time for her story to be put in print. I'm so thrilled about this book! It's a must-read for every western music fan!

What a wonderful story. I admire a writer who can make her characters so real and the story so poignant that you find yourself bawling like a baby at the end.

I read this book over and over. Its a great story. I laughed and I cried. The heroine Sylvie struggled with her two month old baby boy, and went looking for her son's father,who she did find, and figured they were better off without him. All she wanted for her baby was to have good memories of her son's first Christmas. She got her good memories, a good man and a brand new family. It was a beautiful ending.

One of my experiences as a biologist for the U.S. Forest Service was a brief stint in Libby, Montana where I was a weekend visitor to the remote Yaak Valley championed by resident conservationist Rick Bass. My first pass through the valley was a shock. The sea of clearcuts from past timber sales were clearly alarming, and I vowed to return for further investigation. In 1994 I studied fish populations in the Libby area now, and then, a superfund site at the plywood mill where we installed a fish weir in an attempt locate the last remaining Bull trout, now an endangered species in the Pacific Northwest. The previous year there were two. In 1994 none returned to the Libby trap. Similar conditions exist on the Yaak River, a major tributary to the Kootenai. Though superficially "wild" in outward apearance this is devastated landscape due to economic activity that has ruined the landscape and the citizenry from asbestosis at the other superfund site, a vermiculite mine once operated by W.R. Grace Corporation of "A Civil Action" fame. They are gone now, but so is everything else the area once offered. "We don't mind looking at the clearcuts," my boss a dour wildlife biologist told me. It is a legacy that Mr. Bass will be hard pressed to reverse with the current forest management leadership. But we must try. I stand with him in that battle. The chapter in my book "Against a Strong Current," is called "Three Bull Trout."

A valuable collection of diverse voices bearing witness to the last of the last: a small but ecologically rich valley in the far northwest corner of Montana. Those familiar with the prolific writings (and rantings) of Yaak resident Rick Bass know that he can come off as a monomaniac, but this anthology proves his passion is grounded and infectious. Great contributions from prominent writers, poets, conservationists, biologists, politicians, and local residents provide a mosaic of visions on the endangered magic that is the Yaak. The primary lesson: the Yaak is a biological, not a recreational wilderness. It is a place that must be saved, not for your next summer vacation, but for the itinerent wolves, the few remaining stands of ancient larch, the inland redband trout, the resident horse loggers, 15 modest-sized 'gardens' of unroaded national forest, and a tiny (perhaps single digit)population of super-survivor grizzly bears.
Once gone, they are gone forever.

Alexis Chandler is a gemologist. She travels far and wide searching for diamonds and rare stones for her business. Lexie is on her way to Thailand to finally get her hands on the elusive Heart of Burma, a large, perfect cut ruby. In order to get it Lexie is partnered with Cole Bannon. Cole is sexy and attractive and their partnership is explosive right from the start. It's also riddled with danger, lies and deceit. Lexie can't trust Cole but she's slowly falling for him anyway.

Lexie knew finding the ruby would be difficult but she didn't know she would lose her heart and possibly her life in the process.

With sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife and steadily growing suspense and danger, Running For Cover keeps the pages turning fast. On one hand Cole is handsome, sexy and irresistible but on the other he lies through out most of the book. Lexie is very cool. She's beautiful, tough and capable. Although the story ended before I was ready for it to because I wanted to see Cole and Lexie removed from it all, Running For Cover is a very engaging and well-written story.

Nannette reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read Lynn Montana's first book, RUNNING ON EMPTY, and liked it. This book is even better! I love it! Lexie is a great character. This book has great characters, a good storyline, humor & romance. Everything I want in book. I highly recommend it!

Having done it myself, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this biography reflects growing up on a Montana ranch in the 1930's and 1940's. It is sensitively and well written, and would be enjoyable reading to anyone interested in the subject.

