Idaho Books

Pezeshki's book provides a mesmerizing picture of the forces arrayed to destroy roadless areas - and their dependent, increasingly rare species - in the Clearwater National Forest, along with tragic background material on the irreversible damage done to Idaho public lands in the past by state and federal agencies charged with their management. He conveys on-the-ground experience and a love for Idaho wild country. With engaging narrative the author unforgettably presents the pristine nature of these precious areas and the limited time they have left to exist if citizens don't wake up to their imminent, taxpayer-subsidized ruin. If you are not already a wilderness/roadless area advocate, this book will light the fires within your soul.

Pezeshki tells a compelling story in real terms without all the "woe is me" angst that discredits many environmental arguments. Pezeshki doesn't pull any punches either - Forest Service, Logging Corporations, Army Corps of Engineers, Politicians, Mainstream Environmental Groups, and even the readers get challenged.

The Holocost/Clearcut analogy toward the end of the book is thought provoking and will provide a good source for hours of campfire debate.

This is a good book for straightforward discussion of environmental conflict in the U.S.

An easily understood profile of the land management conflicts in the Clearwater River country of north Idaho over more than 25 years, Mr. Pezeshki profiles the place, agencies, characters and events that are shaping the land and waters. Having worked on the Clearwater N.F. as a fishery technician, I am pleased that someone has written such a book, and I can vouch for some of the characters profiled. Events such as tributary blowouts really happened, and will continue to happen without changing the focus of the agencies involved. Please read this book, and be part of the solution.

If you consider yourself to be an environmentalist then this book is a must read. I have never seen anything published which so accurately describes the front lines of the environmental movement. I know many of the people involved in this book and I can say that from my experience the stories in this book are quite accurate as well as inspirational.

Charles Pezeshki is one of those rare conservation writers who moves his readers to action. He writes with passion but does not take himself too seriously. Defending the last great places in American is inherently depressing, however, Pezeshki's passion for the Clearwater Country of Idaho gives one hope that individuals and groups of concerned citizens can make a difference.

Pezeshki compares favorably with such writer/naturalists as Rick Bass, David Petersen, and Dave Hughes. He does what many conservationists can not do; skillfully articulate why preservation of wildness and big country is important. His oral history of the key players involved in this great conflict is particulary profound.

Our children will thank Charles Pezeshki for his passionate defense of the last remaining wild portions of Idaho's Clearwater Country. He has made a difference.

Politics Western Style should be required reading for every voter or future voter in Idaho and Washington. Andrus' book is rare among political memoirs; he relates his experiences while not overinflating his role. The book is written in a style that befits Idaho's last Democratic governor, humorous, insightful, and never too urbane. Before he was "The Guv" Andrus was a logger, and his writing demonstrates the intelligence of the man while never, as they say in West Virginia, "gittin' 'buv his raisins". While not every Idahoan agreed with Andrus, they voted for him because, just like his book, Andrus stayed true to who he was. This book provides not only good stories, but a roadmap to responsible government. Read it.

Yes, Cecil Andrus is a politician, but he also is a man almost everyone could admire. His book tells about how he came to the political world, and how he learned how to successfully navigate and maintain his dignity. A book Bill Clinton, Newt Gringrich and George Bush Jr should read to pick up a few pointers on character, doing the right thing and keeping the work of the people foremost in their minds. A great read.

Andrus does a good job of showing just how ad hoc the situation is in Idaho and how subject it is to outside influence. For a State that had a population of independant thinkers Idaho has done a poor job of perserving its way of life. Folks are slow to make up their mind and difficult to organize. Because of this big money from outside and inside the state can do things before the people can bring themselves to react. I was raised as a poor farm boy in the southern part of the state and have live all over the world since. Still have a small farm there and try to participate in the local politics as an amatuer pundit if that is not a paradox?

Well...I was assigned to read this book for my poli sci class and at first, thought it was going to be boring...boy was i wrong;) This book is great! It bears down in detail the things Andrus fought through while being the Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carters cabinet. It also tells you the environmental issues that he fought through to preserve things such as the spawning grounds for salmon and a lot more. Anyways...If I where you, I'd read this book. It rocks!

