Oregon Books

As is usual with any of Alistair Cooke's writing, that unmistakable transatlantic voice can be heard behind the words as if the author himself was reading his work to an audience of one - you. The generations who would remember the men of whom he has written are fast coming to an end, but there is enough in each of these insightful vignettes to whet the appetite of a true biography-phile of whatever era. I would say that Cooke enjoyed the company of each of his subjects, but that did not put him beyond objective honesty. The saddest, most poignant and ultimately most honest comment of all was that of his summing up of Edward VIII - "The most damning epitaph you can compose about Edward - as a prince, as a king, as a man - is one that all comfortable people should cower from deserving:he was at his best only when the going was good"

Many of us who appreciate the work of truly great non-fiction writers were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Alistair Cooke.

Although best remembered for his long running radio commentary "A Letter from America" and his various television shows of early years, it makes for a pleasant change to go back and rediscover some of Mr Cooke's more substantial literary efforts.

A graduate in English literature from Cambridge University and a print journalist of considerable experience, Alistair managed to perfect a difficult balancing act. Throughout his long and prestigious career he steadfastly adhered to the highest professional and intellectual standards while still managing to enjoy enviable success within the mass media. In many ways he "Raised the bar" in regard to industry standards by proving that there was, indeed, a sizeable market for quality work if it was cleverly presented in an entertaining and accessible style.

In this book the veteran newspaper man draws upon his impressive array of observational and descriptive skills to create a striking collection of penetrating celebrity profiles. Alistair wrote with the deft, light hand of a popular scribe but also with the probing incisiveness of a psychology professor. At all times he examined the inner workings of his subjects with an almost clinical thoroughness and a commendable sense of fairness. When it came to creating word pictures, the man was an old master.

Alistair Cooke was a consummate journalist - an "all class act" and a credit to his chosen calling .

Mr. Cooke is a very bright, amusing, observant man -- who writes so extraordinarily well you'll wish to re-read passage after passage for the pleasure of the sounds. He has chosen six men of diverse background and writes about them with sympathy -- but more importantly for this reader, with an acute sense of their singularity and what made them so. Any reader would only wish the book much longer because it's a beautiful one.

Six famous transatlantic figures: 3 English and 3 American men, all of whom had a legendary meaning in the seventies: Charles Chaplin, H. L. Mencken, Humphrey Bogart, Adlai Stevenson, Bertrand Russell and Edward VIII. I liked his style of writing and he really provided insightful surprises on each of these famous men. An interesting read, if not for the history alone.

Great book and very helpful for our travels. Many of the prices printed were out of date (Hotels, entertainment, etc...) but prices change often so just call and check.

This and Fodor's Pacific Northwest served well as our guides to to the Oregon & Washington coasts for three weeks. As longtime AAA (autoclub) members we still carry and occasionally refer to their guidebooks; but, prefer Lonely Planet & Fodor's.

LONELY PLANET WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST is yet another great book covering the highly bountiful Pacific Northwestern region of the United States, as well as British Columbia in Canada. Although it lacks extensive coverage of media options for each major city in the region, that's more than compensated for by in-depth descriptions of sightseeing, dining, and outdoor activities, as well as discussion of local vernaculars. This is a book that no one who enjoys traveling should be without.

Why is Lonely Planet making the text so terribly small when us boomers can no longer see this tiny print without strong glasses with books like this one? They should be helping us since we are the ones who travel most.

Please reader,s let's get them to increase the size instead of decreasing,

This is a good book with many interesting places to ride. The maps and directions are very detailed allowing the reader to easily find the featured trails in the book.

The difficulty ratings are exaggerated however. The book seems to be geared toward beginning riders. All of the trails that I have checked out have turned out to be very easy regarding technical skill level. If you have ANY experience I would reduce the difficulty level by 1 (e.g. difficult to moderate, moderate to easy).

