University of Oregon Books

fast shipping, recieved book just as described, good as new!
i'd do business with seller again thanks.

I teach cellular biolgy in senior hihg school, and I found in this book an excellent tool, were my students can find the basic information that they need. The CD is also a great idea, because the students can see some proceses in motion.

This book contained very usefull text information especially for whom undertaking cell biology. It as also recommended by Lecturers in Victoria University of Technology, in Australia. It provides excellent details of cell functions and related items in both the general view and the molecular view. The older version is also a very good source, but I think it is a bit out dated. I would recommend this text to whom is studying cell biology.

I am an engineer by training and I am interested in appling biological principles to solving engineering problems (I am also the author of a book entitled Intelligent Systems for Engineering: A Knowledge-based Approach). Prof. Cooper's book is an amazingly well written book. Anyone can easily understand the concepts presented. My only advice to the author is to make the CD-ROM more interactive and if possible add narration. Congratuations on writing such an excellent book.

The field of cell biology is so vast and changing so rapidly that teaching it can be a daunting prospect. The First Edition of The Cell: A Molecular Approach, published in 1997, offered the perfect solution for teachers and their students--current, comprehensive science combined with the readability and cohesiveness of a single-authored text. Designed for one-semester introductory cell biology courses, this book enabled students to master the material in the entire book, not simply to sample a small fraction from a much larger text. The new Second Edition of The Cell retains the organization, themes, and special features of the original, but it has been completely updated in major areas of scientific progress, including: genome analysis; chromatin and transcription; nuclear transport; protein sorting and trafficking; signal transduction; the cell cycle; and programmed cell death.

The new Second Edition was published June 16, 2000.

I usually read books like this once, then trade them in. But this is a "keeper" to be read again and again.

It works on many levels and for many people. First, if you've ever thought about moving to the country, it is full of solid information on everything from wells to livestock. But it's also so full of humor and sensitivity, a true love of nature and an adventurous spirit that it makes great reading even if you're a metropolitan-ite.

The book had particular appeal to me since the author lives, and wrote about, an area not far from my home; one of my favorite places (Yamhill county, Oregon). If only she'd sell her farm to me!

Drake's book is warm and touching but never mushy. She uses her words with economy to create vivid images that strike the eye, and the mind. I would encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book. Filled with positive images, and insights that are surprising and touching, it's a great read, I couldn't put it down.

Barbara Drake has written a sweet and lovely word-picture of her life on the Oregon farm she shares with her husband and their motley group of animals. Although she writes with a tender love for her land, and all that is on it, it is never saccharine, and is actually quite informative for anyone thinking of undertaking this type of lifestyle change.The book is written as a collection of brilliant essays,each filled with pathos,tenderness,and a deep understanding of the dramatic lifestyle changes involved in delving into farming.We meet, and learn to love, her sheep, geese, the sheepherding dogs,and the colorful neighbors. And even her warm and adoring father,who has an especially hilarious relationship with the hugely protective gander who patrols the gaggle of geese on the property, becomes someone you wish you could have met in person. This is one of those truly magical reads that leaves you with an afterglow of satisfaction after it's done. This is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the beauty and the magic of nature, the relationship of animal friends, the satisfaction of self-reliance and independence, or just someone who loves simply-beautiful prose. Barbara Drake is a poet at heart.

I ordered this book based on the positive reviews, and it was just delivered to me today.

As I was breezing cursorily through it, I came to a description of the author's lambs being taken away for slaughter.

Guess I was expecting a wonderful book of heart such as "Enslaved by Ducks" by Bob Tarte, where he and his wife, Linda, love their pets (at last count, in "Fowl Weather", the sequel, being 37 I believe), and deeply mourn when they experience the loss of them due to death.

So this book is not for anyone expecting a totally loving tale. I personally could not find "Peace at Heart" while raising lambs for slaughter.

Anyway, just a warning for those of you whom this might bother or disturb. It is probably very well written, but I personally will spare myself sorrowful feelings by not reading it.

If you've ever wanted to just forget city life and pack up and move to the country, read this book. It's a great collection of non-fiction writing about Drake's life in rural wine country, raising sheep and making wine.