I read a lot of memoirs, looking for ideas, maybe, since I've written a few myself. Most of them are written by people around my own age (64) or older. But this one is different. Brandon Schrand isn't even forty yet, but he has written one of the most readable, page-turning memoirs I have run across in the past five years. His story is not always a happy one, coming as he does from a family with a long tradition of being torn by divorces and re-marriages, alcoholism and AA, and occasional explosions of real violence. It is more than just the story of one lonely only-child coming of age in a dead-end town in southeast Idaho. It is also the story of that hard-working and hardscrabble extended family. Raised as much by his grandparents (a step-grandfather), as by his parents (a step-father), Brandon spent much of his childhood watching and waiting for his real father to show up, studying the faces and mannerisms of strangers who drifted in and out of the Enders Hotel, a place where lives often dead-ended that was run by this family in Soda Springs, Idaho. Growing up among two generations of reformed alcoholics is hard enough, but Schrand also watches the slow deterioration (from emphysema) of the health of his beloved step-grandfather, who calls him "the Brat", but loves him unreservedly. His step-father is a rather short-fused electrician who bounces between jobs throughout Idaho and the northwest, but always comes back to the Enders when the jobs run out ... But hey, I'm not gonna tell you the whole story. You gotta read it for yourself. I really liked this kid. In fact I think I was first really sucked into his story when I figured out he's nearly the same age as my younger son, who, like Schrand, was/is a big metal head and a particular fan of Vince Neil and the Crue. (Hey kid, they have a new album!) I gotta get Schrand and my kid together. I'll bet they'd have lots to talk about. Schrand also tells of how there were seven Brandons in his second grade class. Another coincidence: my son's middle name is Brandon, and I've already told him about The Enders Hotel. Lemme put it this way: if you're roughly between the ages of 35 and 40 and only read a few books a year, make sure this is one of them. I guarantee you'll love it! I know I did. This kid can write! - Tim Bazzett, author of the ReedCityBoy trilogy

Growing up in a hotel sounds like a cool and exotic experience, doesn't it? At the very least, it must have offered the chance to meet all kinds of people. And eating all of your meals at a café counter, sitting on an upholstered and spinnable stool, would have been fun, too. Well: maybe. These are the kinds of scenes Brandon Schrand recalls when he thinks back to his childhood. He lets us in on his unique past within the pages of this intriguing memoir.

Schrand's family owned the Enders Hotel in Soda Springs, Idaho, from 1975 to 1992. A three-story brick building with more than 100 rooms, the hotel dates to 1919 and was named for William and Theodore Enders, the German immigrant brothers who built it. Coincidentally, the establishment was also an attraction for "enders" of other sorts: transients, recovering alcoholics, and individuals just plain down on their luck. Schrand's relatives -- a complex combination of personalities as a result of multi-generational divorces -- accommodated pretty much all of them, when they weren't on the move or in recovery themselves. "It seems fitting, inevitable perhaps," he writes, "that we eventually bought a hotel, a place outfitted with so many exits and entrances, and a place that seemed itself a beacon to the far-farers, to people, ultimately, like us." (p. 203) At the same time, Brandon was growing up. An only child with a vivid imagination and a clubhouse that he eventually shared with friends and classmates, Brandon spent his so-called "formative years" doing odd jobs around the building, alternatively interacting or deliberately ignoring the guests (as per his parents' orders), and exploring the natural areas around the hotel. Complete with a geyser that erupted every hour on the hour, Soda Springs was a company town, a tourist destination, and a temporary way station for many a passer-by. For Brandon, it was Home.

The novelties are what make for interesting reading here. Soda Springs. An unusual family situation. Living in and operating a hotel with a bar and a restaurant. Most of us don't come from similar situations. And yet: growing up is in itself a common experience and one that we can all relate to, no matter the location. And though we may be singularly place-oriented when we are children, it is only when we become adults and look back over the years that we realize that the individuals who surrounded us at the time made the difference, all along. As much as we loved special buildings or certain towns, it was the people who made those places remarkable for us. That can be a hard lesson to learn; harder still, to accept.

