Oregon Books

Gerry Spence has written a book that takes the reader throught a crash course in law school, applied. He is so accurate in his writing but than I would expect as much from such a successful lawyer. Yet his explanations are easy for the lay man to grasp. As a retired lawyer, I often recommend this book to people who have several questions about these kinds of events that they are following in their personal life. It should be recommended reading for all law students the summer prior to beginning their studies.

There was a photo of a young woman holding a smoking gun, and a witness who said the picture was taken right after the woman, Sandy Jones, shot her husband. But was Sandy really guilty of the crime she was accused of?

Enter colorful and brilliant Gerry Spence, who for four years defended Sandy Jones pro-bono, gained her freedom, and later wrote this fascinating book. "The Smoking Gun" is a riveting account of Sandy Jones' trial and an in-depth look at our flawed justice system.

Celebrity trial lawyer Gerry Spence has offered up the 13th in his series of allegedly non-fiction books about his trials and triumphs. The Smoking Gun (Scribner, 448 pages, $30) reaches back more than 15 years to recount Spence's part in two trials in Oregon-first, of 15-year-old Michael Jones Jr. (convicted and then overturned on appeal) and then of his mother, Sandy Jones (acquitted), on murder charges for the death of Wilfred Gertulla.
The prosecutor in Sandy's trial, former Oregon state attorney general James Brown, has described Spence's trial practices as "strip-mining" a jurisdiction. Indeed, Spence rarely returns to the same courthouse (outside of his home state). The Oregonian reporter who covered the second trial felt strongly enough about what he had seen to write an opinion piece entitled "Jones' lawyer sought only victory, not truth." And Spence candidly admits in The Smoking Gun, "If I've learned one thing, it was that trials do not seek the truth, nor are they always intended to deliver justice . . . .Trials are wars."

Gerry Spence, self-described Wyoming "Country Lawyer," has a lot to teach - his book on OJ's criminal trial, "O.J. The Last Word: the Death of Justice" is the definitive work on that Circus, and his fictional Half-Moon and Empty Stars is Dead On.

In Smoking Gun, his day by day play by play memoir of a murder trial, Gerry has set forth a sometimes brilliant bible on How to (or in the case of the State/prosecution - how Not to) Try a Case, Voir Dire (jury pickin') etc - but at times it is laborious wading through the chaff to get to the kernels at the heart of the wheat here. In the end, Truth and Justice are one and won, justice prevails, truth triumphs, and everyone lives happily ever after - or not. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Gerry Spence has succeeded Robert Traver (John Voelker), Louis Nizer, Jake Ehrlich, and Francis Wellman as the popular author of real life legal battles. Spence writes his own stuff - unlike Vincent Bugliosi who's had collaborators - and Spence is as candid as Pepys was to his diary. If you're not put off by Spence telling, in every other book, the anguish and ecstacy of his personal life, or how good he is, no legal work, fiction, non-fiction, and certainly not the case reports, can match Gerry's writings. Despite what you star givers write, "The Making of a Country Lawyer," Spence's autobiography, is his best book. Only Reginald Hine's "Confessions of an Uncommon Atorney" can compete. Read Spence's story and, if you've ever gone into business for yourself or tried to bang a buck out of the law while maintaining those "hostages to fortune" at home and yet still struggled to get ahead, see if you don't agree. With the "The Smoking Gun" Spence got it all right again. This one's not as well-known as "Helter Skelter" was nor as riveting but I can't think of an "ordinary" murder case that's been so absorbing story as "The Smoking Gun." Not "An American Tragedy," not "Compulsion," not any of Bugliosi's minor books and certainly nothing by Ann Rule or any of those Texas murder trial accounts. For one, "A Smoking Gun" is a story about a fear that slithers though everyone's subconsciousness and sometimes surfaces in nightmares: being charged with a serious crime one didn't commit and being prosecuted by over zealous DAs who seem to want a conviction more than justice. In addition there's the uncooperative defendant, the courageous judge (Harl Haas of Portland, Oregon), and, of course, Superman to the rescue. But Superman does write masterfully, it's a great story, and I highly recommend it.

I'm from England and I'm studying this play for A level (as a mature student - normally taken when aged 17) but although the UK is the home of 'The Bard' this item is not available in the UK! I'm very impressed with Amazon.com who delivered it quickly and cheaply!

The CD itself is great. It really helps to hear the play, as the intonation is correct, which is sometimes difficult to do when reading it yourself.

The actors' voices are clear and suit their parts perfectly. I'd definitely recommend it - and I will look out for more titles in this series when I've finished studying this one!