The book was put together in an informative and easy to read way. It's a travel log, for anyone wanting to visit the Nez Perce Trail National Park, plus it gives a summarized overview of that happened. I loved the author's method of narrating the story of what happened, with easy to read maps and tables of information. Her list of references was also impressive. More detail will require further reading, but this is a starter. What is missing from her story is what this band of renegades really was. They were outlaws, shunned by their own Nez Perce Nation and what is also missing is the national impact of this unfortunate Indian outbreak had on our Country. That is why I didn't rate the book higher. It's a view into history "through rose colored glasses", which is quit in style today, but that gives the starters on history a dangerously biased view. Real history is often painful to read about. These Indians were not heroes. Hundreds of innocent people were murdered and the real Nez Perce almost lost their wonderful Idaho Reservation because of this War. Congress was in a complete uproar. They were also opposed by other Indian Nations, specifically the Bannock, Shoshone and the Crow to mention a few. This is the story of a national disaster and tragedy. The real heroes were often those they attacked and the horse soldiers that had to chase them. Still, as a travelog and guide to 80% of the historic sites along the Nez Perce Trail, this book is a good starter. I also loved the historic photographs, some of which I have not found anywhere else.

The story of the Nez Perce bands of Wallowa Oregon is one of the saddest of the expansion period of the American West. Driven from their homelands by a sneaky treaty they never signed, several bands of Nez Perce were moving reluctantly onto the new, smaller reservation. But a few angry young men left camp, on their own, and killed a white man they knew to be bad to Indians. The U.S. Army responded and thus began the pursuit of the Nez Perce, across Idaho, to Wyoming, and then Montana, over 1100 miles. Eight hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children walked and rode hoping to find a new place to settle where the Army would no longer pursue. But the Army did pursue, and finally caught up with the Nez Perce on a cold October day in Northern Montana, where after a 5 day siege, Chief Joseph finally surrendered to save those that were left, cold, sick, and tired. This book follows the trail, and recounts the history as told by several authors and particpants including General Howard, Yellow Wolf, and some Army Scouts. It is the one book you should read first. Then get out and drive the trail that the Nez Perce rode. I bet you can't drive it in one summer, but they rode that distance, moving camp every day, with the Army shooting at them when ever they didn't move far enough. Chief Joseph wondered when will the white men ever tell the truth. Why is the Indian not allowed to live under the same laws of freedom as the white man.

Alas, I have been asked by my publisher to write yet another book on Chief Joseph. I wish to do it well and respectfully, and, if possible, break a little new ground. So, I may be one of ten people on earth who has travelled the Nez Perce trail, both known and unknown, from the Wallowa all the way to Tonkawa, with requisite sidetrips to Nespelem and various relevant sites. All in all, I've put about 10,000 miles into this enterprise. And here's the hard truth: Cheryl Wilfong, whoever she is -- and God bless her researching soul -- has made this trip possible. She has broken the route down into three categories -- mainstream traveller, for the pavement folk; adventurous traveller, for the dirt road folk; and intrepid traveller for the white-knuckle, high center clearance, "I don't need guard rails" folk. I did it mostly on the adventurous/intrepid roads. And I can say, unequivocally, that she has created a work that will not soon be bettered, and which is absolutely invaluable for any Nez Perce afficianado, from the casual traveller to the "I only come out of the archives to breathe" geeks who are researching the familial ties between Wahlatits and Yellow Bull.

By the very nature of the task, she has a few errors, and they can put you in harm's way, such as having you travel 1.8 miles to a crossroads in the vast emptiness of Montana's back country when the actual distance is 11.8 miles. But these errors are so few as to be remarkable in their infrequency. Overall, she takes you mile by mile, dusty crossroad by dusty crossroad, rutted mountain pass by rutted mountain path, and conducts you on an assiduously researched journey of the trail that the Nez Perce followed from their homeland in the Wallowa and Snake/Salmon country to their exile in Oklahoma.