Writing such a book is a risky business, since it reveals so much of oneself and one's family. (How did Brandon remember all of these boyhood incidents???) This is the kind of memoir that prompts you to write your own. It's easy to see why it's an award winner.

As someone who grew up in Southern Idaho and had heard of the Enders Hotel, I was happy to come across this book. I don't know what I was expecting but it turned out to be a book I could not put down. It is beautifully written and Schrand does a fantastic job of describing each character who crossed the doorstep of the hotel in all those years. It is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend. I would like to see it as a movie someday!

I am a student of Brandon's at the University of Idaho and after the essays of Brandon's that I'd already seen, I expected A LOT out of this book. Not surprisingly, I got it, and more. I am making my way through The Ender's Hotel with nothing short of satisfaction... it is a beautifully written and interestingly told story that rings true all throughout.

If you have interest in geology, catastrophies, and particularly in the Missoula Floods, this is one of the best books to read.

It provides an overview of the geology and effects of these massive floods of 15,000 years ago, but even more, it provides driving directions, lodging and fuel suggestions, and fantastic day and multi-day trips to view the current day results of the Floods.

I've been to many of the areas covered by the book, and it still pointed out many things I had failed to see and understand.

If you are going to be traveling anywhere in Eastern Washington, the Columbia River Gorge, Northern Idaho, or around Missoula Montana--buy the book. It's a very entertaining read and a wonderful way to open your eyes to what has happened to create the extraordinary formations in the inland Northwest.

This book tells of events so implausible that even your imagination will have difficulty comprehending them. If I have any complaint about the book it is that it fails to sufficiently emphasize how amazing it is, for example, that molten lava once upon a time ran nearly 400 miles before coming to its stopping place. The authors seem to almost be afraid that if they point up the apparent absurdity of it all, the reader would decide the whole book was a well written hoax! It was not a hoax, though, and the story of what happened in the Pacific Northwest once upon a time is well told. It is of greatest interest, obviously, to those of us who live here in the midst of the results of fire, fault and flood, but, for those elsewhere with vivid imaginations, it is a cracking good book. This is one time when what actually happened is more exciting than anything one's imgination can possibly conjure up!

I really enjoyed this book. But I may be different that you. I like rocks, massive basalt cliffs, immense coulees, and the beauty of arid lands. These and much more can be found in this wonderful book by Marge and Ted Mueller. If you're excited about these things then this may be a book you'd enjoy also, especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. This book is really more than just a basic, easy-to-read geological primer of the Columbia River Basin. It is a trip-planner with detailed instructions on how to go and see the stuff for yourself. I've already been to a couple of the locations and have another short trip planned for this fall. This book is exactly what I hoped it would be when I bought it from Amazon.com. I've never found another book quite like it. Enjoy!

Growing up in Oregon's Willamette Valley, basalt cliffs have watched over my life. More flood basalt and Rocky mountain gravels and mud are under my feet, and for most of my life I've lived within the shores of glacial lake Allison. When I go the rugged Pacific coast I look at beautiful haystack rocks and headlands where the same lava streams flowed, or I climb volcanic peaks just inland. Flood-wrenched lavas greet me in my travels up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, through the gorge, coulees and hills and through the valley of the Grande Ronde to overlook the Snake River canyon, over a mile deep. Fossils lie beneath similar formations in John Day country.

Fire, Faults & Floods bring the processes that created this to life. It would be useful and handy enough as a guidebook for traveling to various places and interpreting them with short hikes and drives. However, it goes way beyond this, interesting enough to hold your attention as you turn each page, filling in more and more details and drawing them into a cohesive whole.

If you have money and interest left after this book, for a more historically-oriented story of Harlan Bretz, and additional local details, pick up a companion book "Cataclysms on the Columbia" by Allen, Burns, Sargent, and Sargent.