The book is fairly thorough, but there are many great spots left out of the book. As far as the valley goes it leaves out what I would consider some of the Greatest Off-Road Bicycle Rides. MacDonald Forest, Rickreal, McKenzie River trail, Oakridge, etc...

I would reccomend the book, but I would HIGHLY reccomend talking to your local bike shop for the hidden treasures of Oregon.

Lizann's book is the best guide I've ever read! Great photos, maps and descriptions of some of the best riding in the Pacific Northwest. A great buy for any fat tire rider who's new to the area.

I'm am glad to finally see a comprehensive mountain bike guidebook that covers subjects that many readers want more information about. This guidebook includes a section on mountain bicyle camping and biking with your dog. I've always wanted to take my gear with me and camp overnight and this section was very helpful. It lists outdoor vendors that carry camping gear and gives you a sample list of what you should bring. This book even has overnight a trail called "Haystack Lake" that is a good trail for those wanting to try their first overnight trip. I also have a dog and the "Mountain Biking with Your Dog" section gave a lot of practical advice I could use and also listed vendors that sell dog gear. I'm so glad to finally see a book that not only describes great trails but also is a great reference for other aspects of mountain biking!

This book is the first guidebook I've seen that truly has maps that are useful. They are so visually detailed and helpful that I would highly recommend this mountain bike guide to any new or experienced mountain biker. Oh yeah, when I'm on the road this book also gives me a lot of history and information about the area I'm visiting.

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.

Lots of good detail and smaller stories threaded into one fabric, but I was really disappointed to find the 'history' of Oregon end around 1860. Took me a long time to finish either because it's dry or because I'm a slow reader...

PACIFIC DESTINY has received the Spur Award from Western Writers of America, Inc. as Best Nonfiction Historical Book for the year 2000. The award will be presented to the author at the WWA annual convention, to be held the last week of June, 2001, in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Last year, WWA awarded to author Dale L. Walker its Owen Wister Award, given for lifetime achievement in Western history and literature.

This book attempts to trace the history of the Oregon territory by stringing together the stories of various pioneers. The book's strength is that Walker is a wonderful story teller and you can't help but be hooked by his tales of mountain men and emigrants wandering around a vast wildnerness. Walker has a keen eye for the look and feel of the times. The book is a bit light on context with only a few brief discussions of the politics of the period, but that'a probably an unfair criticism because that isn't what the book sets out to do. I read this because I'm going to the Northwest for a vacation in a few weeks and Walker's book will greatly enrich that trip.

Dale L. Walker has written a magnificent and penetrating history of Oregon. This book is unique because it explores the personalities of those who made history, and integrates these biographical insights into the whole fabric of history. Walker is the peer of Bernard DeVoto and David Lavender, the other great chroniclers of the American West. For anyone seeking the history of the Northwest, and all those who shaped it, this is the best and most authoritative book in the field. Walker's research is amazing, and his ability to integrate diverse materials is outstanding. Walker's other great gift is lucidity. This book is a great read, clear, transparent, and brimming with anecdote.

I recommend this as one of the great histories written in modern times.

I had never heard of Richard Hoyt until a friend loaned me a copy of Pony Girls. Hoyt has the effrontery (and writing skills) to imagine an entire novel as his detective's initiation in to the shamanist world of animal spirits. He has imagined a trio of investigators who work together. They are Denson (or Owl), and Willie Sees the Night (definitely Coyote, we can hear him baying at night) and Denson's new girlfriend, Annie Dancer, a former FBI agent. And oops, we can't forget T, with whom Denson has enigmatic conversations in his mind-bending trips out of reality. Is T, Denson's creator, the Great Spirit as private detective author? Or is Denson imagining him. Yoiks! All this works, both as a hopping good mystery, but also as a genre-breaking exercise in the imagination. The subject here, besides the mystery who killed humans and horses, is the nature of evil. Is Evil the shape-changing Koonran, or are we all potential horse killers. As a bonus, Hoyt throws in almost everything we want to know about wild horses in the west.