I could give you endless specifics, but here is the bottom line: you cannot take this trip, or any portion of it, without this book. You can forget your Josephy, misplace your Haines and your Lavender, or trade your Greene and your McWhorter for extra gas money. But you cannot -- CANNOT -- take this journey without having this book on the seat next to you.

Take it from someone who stopped at every pile of stones, every remnant of rifle pit and breastwork, every old campsite and every battle and staging area; who walked the high country trails near Lolo and the lowland campgrounds on the flats below Fort Leavenworth: You absolutely must buy this book if you choose to retrace any of this journey.

The Nez Perce Historic Trail Foundation and the National Park Service should canonize this woman.

End of story.

This is an excellent work which I plan to use as a tool for planning vacations over the next summers. The history is concise yet accurate and supplements works by Helen Addison Howard (Saga of Chief Joseph), Merrill Beale (I Will Fight No More Forever), Alvin Josephy (The Nez Perce and the Opening of the Northwest), L. V. McWhorter (Yellow Wolf & Hear Me My Chiefs!) The maps, side trips, and road condition guides are useful. Classifications of roads for vehicles and travelers described as mainstream, adventurous and intrepid are unique for this type of history book and assist in planning based on the type of vehicle one might be using. Reminds me of hiking books. A knowledge of geography is vital to understanding history. Wilfong aids amature historians visiting the areas to view and get a better understanding of the physical conditions both the troops and the Nez Perce found in this tragic chapter of American history.

The good news is that this book is a short summary of what most people
will find important when they apply patterns either in the field of architecture
or in their own field of design. It provides insight into Alexander's theory
of economics--a stance which caused him to be unfavorably labeled as a
socialist when these ideas were taking form.

Patterns, in this book, are almost a footnote to the broader ideas of
design, of economics, and of socially coordinated construction that
form the core of Alexander's exposition here. The economics form a
compelling argument for a process of piecemeal growth. Alexander gives
practical advice on how to administer the social process, including the
creation of a community pattern board that oversees the introduction of
new patterns into the community language, and the retirement of old
ones. By putting the pattern mantra aside, this book helps the reader
get beyond the point where they are looking for patterns in their own right
to provide the answer to every design question, and pushes the reader
to think at the level of the foundations.

The bad news is that the book takes the reader into a couple of miscues.
Alexander would later bitterly recant the role this book accords to the
architect. Architects should be master builders rather than the font of
design ideas. The architecture role emerged in the Oregon Experiment
to lend the project an air of conventionality and credibility, a compromise
that kept the project from achieving its goals.

Current tidbits of retrospective literature try to make sense of the experiment;
some claim it succeeded (in spite of those aspects Alexander felt were
wrong-headed) and some claim it failed. Grabow's biography of
Alexander (Christopher Alexander: The Search for a New Paradigm in
Architecture) features some choice words about the miscues in this
experiment. Taken with the retrospective Grabow brings us, this book
provides a perspective on patterns that is completely absent from the
other books in this series. Some of these, such as the foundations in
economics, are there for the picking. To reap some of the other insights
requires study that goes beyond casual reading, but such study is
appropriate to the depth of insight it will afford, and you owe it to
yourself to explore it. These insights are crucial for making patterns
work in a practical way in a social setting.

If you want to learn about patterns, and you want to start with an
Alexandrian book, I think this is the one you start with. Get the big
picture first, in the context of the underlying principles, and come
back for the pattern details later in A Pattern Language, and for the
artist's artistic exposition of his art in The Timeless Way of Building.

The Oregon Experiment is one of a series of influential volumes on architecture and social design published by Christopher Alexander and his colleagues in the 1970s. While the most well-known volume in the series, A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, and Construction, develops general principles for the design of social spaces at all scales, The Oregon Experiment applies those principles to a specific case: the campus of the University of Oregon.

If you are looking for an example of a specific campus plan, however, you will not find it here. Central to Alexander's approach is the notion that communities should not create fixed master plans, but rather should develop a common pattern language, and then apply it organically, in a piecemeal fashion, as needs arise. The book talks as much about this process of planning as it does about individual construction projects. Whenever a need arises (expansion of a building, addition of a door, creation of a green) people consult their pattern language and build something to suit the space and satisfy the need. Because everyone follows the agreed-upon language, the new parts harmonize with those that already exist (or replace earlier, poorly-designed structures).