Idaho is the best state of the lower 48 in providing access to the wild and rugged backcountry by air. Anyone planning to enter these exciting areas as pilot of their own aircraft should make Galen Hanselman's excellent tome REQUIRED reading for preparation for such a trip. The author provides TWO color photos of each strip, with all the pertinent information you'll need to know for safe utilization of these strips. He also includes excellent informational reviews of what facilities are available, what to see, where to go, etc., as well as historical background of the area. He also has developed a Runway Hazard Index that allows a pilot to judge whether any specific runway might be beyond the capabilities of either the pilot or the aircraft.

Plainly spoken, don't enter the Idaho backcountry by air without Mr. Hanselman's book unless you grew up flying there.

Fly Idaho is the most comprehensive book about flying the Idaho backcountry. I couldn't imagine flying to Idaho's bush strips without it.

The book includes a detailed description of each airstrip, along with a general area photograph, a final approach photograph, and list of activities in the area. The book is invaluable in selecting which airstrips to visit and what to do once you get there.

Fly Idaho contains information and color pictures on just about every dirt strip in Idaho, from fun to almost un-landable. Each page contains a large color Photo, airport diagrams, reccomended procedures, in-depth history, things to do and places to see.

New 1998 version now available. More strips and updated info.

Unparalleled. No other aviation book or collection offers as much advice and detail about Idaho's back country airports. This includes all the dirt stip airports that one can land a plane on. Whether you should or not depends on you. Handy size, so you can take it with you.

I'd rank it up there amoung the best.

John McDermott's FORLORN HOPE on the White Bird Canyon battle was originally published in 1978 by the Idaho Historical Society, 101 years after the battle. McDermott does an excellent job of recounting in an engaging way the events prior to the battle, the actual engagement itself, and its aftermath. Each chapter is preceded by a page entitled "What They Said" that contains direct quotes from participants in the events subsequently described. Indeed, this reliance on original sources throughout is a noteworthy attribute of this fine book.

The battle at White Bird Canyon heralded the opening of the Nez Perce War, resulting in a stunning defeat for two companies of the First cavalry sent out to interdict the Nez Perce, some of whom had killed white men, women, and children as the result of rising tensions described in the first chapter of the book. The military was totally unprepared for the fighting ability of their foe. The author examines the charges of cowardice leveled at Captain David Perry of the First Cavalry but personally feels there were other factors at work in the defeat other than the perceived failing of the senior officer in charge. These reasons are described in a chapter near the end of the book that I found to be most useful in their application to not only this battle but other engagments in the Indian Wars. Among his conclusions:
*The loss of trumpets left the cavalry companies unable to communicate effectively in a way that would have stemmed the panic retreat of many of the enlisted men (A similar problem beset G Troop of the 7th Cavalry when Reno ordered their departure from the Valley fight portion of the Little Big Horn battle).
*Judgment-Perry allowed armed citizen volunteers to occupy a piece of high ground guarding his flank. When these citizens quickly fled the fight, the Indians began to outflank the troops, contributing to their fearful and disorganized retreat.
*The troopers (many were urban recruits) were poorly trained in both horsemanship and marksmanship, unlike their Nez Perce foe to whom using guns and horses came quite naturally. It should be noted that the 1873 Springfield Trapdoor carbine (the same weapon that many like to blame for Custer's defeat the preceding year) is described by the author as "the best military rifle in the world." The problem with the weapon was that those who were trying to use it did not know how to do so effectively. One non-commissioned officer who survived the White Bird Canyon recalled that many of the pieces were rusty and foul, thereby degrading their effectiveness before the poorly trained troopers could even attempt to fire them. Furthermore, at one point in the battle, the troopers attempted to fire their weapons while MOUNTED, a difficult proposition for the even the best trained troopers, which these men were not.
*Perry underestimated the ability of his foe. It must be remembered that in this battle, as well as those such as the Little Big Horn, the soldiers lost in large measure due to the fighting ability of their foes.