Although this play is not one of Shakespeare's better known plays, it is one of his very best. It is a tragicomedy suffused by gentle melancholy. Unreasonable and cruel jealousy are also portrayed. We also have two endearing young lovers to liven up the story. These characters are very well-drawn, and the story is quite beautiful.

I have always favoured the Oxford Shakespeare series over others (Folger, etc), and the Winter's Tale is no exception. It's translation notes and lexigraphical assistance makes reading a joy and brings out the true heart and soul of one of Shakespeare's commonly overlooked tragi-comedies.

As usual in Shakespearean plays, the language here is very prettily written. As usual in Shakespearean comedies, there are plot holes that one could easily drive a tank squadron through. But since this is not just a comedy, but a tragicomedy, in which the first part is a tragedy and the second a comedy, not everything comes out well in the end: some worthy characters die. Also, as is usual for Shakespeare, we have a morality play on the evils of jealousy and closed-mindedness. Really, though, other than the pretty Shakespearean turns of phrase, there isn't much to recommend this book.

Early compilers of Shakespeare's plays classified this a comedy, but there is much tragedy in it. Later it was called a romance. Through irrational jealousy a king is apparently responsible for the deaths of his entire family -- wife, son and daughter -- by mid-play. Time is a character in the play and at his one appearance summarizes the passage of sixteen years. If you have an overy high regard for realism, you may not much enjoy this play, but that will be true of more of Shakespeare than just this one tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I look forward to seeing it. I've ordered the BBC DVD and it's being performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2006. These Cambridge School editions have the play's text on right-hand pages; they have summary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.mmary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.

If you like dogs, then The Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting is the book for you! This book is about a boy named William and his best friend Grace. William's grandfather had just past away, his parents are divorced, and he is the only child in his house. William starts to get lonely so his mother says that he could get a dog. They finally go to the pound and they find a dog named Riley. Later in the book, Riley attacks one of William's neighbor's horses and almost kills it! This was very bad because the horse was an award winning, horse racing, champion! Animal Control later came to William's house and said he must die! Will Riley be saved or will he die? Read the book to find out!
This was one of my favorite books I've ever read in my whole life! It is interesting and breathtaking because you will never know what will happen to Riley until the end of the book. I would recommend this book to every one of all ages! This is a must read book! Get The Summer of Riley off your local library shelf and read it TODAY!

The Summer of Riley takes place in Wyoming. William's grandfather recently died. His mom decided to adopt a dog from the pound. They adopt a dog named Riley. Riley will change William's life forever. Their neighbor Peachie has a horse. Riley gets out and tries to play with him. He knocks him down and Peachie gets very mad. Peachie puts up a lawsuit. The government is giving Riley 30 days to live. William and his best friend Grace do every thing they can. Buy can they save Riley?
I really liked how the story was so touching. Eve Bunting really expressed how William felt and how much he loved Riley. You can tell because William tried so hard and he was so determined to try to save Riley. His determination made me really enjoy the story. I thought that Eve Bunting wrote an amazing story with a surprising ending.

The summer of riley is a great book for the ages 10-13.
william will do anything to save his dog rileys life. william became friends with riley after his grandfathers death and his parents separated. williams dad called the animal- coltrol place to come get riley because he was chasing a hores.

This is a really sad book but I love it so I highly recommend it.

The Review of the Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting

Do you love story's that talk about a child that a dog is one of his best friends? Well if you do this book is right for you. Riley is the dog and Will is the boy and in this book they have a very strong bond that turns to the worse. Where did Riley go? Will we find him?
The characters in this book would be Will, Grace, Ellis, The Sultan, and Riley. Will is the main character and is a very out going kind of guy. Grace is Will's best friend and is always there when will needs her. Ellis is a bully to Will and try's to make Will's life even worse than it was before. Sultan is the famous, But retired, race horse and with the Sultan Riley try's to chase the Sultan and Mrs. Peachie Thinks its all Will's fault because Will didn't keep track of Riley and that the fact that riley wasn't on a leash. Also we can't forget Riley, He's Will's dog and at some point of time Riley seems as if he were a human friend.
This book has 3 main themes to it, friendship, hate, and confusion to it. When Will hears his mom and dad fighting down stares he doesn't know what to do. Should he go back to bead and forget about it or should he go down stairs to see what's going on. Also when Will finds Riley after his grandpa's death Will feels that there is some kind of hope that may have been in the corner all that time. Also every time Will runs into Ellis no matter when he is once again Ellis try's to do something that Will hates but Ellis doesn't care.
The setting in this book includes Will's room, outside, and the dog shelter.
The dog shelter plays some what of a big role because that is where found Riley and sad his hair looks as if he were a lion. When Will is in his room he try's to think of the things he did wrong and what he could of done to fix is mistakes. He also thinks of his friends and family like Grace and his grandpa .When Will is outside he's mostly playing with Riley, and Grace. The three buds.
When you read this book you will know exactly how the charter feels and what their personality's are like with all the charters. So if you like a good book that you know where in the book the charter is and how he or she feels like this is the right book to read. Also while your reading this book you can tell the themes is this book because they talk about it a lot and show it really well. I would truly recommend this book to someone who likes to read a book that keeps you on your toes but yet isn't a mystery book. So remember when you're looking for a good book that you can read chose, The Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting.