If you have enjoyed studying Alexander's patterns in A Pattern Language, you will find here a collection of new ones that are specific to a university setting, including "University Population," "University Shape and Diameter," "Departments of 400," "Local Administration," "Classroom Distribution," and about a dozen more. Although he clearly draws on ideas from British universities in many cases, he unaccountably does not include one of the fundamental features of the British model, namely the residential college of 500 (or so) within the larger institution. (Although he does include aspects of this pattern under the heading "Small Student Unions.") As always, Alexander's pattern descriptions are clear, blunt, and thought-provoking.

The question that most readers will want to have answered is, "Does all this really work?" When the volume was written, of course, the process was just getting under way, and so we cannot know from this book alone whether everything described was successful or has been sustained over the long term. From what I've seen of campus master planning in public universities, it often turns out in the end to have less to do with creating good educational environments than it does with kowtowing to the local chamber of commerce and lining the pockets of already-rich trustees. But just because something is difficult doesn't mean it shouldn't be made the goal. If Alexander or someone at the University of Oregon were to produce a sequel, "The Oregon Experiment 25 Years On," I'm sure it would meet with a warm reception.

The Oregon Experiment comes from a time when Eugene, Oregon was a capital for social and community experiments in the US. It's a practical, brilliant, gentle, idealistic proposal, without peer in modern literature. There are a few papers on the experiment after twenty years, available on the web -- the experiment basically had the life bureaucratized out of it. But this book remains as a shining, solid proposal, which any participatory experiment should look over very closely.

As a software designer and as somebody who lives and works in buildings in cities, I find the ideas in some of Alexander's other books on architecture and design - The Timeless Way of Building and A Pattern Language - very interesting and appealing. They are a brave attempt to point to a more human, community-oriented way of doing things.

I had high hopes that The Oregon Experiment would describe a concrete example of whether these ideas worked when they were put into practice. It does nothing of the kind. It describes an interesting thought experiment in participatory design and tries to present this as a vindication of the Pattern Language concepts. But nowhere does it even mention whether the design it describes was ever actually implemented, much less whether it worked from the inhabitants' point of view.

It is very easy for a design team to get carried away with what a great design they have on paper. I've done it loads of times. That enthusiasm tells us nothing about whether a design is actually going to be a success.

I know Alexander later moved from academia and started trying to put his ideas into practice on actual building projects. A book on his real experiences and how well the original ideas stood up to the cold light of reality would be fascinating and important. The Oregon Experiment isn't that book.

The book functions on many levels; as a memoir of an Oregon rancher raising a family, as a history of Klamath ranching, as the story of one crane's survival, and as a plea for conservation. Dayton Hyde rescues an egg from a flood, gets it to hatch and then has a friend for life as the sandhill crane makes itself a member of his growing family.
Many black and white photos through the book show the cranes, the new chicks, and scenes of ranch life. The author describes the animal behavior and their interaction in interesting vignettes. One can't help but learn a lot about nature just from enjoying his accounts. The rescue of the baby porcupines was quite funny.
I'm glad to see it still in print.

This is perhaps the best-written book I have ever read. It has great descriptions, accurate information, and great humor. I can't believe it is written by a cowboy and not an English teacher. I plan to buy more copies to give as gifts. Thanks, Dayton. I love your writing and look forward to reading more.

What a marvelous book! I laughed out loud when I saw the photographs of the author showing the cranes how to fly. A book for all nature lovers by a most gifted story teller. A book to read and savored and then read aloud. And to to think it is nonfiction!

This book combines an engaging narrative story style in the tradition of Will James with philosophical musings a la Thoreau, and caps it with a stirring call to action reminiscient of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring". Dayton Hyde's observations on the plight of our endangered native species are still so fresh and relevant that it's hard to believe the book is over 30 years old! Don't mistake this book for some boring, preachy diatribe, though. It is more than anything else a charming love story about Hyde's passion for Sandhill Cranes and his adventures with them over twenty years while ranching in Oregon and raising a family of five human children and assorted other wildlife.