The author has included thirty pages of the 1878 Court of Inquiry testimony from the inquiry convened to investigate Perry. The court ruled in his favor, that no further adjudication (i.e.,a court-martial) was necessary. This section will be very helpful to those who thrive on unedited first hand accounts. In all, an excellent book that includes numerous photographs of battle participants.

The story opens almost like a typical western movie where a tribe of Indians is wronged by whites and retaliation starts slow by a few angry young men who turn vengeance into a small scale war. The author tells the story of the Nez Perce and the ranchers who live side by side so well that the reader literally cringes when three young tribes men decide to retaliate against any white that mistreated them as they are being forced to accept another move off of their land. The initial phase of the book tells a thrilling and frightening story as each ranch or store is subject to attack as each set of occupants is isolated. After securing more tribesmen, the young Nez Perce drive most of the whites to the frayed security of small towns. Requiring a demonstration of force, General Howard sends an ill prepared set of cavalry companies in pursuit of the Nez Perce along with civilian volunteers. the result is a force of over 100 men meeting the Nez Perce in a rugged canyon that causes a total loss of coordination between the two companies particularly after the civilians give way. The battle quickly turns into a route with a series of short and isolated rallies resulting in one officer abandoning the field, one leading a platoon into a ravine of death and the commander doing his best to stem the tide of panic but eventually giving up the field. The terrain and the riding and fighting ability of the Nez Perce successfully defends Chief Joseph's initial flight. The small book does not complete the campaign but familiarizes the reader with one of the greatest plains disaster for the US Military after Little Big Horn and the Fetterman Massacre. The book includes a transcript of the investigative hearing which is interesting since the officer that abandoned the field attempts to press charges of incompetence against his field commander. I only wish the lone battle map was clearer since the terrain is confusing and the battle description could utilize a more simple map to show movements on the field. The author gives you a good feel for what the conditions and participants were like using first hand testimonies that start each new chapter and you experience the story unfolding virtually as the ranchers saw it and as the soldiers and participants may have seen it from their own point of view.

The Battle of White Bird Canyon at the beginning of the Nez Perce War ("Chief Joseph's War") was an intense and unusual fight that confounded the U.S. Army's expectations of how Indians fought. McDermott's _Forlorn Hope_ was a thorough and perceptive study of the battle that did and can serve as a model for writing on Indian wars engagements. The style is clear, the subject interesting, and the maps are unusually good. Unfortunately, the old hardcover edition has been getting harder and harder to locate. Having this reprint come out--and at an affordable price--is very good news. Dr. Michael A. Hughes, Founding Editor, Journal of the Indian Wars.

Forlorn Hope: The Nez Perce Victory At White Bird Canyon is the true story of one of the worst defeats that the American military encountered during the Indian wars. The Nez Perce won a victory at White Bird Canyon that raised their hopes of keeping their homeland, and led to a four-month, 1,000-mile running battle that came to an end with Chief Joseph's surrender at Bear Paw, Montana, only 100 miles from safety. Presenting the White Bird Canyon battle from both Indian and white points of view, Forlorn Hope is a well-researched, riveting account of a landmark event of the western Indian wars.

Hands down, one of the best guidebooks I've had the pleasure to read cover to cover. I truely couldn't put it down. Thank you McRoberts'.

This guidebook sets the standard for other guidebook authors to follow. Clear, concise and accurate information at your fingertips! Good Dirt rocks!

The authors actually thought of everything in this book, aside from GPS points. It has it all, comedy, details and more details. I've read many guidebooks over the years and this one is definitely one of the best. From tons of rides in every ability level, to lodging, camping, eats and extra curricular activities. Don't think about, just buy this book and go to Sun Valley mountain biking!!

This book is laid out well with concise and accurate information about many wonderful mountain bike trails. The rating system, general description and mile by mile directions are very good. The only reasons I don't give it five stars is that the trail names in the book don't always match the trail names on sign posts (we got lost). Maybe they've changed the signs since the book was published. Also, the grid indicating elevation gain is a bit misleading. You can't compare one ride to another using their grid system. We used this book for 4 different trails in Sun Valley and one near Stanely and really had fun. Believe them when they classify a couple rides as "abusive".