This book presents a wonderfully nonconventional view of retirement and death. The crusty, self-reliant, octagenarian, Oregon farmer who is the main character is delightfully nonconventional -- and the fantasy amount of money he has to indulge his nonconventionality makes for an excellent story. Wonderful detailing like how he designs a home-made elevator for his "retirement home" gives great character to the story.

I've reread only 1 or 2 books in my life, but this is one book I think I can read many times. Our library doesn't own a copy of it anymore, so I was glad to be able to get a good used book from Amazon.
As an average boomer, I think about aging and how to do it gracefully, and without being a burden, but in a way where I can still enjoy my life even if it's limited. This book explores these issues in an entertaining and most important, memorable, way. I keep looking for another book by this author.

This book is incredible - I laughed, I cried and will continue to think about this story and it's characters for a long time. Mr. Kleiner should be busy writing more novels - he has a genuine talent for making his characters come alive. I hated to see this wonderful book come to an end. If only more people would think like the people in this story about life, old age and death, society would be a lot better off. An incredible story about unforgettable people who came alive off the pages. This truly is one of the best books I have ever read and that is really saying something! This portrays the circle of life better than any other book out there! This is a very deep and sensitive book - one to not be forgotten!

Gregg is not only a wonderful author, but he is also my uncle. He is a wonderful uncle and when he first completed this book, I went down to his home, and stayed there for about a week at the time i was only 13 years old ( I think I was 13 somewhere close to that age anyway) I couldn't take my eyes off of the print. I loved the way the he described everything so clearly, that it was if you could really see the events unfolding in your mind. I loved how he made me laugh and he made me cry. I think it was a wonderful book, and I can't wait till he finishes another one. I love my uncle with all of my heart, and I don't just say that i loved his book because he is my uncle i say I loved it because i really did, and i think its time to read it again!!!

I really wanted to like this book and it sounded sooo promising.
I love books about unusual people who don't do what is expected and strike out on their own for answers. But, there was never any satisfaction for the characters and me as the reader. I kept wanting George to find some peace, even if it was just the peace that comes from doing what's right for oneself. The book left me feeling like I had just enjoyed half a good meal and the rest of the meal was taken away. Satisfaction from completing the meal never set in.

Amanda has grown up wealthy and spoiled in Boston with Joseph as a suitor she expects to marry. However, her life changes dramatically when she is forced to leave the life she knows in Boston for the difficult journey to Oregon on the Oregon Trail. Faced with the harsh realities of trail life, she becomes matures to become a strong, hardworking woman who finds new love in an unsettled land.

Amanda a book by Candice F. ransom, it's a book that has a lot of love in it. This book you would love to read it when you're sad, girls would love to read it when they just broke up with his boyfriend or something. It's a very interesting book that talks about love and engagement and how just a woman can make the difference and manage many tasks that life puts in the way.
Amanda Bentley, I 18 year old, women that lives in Boston with his father, she is the pretty popular girl, she is in loved with Joseph and they are engaged.
One day everything changed for Amanda they had to leave Boston as fast as they could because his father was having problems in there. So they did.
Amanda left Joseph and held to Oregon.
In the way to Oregon she meets new friends in which there was Ben Compton which Amanda loved secretly. She meets with Indians she fights with them. She had to suffer losses and she survives them all. She and Ben get engaged. She thought she hated him father because he was so stubborn until things get harder and harder that she couldn't handle any more and she had to make many things by her own and she wasn't strong enough. She starts thinking that she is weak and she is just a woman but then Ben makes her understand.
I loved it this book is the best book ever I didn't though a book could be that interesting .even if you don't like love storys you can learn a lot about it.

I read this book years ago and have been looking for it ever since. I remember it being a very adventerous story. Well, I have finally found it and I look forward to reading it again.