Having grown up on this sheep ranch in Montana, it was achildhood that will always be remember and cherished. My brother madethis even more so with his book, A Short Season. There were so many happy fun times of children, and then there were the times of extreme sadness and sorrow for our family. When my father died our world came to a halt and we had to struggle to gain it back. I think we have done that with the book, it has reunited our family and we have gone back in time and the memories are still so much alive. This book of a Montana childhood will make whom ever reads it go back to their childhood, a feat we seldom do in our modern society, we are so busy and involved in the trials of our own lives we forgot we had a childhood, brothers, sisters and parents who were what we are. Thank you for letting me share this with all of you, Donna M. (nee Morehead) Johnson.

Smoke Wars: Anaconda Copper, Montana Air Pollution, And The Courts, 1890-1920 was originally Montana Historian Donald MacMillan's Ph.D. dissertation. When MacMillan died in 1996, his dissertation was published posthumously with the addition of an introduction by William L. Lang (Director, Center for Columbia River History, Washington State Historical Society, Washington State University-Vancouver. Now brought back into print by the Montana Historical Society Press, Smoke Wars begins in the 1880s when copper companies in Butte processed ore by roasting it in open-air heaps and created dense clouds of low-lying, noxious smoke. MacMillan vividly depicts the history and effects of this technology upon the surrounding community and includes a narrative of a visit to butte in 1885 by Granville Stuart, one of Montana's early pioneers and a visiting dignitary from England, who gave an eye-witness account of what he saw. This is also the story of citizens banding together to fight the polluting activities of the Amalgamated Copper Company, and the legal and publicity battles that ensued for years. This 304 page history is enhanced with three maps and six illustrations and is a highly recommended contribution to American History and Environmental Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections. Smoke Wars is also available in a hardcover edition (091729862-4, ...).

Smoke Wars: Anaconda Copper, Montana Air Pollution, And The Courts 1890-1920 is an exhaustive environmental history of the copper mining and smelting communities of Butte and Anaconda, Montana, which today constitutes the largest Superfund cleanup site in the United States. Historian Donald MacMillan begins with the fight in Butte in 1890 to abolish heap roasting (a process that created dense clouds of low-lying, noxious smoke and caused death rates in Butte to exceed those of New York City in the 18803). Smelting in Anaconda led to the second phase of the "smoke wars" with livestock and crops dying from the exposure to the arsenic and sulphur dioxide released from the tall stacks of the Anaconda Reduction Works. Then the Federal Government finally stepped in to protest the damage to the national forest by uncontrolled toxic emissions. Smoke Wars is an impressively researched, accessibly written, highly recommended, landmark study of the issues of corporate responsibility, the rights of citizens, the costs of industrialization, and the relative value of the environment -- all of which are elements in today's continuing national debate over the needs of mining and manufacturing with those of the environment and public health.

Baumler is an interpretive historian for the Montana Historical Society, and she brings her professional credentials and storytelling ability to create what has become a very popular book here in Montana. Baumler travels around the state, and people tell her their stories, which she takes further through historical research. The sites covered in "Spirit Tailings" include:

Virginia City: Tollhouse ruins in Meadow Valley; Boot Hill and Hillside Cemeteries; House on Cover Street; Elling House; Bonanza House and Bonanza Inn; Episcopal Church; Lightning Splitter (house); Bennett House Country Inn; Gohn House.

Nevada City (only a few miles from Virginia City): Cabin #5; Nevada City Hotel

Butte: The underground mines; Anaconda Hill; Speculator Mine/Granite Mountain shaft; Quartz Street Fire Station (now Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives); Metals Bank Building; Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse and Jail; Forsythe house; Maury house; Dumas Hotel/Brothel; East 2nd Street house

Helena: Grassy slope near Public Library (story of John Denn); Robinson Park/Sixth Ward Old Catholic Cemetery; Mamie's Bells (Cathedral; Resurrection Cemetery; Zastrow House; Lenox Addition house; Pioneer Cabin and Reeder's Alley; 10th Avenue rowhouse; Grandstreet Theater; Tatem House; Montana Club and Rathskeller; and even Baumler's own home in Helena has had paranormal happenings!

A great collection of Montana stories, not to be missed!

Spirit Tailings recounts tales of hauntings in three of Montana's mining towns. The author, a historical researcher, has done considerable investigation into the background of the hauntings. Not content with legend, she has sought out present-day witnesses wherever possible, and also recounts her own eerie experiences in some of the buildings. Well-written and at times absolutely chilling!