Oregon Books

Excellent reference book for anyone who grows or plans to grow native plants. Will likely go out of print. Highly recommended for the native plant lover or nursery grower. Unusual book.

This is a great map if you JUST want a detailed view of downtown Portland, OR only. If you need any of the suburbs you will need another map like the Thomas guide.

It has been awhile since I read this book, but really enjoyed it when I did. This is the self story of one of the last old time Oregon cowboys. Rankin was a young cowboy at a time the old West was changing. His dad had been a famous rider, and Rankin was on one of the last big cattle drives. His sense of humor shines through these stories about men and horses, and what it was like punching cows. This is the real stuff, though I was told by one old cowgirl, 'don't believe everything Rankin wrote in that book!'. Never mind, he spins a good story.

Sam MCKinney's books are what inspired me to build my power sharpie (see my other reviews). I'm 70, and I figured if he can do it so can I. So I can't wait to get my boat done and follow his Colimbia River tracks. He was a dedicated, motivated, independant, off the wall, adventurous Waterman that dedicated his life to the water and helping youth learn outdoor skills. His writings are simple, homey, and inspiring. Get them all.

Terry Lesh

I purchased this book to help me find a place to honeymoon that was cozy, not over-run by tourists. I wanted a honeymoon site that offered an authentic experience, not one marketed or comercialized. I knew there had to be out of the way places that would allow genuine exploration and discovery in which the traveler was not just another number being shuttled around to the same places to spend money with everyone else. I ended up finding a beautiful bed and breakfast on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Built in the late 1800's this inn featured a small detached bungalow on the bluffs overlooking the harbor. There is no way I would have found this place without the guide.

I am realizing the benefit of "place." The world is full of ugly concrete box hotels that all look and feel the same. Why not chance it a little and explore a small county inn off a small country road surrounded by woods and coastline? Yes, there may be a little discomfort in the lack of anonimity, but why settle for the generic?

For those who live on the west coast, or want to visit, this guide has hundreds of listings of places to stay. The author has personally visited each of them (tough job), and offers insightful recommendations. The guide thoroughly covers a broad range of geography and has something from everyone from 19th century hotels to small cabins in California's Gold Rush Country. Most of these inns are owned by families who live on the site, so you know you are supporting local economies and not some corporate interest 1,000 miles away.

Read this and then get out there and explore.

D. E Bullis, better known to his friends as Deb, has succeeded where most authors fail. Taking seventeen years to pen a sequel to his 1931 work, "Bleaching and dyeing Royal Ann cherries for maraschino or fruit salad use", Deb wows us with his appropriately, and self-explanatorily titled, "Relationship of maturing and weathering to yield and quality of peppermint oil," and does so in even fewer pages than his freshman effort.

How many authors actually produce a sequel shorter than the original? Take that, J.K. Rowling! And no slipshod 500 pages whipped out in a year, no sir. Deb spent over a year penning each page, and it must show. How easily such a publication could have run 20, 30, even 40 pages. Good show, Deb. Five Stars!! And a place on my wish list of books of unknown bindings.

Here are personal interviews and reminiscences of the people who lived the early days and created Pendleton and Umatilla County, Oregon. From the mid 1800's on, these are the stories of the pathfinders including ranchers, business people, teachers, newspaper-men, ministers, doctors, and more. If you like anecdotal history this is up your alley; a much more down-to-earth approach than schoolbook history.

I read this delightful and perceptive history of life along the Sweetwater River in central Wyoming several years ago. In fact I have read this book at least twice and skimmed through it a number of times since then.
Whereas Ruth Beebe brings to life the early trappers, explorers, westward emigrants, Pony Express and military who traveled through this region, her main focus is on the early homesteaders who settled this valley.
From the 1870's thru the early twentieth century this is a chronological as well as geographical study of the pioneers who braved the unforgiving climate and rigorous lifestyle to make this remote region their home.
"Reminiscing" is an important Wyoming historical account of names and past events which occurred in this somewhat mystical passageway to the west.

"Rescue Flight" tells the story of ten-year-old Will O'Malley, a tall gangly kid who loves airplanes, and whose great-uncle "Pops" O'Malley, a bush pilot, invites him on a two-week flying adventure in the rugged Badger Mountains of Oregon. The simple vacation becomes a life-and-death strugle when an excaped convict grabs the two. Will, who has never flown solo before must steal the plane back from the convict and fly it from a remote mountain airstrip. If he fails, his severely injured uncle will soon die. The result is an adventure story, told in a style that is accessible but doesn't talk down to young readers. The final two chapters detailing Will's perilous escape flight are truly gripping for readers of any age. The problem of a ten-year-old making his first solo flight under such harrowing conditions draws the reader in with page-turnng intensity, and there are plenty of realistic aviation details for the most enthusiastic aviation buff.

This book is an extremely well constructed, balanced perspective about the problems with the Lower Snake River dams. The writing is clear and consise, which is crucial when explaining such a complex issue. The author does not use emotional arguments to outrage the reader. Rather, he presents the facts that surround the issue and uses those to draw a well thought out conclusion. We have much to gain by preserving salmon in the Northwest.