I would suggest this to anyone. Even if they don't like romantic books, it has a good message. When I first started the book I was excited because I'd read the reviews and everything and it sounded really good. But in the beginning, I found, it was a little slow moving, I was kind of disappointed. She did a lot of reminiscing, and stuff like that. But I stuck with it, and I found it was well worth the wait! Toward the end she is a spirited girl, who could pull her own weight. It was interesting to see how her strength matured throughout her journey. I would suggest this, or any other sunfire book, to anyone.

I admit, I don't usually read this type of book, but this time, I needed a really, really! light read. I almost didn't read the whole thing, because Amanda was quite annoying in the beginning, but she got better as the trip to Oregon progressed. Of course, Amanda is the sort of cliche book that I usually scorn, but hey! go ahead and read it; there's a nice, happy ending.

This is the second book in Spencer's series about Ukiah Oregon, and like the first it's a fun scifi/mystery/adventure. Overall the pacing's good, but the ending seemed a little rushed to me. It was still a very good read though, and if you liked the first book you'll like this one too I think.

A bit out there, I enjoy fantasy more then SF and the basis of this series is a bit difficult for me to believe, but the writer is so good, that I have read the entire series and found I could not put any of these books down... A Great Read..!

Tainted Trail is the second Ukiah Oregon story after Alien Taste. It picks up not to long after the first one. I like the charactors in the book and the way they relate to each other. During the course of the book Ukiah learns more about his heritage and who he is. In order to enjoy this series you have to be able to suspend your disbelief. Not the best fantasy I have read, but I did like it.

I enjoyed finally being able to finish all the offerings in this series! Wen Spencer is one of my new favorite authors and I eagerly await her latest offering.

This is a vital story in the Ukiah Oregon series. I completely agree with the advertisements that say you cannot put down a Wen Spencer novel. Without the information in this book on Ukiah's history the series would be a lot duller.

So many novels today have the same plots. This was entirely different and extremely well done. A great piece of writing !!!

I liked this book, not loved, liked. Its a good lesson to those who think that secrets should stay in families and letting them out will ruin you.

I had read and enjoyed several of Kate Wilhelm's excellent science fiction stories before I picked up "The Good Children," a novel that is not science-fiction. I won't attempt to summarize the plot of this book, because that would destroy the reader's anticipation of what lies around the next corner. Let's just say that this is the story of a highly unusual family, with the focus on the four children and the staggering problems that are unexpectedly thrust on them. I found it impossible to predict the outcome of any of the page-turner crises. This first-rate novel is an easy, fast, and thoroughly engrossing read.

A family with four children, and not exactly well-to-do, buys a house. Soon thereafter, tragedy strikes with the death of the father and later the mother, leaving the children to survive by themselves. The children actually live a lie out of necessity until more misfortune occurs with one of them. The family bond proves to be the strength of the family.
This book contains language that might be offensive, and is for mature readers only.

Family promises should never be broken. Never will you find a book that drives this point home any clearer. The characters in this book were some of the best and most complex I have seen in years. This is a must read. Once you stop, you won't want to put it down.

I ordered this book based on the film, " The Oregan Trail," which I enjoyed watching. The book is a good follow-up to the movie, making much of the content even more real for me.

Parkman's travelogue on the Great Plains is a major work of life among the Native Americans. His descriptions are honest and capture a society that was fading even while he was writing. The book had a major impact on the way that non-westerners saw the Great Plains. This was both good and bad. Parkman wrote through the lens of a Boston aristocrat and was full of prejudices against those who did not meet his standards. This was dangerous in that many who read about the "backwardness" of the Native Americans used this as justification for "civilizing" them. Although this was probably not Parkman's intention, it was a consequence of his writing. In addition, he promoted the hunting of buffalo for sport, which led to the decimation of the buffalo heards on the Plains.

Another major issue with this book is that, in spite of its title, it is not about the Oregon Trail. Parkman went no further than the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and he did all in his power to dissociate himself from the pioneers moving along the Oregon Trail. If you are looking for a history of the trail, this book will not satisfy your needs.

However, in spite of the misleading title and the prejudices that surface throughout the book, it is still a fine piece of writing that opens up a world that has been lost to today's readers. Read it and enjoy your travels into another time and place.

This is an excellent book giving the reader a first person view of the Frontier in the 1840s. The details make the reader feel as if they were living the adventure themselves.

If you are looking for a book that tells of a journey on the Oregon Trail, this is NOT the book for you. A better for the book title might have been "A Summer On The Frontier: Life Among The Indians and Explorers." The author follows the Oregon Trail until he reaches Fort Laramie, and then spends the rest of his time among the indians who inhabited the plains and badlands at the time.