Hannah is a wise book written by a man with a huge heart. I love how the cabin-building provides a framework, always something to fall back on when loss otherwise wants to swamp me. I love the honest voice describing people who love each other enough to risk anger and fighting. I love how there are always elk or eagles, mud, a river, a runoff--how grounded the book is in the created world. I hunger for that & Jonathan Johnson feeds it to me. I myself am a better person with more to give when I finish this book.

Jonathan Johnson, Hannah and the Mountain

reviewed by Jacob Powers

It is difficult to find a text that gives balance between nature and family. Granted, each genre holds its own, but to find a book that discusses both the love of the wilderness and the love of family is rare. Fortunately Jonathan Johnson, with his memoir Hannah and the Mountain, has successfully done just that.
Johnson's narrative at first focuses on his goal to renovate a cabin owned by his extended family for over forty years for him and his wife, Amy, in the Idaho wilderness: "[We] came to the mountains because our adult lives were rushing toward us and we wanted to go out and meet those lives in a place that would keep us young and free and filled with passion. After years of school we were ready to settle into the long story of home." This feeling of home quickly takes a step forward when Jonathan and Amy discover that she is pregnant with their first child. Now, with the combination of extensive renovations and the limited amounts of resources to do so, the intent to form a home suitable to raise his future child in quickly takes off. Yet Johnson does it all in hope-hope that his firstborn will experience the beauty and awe of the wilderness that he and his wife adore.
Tragedy, however, ensues as the memoir (which reads a lot like a novel) quickly disintegrates from its optimistic dreams into the harsh realities of a complicated pregnancy. The baby is carried too low, putting pressure on and stretching the lower uterus, threatening a premature birth: "Amy'd been having pains low in her abdomen all along...the hope was that the pains were the result of these problems, not the contractions that could be causing the problems." Yet all hope is not lost as Johnson guides the reader through his and his wife's pains and grief towards a strong anticipation that they will be able to tame their dreams again: "We've got our little cabin on land I've come to think of as an extension of my own body...that will be more than enough for Amy and me to build a life on. I will not create sorrows in a life where sorrows find me on their own."
While most of the themes and settings in the book take place Idaho, many are reflective of Michigan's landscape as well. Johnson writes of Marquette where both he and Amy grew up several times throughout. There are also moments where he and his wife consider where they would rather have the baby-in their own formed home in the Idaho wilderness, or back in Marquette where their parents and past lives are. But what stands out the most is Johnson's connection with a past friend and writer, Mac, who experiences the death of his sixteen year old son when he died in an accident on the icy roads just outside of Marquette. It is in this moment of the book where Johnson connects his own experiences of a possible future father with the tragic loss that Mac experiences: "Odds are that being a father will forever be like walking on the thick crust on top of four feet of snow in the cold, February sunlight." As the memoir progresses, it becomes apparent that the love and fear of family cannot simply be contained within the borders of our own state or within Johnson's past life. Michigan may be where Johnson grew up, but Idaho is where his home and life is now.
Although the story is one that has been heard before, it is Johnson's heavy experience in the poetic realm and ability to capture emotions of joy and distress that makes Hannah and the Mountain stand out amongst others. With an interwoven reflection between the lyrical love of the wilderness with the preferable avoidance of the busy city life, Johnson paints a landscape that is powerful and unforgettable. Yet what lies in the foreground of Johnson's affection of the wilderness is that irreplaceable love and desire he has for family itself-"If any of us are ever saved, whatever that might mean, we aren't saved by the stories we create for ourselves to inhabit; we are saved by our loves." For Johnson, it is the family that makes the life; the rest is replaceable.



___

Jacob Powers is a senior at Grand Valley State University, graduating in the winter of 2006 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in English. After graduating, he plans to take a year off and then apply to graduate programs.