The appreciable detail within this book makes it difficult, at times, to follow; and that makes it difficult to construct an overview in our memory. The author uses a narrative style that gives no indication of where the narrative is heading. Unless you already know the history and are familiar with the principal characters, the text can seem overloaded with detail, the value of which may be unclear till further in the story. For example, in chapter 14 we are not told till the final paragraph that the two women we have been reading about, Eliza Spaulding and Narcissa Whitman, "were the first women to cross the North American continent." (286) This new information gives greater value to the details narrated in the chapter than they seemed to have on first reading. The book is written such that we (almost) never know where we're going, only where we are at the moment. It is the first book I've read encompassing the period, and it may not have been the best choice for an initial broad overview.

Using divisions within the bibliography helps us find the organization of the book:


Chapters 1 - 3

Early Explorations, general accounts

Specific Explorations - Charlevoix, La Salle, Verendrye, Carver and Rogers, Upper Missouri River and Mandan Indians


Chapter 4

The Northwest Coast, 1776 - 1800

Explorations Across Canada

Spanish Explorations on the Missouri River


Chapters 5 - 6

Lewis and Clark


Chapter 7

Trading and Trapping Methods

Early American Adventures on the Missouri

Letters, Reports about She-he-ke's Return

Trouble with Blackfeet

Thompson and Pinch-Perch


Chapter 8

The Astorian Adventure


Chapters 9 - 11

Proposals to Occupy Oregon

The Yellowstone Expedition

The Arikara Battle and Aftermath

Opening of Rocky Mountain Fur Trade

British-American Fur Trade Conflict


Chapters 12 - 13

Hall J. Kelley

Bonneville, Wyeth and Jason Lee


Chapters 14 - 16

The Missionaries


Chapters 17 - 18

Emigrations of 1839-40

Emigrations of 1840, 1841, 1842


Chapter 19

Emigration of 1843


Chapter 20

Emigrations of 1844

Emigrations of 1846

Noted historian David Lavender has penned probably the finest single volume on the Oregon Trail ever written. Starting in 1719, 130 years before the trail was formally established, Lavender slowly and concretely builds the story of the United States first claim to this territory by examining similar efforts by the Spanish, French, Russian and English which preceded the American claims.

Incorporating and firmly underscoring the efforts of the Native Americans, the Mountain Men, Hudson's Bay Company and the early missionary efforts, Lavender reveals that these four groups did more to claim the Northwest for the United States than any politician or political party in Washington. Always in the forefront of Western Expansion, the impact of the missionary effort was pivotal to the US claim to this Norwest portion of our nation.

This is a truly fine history and a remarkably excellent piece of writing.

This is an excellent account of the great quest for the Northwest, which eventually culminated in the vast migrations of Americans along the Oregon Trail. From the early exploration efforts of Jacques Cartier (1530's); Jean Nicolet (1630's); Marquette and Joliet (1670's); LaSalle (1680's); Bourgmont (early 1700's); the Verendryes (1730's to 1740's); Jonathan Carver (1760's) and others too numerous to mention, we see how the English, French, Spanish and Americans all had the goal to establish roots in Oregon. When the mountain men came into the picture searching for their beaver pelts in the early 1800's, it was this breed of men that finally opened the routes across the Rocky Mountains which lead the wagon trains through to the Northwest. Lavender then takes us up to the first overland migrations (1840's) of the missionaries and others in search of a better way of life, along with all their sacrifices and perils. This is a great book and very insightful of events leading up to the Oregon Trail.

David Lavender's WESTWARD VISION spans the period from the mid-17th century to 1849 as he chronicles the search for a reliable overland route to, and the subsequent settlement of, what would become known as Oregon, principally that area which borders the Willamette River as it flows into the Columbia (at present-day Portland). As the subtitle of the book indicates, this is "the story of the Oregon Trail".