If you are looking for vivid picture of life among the indians, buffaloes, and explorers, this IS the book for you!

In a day when "historians" make comment on the long dead or events from the confines of their apartments, Francis Parkman is the person who actually experienced the history he wrote about. There is no political correctness in Parkman and he describes savages, French, frontiersmen and Mormons exactly as they were without apology.
This work is a masterpiece everyone should read and be a guidebook to modern historians who spend more time working a political end and getting in the way of history rather than letting history tell it's truthful tale.
Parkman is not just the historian or recorder of events. He is the bard of Sioux myth, the geologist, biologist and countless other things describing flora, fauna and weather. He is complete in having that air of Boston social elite in beginning his journey and returning from the plains an American having tasted, smelled and breathed the savage world and revealed the eastern thoughts on how that world would evolve for the next 60 years.
Parkman is remarkable and the best compliment for this book is to recommend that readers search for other Parkman histories to read as they are real.
I am currently in his wonderful Montecalm and Wolfe series on the history of Canada which actually created America. If you have children, share Parkman's history with them as he will make it come alive for them.
As you can see by all of the lengthy reviews, Francis Parkman invokes a great deal of thought and emotion in his histories which transfers to the reader.

The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman is an account which further enforces the history of the Oregon Trail we had learned about in [U.S. History] class. The book portrays what it must have been like to travel on the Trail, never knowing what the next day would bring. The buffalo hunting which took place throughout the book became monotonous and boring after the first exciting few, but other than that repetitiveness, the journey was well depicted. I especially enjoyed Parkman's in-depth descriptions given to the reader of the people he meets on his journey and his observations on their actions as well. His vivid imagery of scenes from nature such as animals, prairie landscapes, and the weather, place the reader right next to Parkman in his adventuresome expedition. There are some dull, repetitive points in the observations made by the author, but aside from that his autobiographical telling of his journey is unforgettable.

This was an entertaining read and I found it hard to put down. I loved reading Kay Hooper's stories when I first read "Haunting Rachel". Was not disappointed reading this story. It had just the right mystique and romance to keep me reading till I was finished. I liked this story better than the Shadow series, which had less romantic interest but still good suspense. I recommend highly "After Caroline" to all Kay Hooper fans! A MUST read. If you like this story, I recommend reading: "Finding Laura", "Amanda", and "Haunting Rachel".

Cliffside, how come she sees the sign for that small town in her dreams? How come two different people in Atlanta have called her Caroline when her name is Joanna? These are only two of the questions that have come to puzzle research librarian Joanna Flynn after her near fatal auto accident. Joanna, puts the clues together, finds out that a woman named Caroline McKenna, who is her exact age, died in an accident in Cliffside, Oregan at the same time she survived her own accident and to make matters even more coincidental, they could have been twins. Caroline goes to Oregon and finds more than she bargained for, more than anyone could have bargained for.

I enjoyed this five star, character driven book more than I can say, this book is so much more than a romance novel, so much more than even romantic suspense. Dean Koontz fans would appreciate this book.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene, Number One fan of Ken Douglas, writer of Dead Ringer, Desperation Moon & Running Scared. One of the advantages of being married to a writer is that there are plenty of good books around the house. It's turned me into quite a reader of mysteries and thrillers. In addition to Ken's books you might also want to check out Blood Dreams & Sleeping with Fear, two other fine thrillers by Kay Hooper.

Kay Hooper has become one of my favorite authors. After Caroline was a great romance suspense novel. I enjoyed it from the first page until the last page! I am currently reading Finding Laura now by Ms. Hooper and enjoying it also. I do not think anyone will be disappointed in this book one bit. It was very hard to put down.

Kay Hooper has become one of my favorite authors. After Caroline was a great romance suspense novel. I enjoyed it from the first page until the last page! I am currently reading Finding Laura now by Ms. Hooper and enjoying it also. I do not think anyone will be disappointed in this book one bit. It was very hard to put down.

I read this book after reading Kay Hooper's "Shadow" and "Evil" books and considering that those books were written well after "After Caroline," one might think that this novel might not hold up, but one would be wrong. "Caroline is every bit the book Hooper's later works are. I was hooked from the first page. Yes, there was an awful lot of coincidence, two accidents, one near fatal, one fatal, that take place at the same time to identical women who are the same age, but that's okay, because Hooper deals with it in a way that makes us believe. She pulls us into the story with suspense, romance and richly drawn characters.

I liked this book four stars worth and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves good romance, good suspense and a touch of the strange.

Reviewed by Captain Katie Osborne