Jonathan Johnston writes with the evocative prose of a poet. He tells the story of his path toward fatherhood and toward the fulfillment of his childhood dream of building his family's cabin home in the mountains of Idaho. He does so with passion and care. The reader sees clearly the autumn twilight as it fills the fields and sees the full moonlight come spilling through the windows of the cabin. On these beautifully written pages the reader learns of the profound love Johathan and his wife Amy share. It is a book I shall love giving so others might come to know this incredible author.

I am a former student of Jonathan's...in fact, I am one of the students who sat on the lawns of the Western PA College during his Nature in Lit class that he mentions in the book. That was six years ago and I have been a fan of his work ever since.

This memoir is beautifuly crafted as only a poet-turned-prose writer could do. He weaves the story of building his home, following his dreams, and starting a family in a touching and compelling fashion. The reader relates to the joy and hope of the young couple and feel their pain in times of trouble. This is not a memoir that serves to glorify the life of the author, but rather, it serves as a connection to each of us who are in pursuit of identity (be it individual or family or whatever else)and who are all on the journey through life.

This is a beautiful work. I have never cried so hard over the pages of a book before. Johnson has been couragous and honest in his prose which makes it such an inspiring read.

Found places I have never heard of to hike. Great information and for those who like to hike, its a great reference point.

This is by far the most detailed hiking guide to the Wasatch I have come across. It covers a good range of difficulties, from easy hikes to mountaineering scrambles. Has much more detail than books that cover the entire state of Utah. I recently moved to SLC and have been using this book consistently. I find that hike descriptions given in the book match reality in almost all cases for me which is not the case with some other similar books (especially hiking times).

John Veranth's book, Hiking The Wasatch, is the greatest work ever written for people who hike in the Salt Lake County Area of the Wasatch. It covers everything from easy family hikes to challenging ridge and mountaineering scrambles for the most experienced hiker. It includes great route descriptions, moderate hike times, trailhead locations, geological information, and historical references. There are other books that cover Wasatch Front Hiking, but only Veranth's book is a complete guide. I enjoyed this book, because it helped me accomplish my goal of climbing all of Salt Lake County's 32 10,000-foot peaks. If you enjoy peak-bagging, check out "Climbing Salt Lake County's 32 10,000-foot Peaks" by James Barlow, and Keith Stevens. His book is better than "Climbing...Peaks", because it also includes trails that are not routes up these peaks. It also has sections for the Foothills, Milcreek Canyon (North Side), and North & East Areas, where the peak-bagging book doesn't mention, due to lack of peaks. All the peaks are accessed from Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, American Fork, or Milcreek (South Side). It also goes into much greater detail than Michael R Kelsey's "Utah Mountaineering Guide", and David Hall's "Hiking Utah", because it focuses just on the Salt Lake County section of the Wasatch, not the entire Range, or State of Utah. In the end, it is the Bible of general hiking in the Wasatch Range.

Hiking times are real, not just best guesses. When planning those half-day hikes, timing is everything! Lots of info on plants, animals, sites, best routes, alt routes, common sense advice, etc. Good book, buy it.

This book of short stories was just the escape from reality I was looking for. I really enjoyed all of the local references.

This is really well-written. The stories are funny, pointed and interesting. You will enjoy it.

I Shot Bigfoot and Other Stories is overall a very good collection of short stories. The stories share one overarching similarity with regard to the locale, McCall, Idaho and the surrounding area. If you've never been, you need to see it, as it's some of the most beautiful country you'll see.

As for the stories they play off of the landscape and folklore of the area and bring these to life.

The books title story, is a very funny and an inventive take on the Bigfoot legend.

The author's writing style moves along quickly with dialogue between the characters. This makes for a quick read. However, in some cases like the Dog Man of Poverty Flats, I felt it went a little too quickly.

The only detractions of the book was the formatting of the paragraph style. In my copy it seemed a little confusing. Also the cover art is a great concept but bad execution. It gets the point across though.

This is the author's first book and hopefully not his last.

enjoy.

This book is a great fun read. The short stories all tie in together. The characters in the stories are colorful. If you enjoy the north west this book is for you...fun, adventure,and folk lour it is all there. A must read.