For the sake of summary, I arbitrarily divide this book into five parts: early exploration of the Upper Mississippi River by French-Canadians seeking a route to the "western sea", the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the subsequent unsuccessful efforts to establish an easy route to Oregon via the Missouri River and its headwaters, the influx of "mountain men" into the area and the discovery of a more southerly route (the Oregon Trail), the early settlement in Oregon of Christian missionary groups sent to proselytize the Indians, and the massive immigration of land-seekers in the 1840's which ultimately resulted in the establishment of a U.S. Oregon Territory.

WESTWARD VISION is the result of extensive research on the part of the author. Its wealth of details is both its strong point and its undoing. Probably the most commendably concise chapters (5 and 6), considering the length of the event, deal with the amazing Lewis and Clark Expedition. Perhaps Lavender thought the history of the two-year trek adequately covered elsewhere. In any case, the following chapters on the exploits and travails of the fur-trapping mountain men and the missionaries are so full of minutiae that it would require the reader to take extensive notes in order to keep track of the various groups and individuals endeavoring to cross the Great Divide into Oregon in the 1820s and 30s. (Reading this book for pleasure, I wasn't prepared to expend that much effort.) Only in Chapter 19, which gives an account of the 1843 journey of the first large immigrant train - almost 1000 persons- over the Oregon Trail, does the narrative regain a concise clarity. A major failing of the the volume is the lack of adequate maps to locate the majority of the named and innumerable places and geographical features: rivers, river forks, buttes, mountains, rocks, forts, mountain passes, river fords, trapper rendezvous, and settlements. Perusing contemporary state highway maps didn't help much. And in a work this extensive, I would have expected a large section of illustrations. Except for several very crude drawings, there were none.

What elevates WESTWARD VISION, and compels me to award four stars, is that the author makes his point magnificently, i.e. that it took many tough people with large reserves of true grit to expand the fledgling United States to the Pacific's shores. The crossing was hard:

"At the rainswept crossing of the North Platte, blue with cold, cramped by dysentery and pregnancy pangs, Mary Walker (an 1838 pilgrim) sat down and 'cried to think how comfortable my father's hogs were' (back home). As for Sarah Smith, Mary sniffed, she wept practically the entire distance to Oregon." And even recreation had a sharp edge, as at the 1832 trappers' rendezvous:

"... a few of the boys poured a kettle of alcohol over a friend and set him afire. Somehow he lived through it, and fun's fun."

Finally, Lavender eloquently suggests the reason so many embarked on the Oregon Trail at all:

"What matters is not whether fulfillment was attainable in reality (at the Trail's end), but rather that at long last in the world's sad, torn history an appreciable part of mankind thought it might be. That was both the torment and the freedom - to go and look."

No one understands the weather in Oregon better than George Taylor. This book is full of facts and interesting information. I would hope that it is used as a textbook in classes throughout the state and beyond. It's an interesting and informational read. I highly recommend it!

This book is the companion to Taylor's book "The Oregon Weather Book." Basically, "weather" refers to conditions at any given time, while "climate" refers to typical conditions based on averages over long periods of time. This, then, is a look at the average weather conditions in various parts of the state at different times of the year.

Most people will be interested in the first three sections of the book, which provide a broad view of the climate elements in the state (precipitation, temperature, winds, humidity, cloud cover, snow, etc), the large-scale factors that influence them, and the specific conditions in nine distinct "climate zones" within the state. This information is provided through relatively sparse text and a LOT of tables, charts, and maps. The pages and pages of data may seem overwhelming at first, but the information of interest to the layman is easily located and understood. If you are planning a move to, say, Eugene, it is easy enough to look up typical conditions there month to month. With hardly more effort you can also gain a very basic understanding of why the climate in that area is as it is.

The zone-by-zone descriptions also include a listing of the principal agricultural activities in that zone, which really fleshes out the bare numbers--knowing whether someplace is cattle, wheat, or wine country tells you a lot more than rainfall totals alone. Rainfall totals are there, though, month-by-month for dozens of weather stations. So are mean temperatures, frost dates, and growing seasons.

If you have a deeper interest in climatology, the second half of the book includes information on how climate information is measured and reported, long-term climate trends and their effect on salmon, El Nino events, and global climate change.

However, the book is not without its flaws. As someone who knows very little about weather and climatology, I didn't understand everything I read (not a huge problem, because the information that was most important to me was clear). The worst problem was that the maps were terrible. The core of the book is the influence of terrain features such as mountains and rivers on the climate, yet no map SHOWED any rivers or mountains. Reference is frequently made to different counties, yet there is no county map (the counties are shown but not labelled). The map showing all the climate zones has no cities or ANY reference points listed. Same with all the map-graphs of rainfall and temperature. How frustrating for outsiders trying to use the book to get to know Oregon! (For that matter, how many long term residents know all the state's counties?).

The book was ultimately informative and interesting, if sometimes frustrating, so I do recommend it. But you'll probably glean the most from it if you already know something about Oregon and/or climatology.

We used the book to determine which area to retire in Oregon. The book was very helpful for this purpose. It provided most of the information we needed to make a sound decision. It is well written with many good maps of the state.

This well written book provides historical depth on the Oregon Trail as well as interesting reading that gets an important message across about historical truth. Highly recommend it.

At times history can be a Gatling gun of fact and speculation and cause the reader to separate truth from fiction. The underlying theme of Tom Rea's fine work is that given a certain geographical area (in this case Devil's Gate along Wyoming's Sweetwater River), it is the land itself that owns the true stories of space and time. People simply tell them, sometimes to fit their own needs.

Recruiting and interweaving stories from days gone by of this region, whether it be John Fremont mapping the territory, experiences of Oregon Trail emigrants, the Mormon handcarters, mid-nineteenth century Indian wars, Billy Owen's surveying or Hiram Chittenden's engineering for dam sites, to feuds with neighboring ranchers ("Cattle Kate" lynching), water rites, grazing laws, up to the present-day, this is a gifted undertaking of connecting historical meaning.

Enjoyed the stories. Benefited from the insightful viewpoint as well.

This books does a good job of summerizing many historic events in Wyoming's past to a very unique and sometimes forgotten place. It was interesting to read accounts of some of these historic events and some not so historic and obscure events and how this country tied into them. It was an enjoyable read of history but also posed an underlying troubling trend today. It is a very interesting "history" book in that aspect.

This is the ultimate botanical sourcebook for Steens and surrounding areas of Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. Finally a single book covering this area, which as the author points out, contains plants at their geographic limit from several different floristic regions of the West. I was pleased to see a key included. So many popular field guides have forgone keys and only include select species. This key includes every species known from Steens and adjacent areas. If you have ever found yourself frustrated because the plant at hand isn't in your book, this is for you.

For the most part, the organization of the book is good. I was disappointed to see monocots and dicots lumped together in one alphabetic section. The author's intent was to make use easier for the amateur, but I found it frustrating. The black and white illustrations are well done. I found the color plates disappointing. Because of the quality of the paper, the ink has soaked in, obscuring detail and toning down contrast. However, it is easy to overlook this short-coming because of the wealth of information in one convenient source.

This is a great guide to the plants of Steens mountains, very detailed. If you are only casually interested in the plants of this area, be forewarned that this is not a picture book, but rather a key with excellent descriptions.

This is the most comprehensive field guide of any sort that I have ever seen! It's perfectly designed to help one identify any unknown plant in the Steens. Having been to the Steens Mountains I've witnessed the great diversity of the flora and the detail put into this guide for each individual specimen is most impressive!

Very practical and well written
The book displays a passion which seeks to inform without predjudice.

While there is information in this collection of articles that is specific to Oregon viticulture, there is also a good bit of information that is useful for any viticultural area. The sections on financial planning, site preparation, trellising, and labor were very useful. The diagrams on climate for Oregon are easy to read and done in color with a nice glossy finish. There is a good section on organic methods, but it mostly deals with certification, and not with actual organic methods. Oregon is probably one of the most promising areas for organic viticulture, and it is a little bit of a disappointment that this topic was not covered in more detail.

And although I am in the Northeast, I find this book to be a useful reference, and my copy is starting to show some wear and tear.

Very helpful for anyone thinking about growing grapes for revenue in the Oregon grape growing region.