As a private detective novel, Pony Girls is, uh, different. John Denson flies out of his skin in hallucinogenic surreal trips, sometimes meeting his creator, T, an author. Is T the Great Spirit as trickster? Denson's partner, Willie Sees the Night is a shaman. Is he really Coyote in human form? The new addition to the firm, ex-FBI agent Annie Dancer, Denson's girlfriend, is a computer whiz. The mystery: a killer of people and wild horses. In this fictional wormhole, logic and Native American mythology operate side by side. Denson and
Annie find whales dying on a beach; a killer of horses and humans is on the loose. Is television reporter Erica von Bayer the killer? Or could it be her wealthy mother? Are they hosts to Koonran, the shape-changing beaver monster? This book, wild cubed, is not for the reader who wants a conventional private detective novel, but is highly recommended for those who like ideas, imaginative exploration of the human condition, and smooth writing.

Richard Hoyt is an excellent writer -- he could write a good book in his sleep and he appears to have done so. Or if not in his sleep, then possibly stoned out of his gourd. I can't think of any other reason why he would have written such a pointless non-mystery. Or why he would have made such stupid geographical errors as putting Oregon north of the Columbia River or driving to Medford on I-84. And the only way it takes 24 hours to drive across Oregon is if you're too stoned to drive over 30 mph.

Pony Girls is quite readable and even enjoyable, if you think the journey is everything and the destination doesn't matter. I've been a fan of Hoyt for years, but my advice is to go back and read his early work, when the mysteries were mysteries and the plots made sense.

Thirty-six sperm whales died on an isolated Oregon beach. Two months later, sixteen European jumping horses followed by twenty-two Spanish Mustangs are murdered in various atrocities. A group forms called the Ad Hoc Committee to Save the Spanish Mustang. They hire Portland, Oregon based private investigating partners John Denson, Annie Dancer, and Willie Sees the Night to learn who and why the horses are being slaughtered.

The trio goes down their own paths trying to solve the mystery. Former reporter John seeks logical links even tying the dead horses back to the whale tragedy; ex-FBI agent Annie uses her information technology skills and links to look for serial killer patterns. Willie using hallucinatory drugs walks the out of body ethereal path of following the souls of the horses in their afterlife. As the threesome converges, evidence points towards the family of TV journalist Erika von Bayer, but which member and his or her motive remain unknown.

Readers will have to expand their horizons to accept what is reality in this weird private investigative tale in which anything is possible in the Hoyt universe. The story line is fun to follow due to the strange sleuth partners. John tries to emulate Holmes; Annie applies profiling to identify an animal killer; while Willie is tripping on some other plane that perhaps the Amazing Randi might debunk or be convinced. To appreciate the center of weirdness theme inside and outside a fine who-done-it, readers will need to shelve reality, but it is worth the trip.

Harriet Klausner

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE QUILTS, THE MAKERS OF THE QUILTS, AND THEIR STRUGGLE TO REACH OREGON. I AM IN AWE OF THESE WOMEN AND THE TRIALS THEY ENDURED TO REACH THEIR NEW LIVES.

Anyone who is interested in pioneer history will love the book, "Quilts of the Oregon Trail", by Mary Bywater Cross. There is far more than quilt history in this book. The author has integrated the quilts into a broad study of the lives of the women who owned or made them.

The information presented with each quilt is fascinating. We learn about the women's lives, their families, and the trials and tribulations involved in the trip west as well as their experiences after arrival. As each quilt maker comes to life through these stories we learn details about her quilt including how and where it was made and what it might have meant to her.

The photos of the quilts and the people are a joy to view. They make these women's lives all the more real. As a quilter and quilt history enthusiast this book is a favorite of mine.

Yet another wonderful book for my collection. The Quilts of the Oregon Trail share the times and lives of the women of this era, as someone who knows little of American History this is an interesting book sharing the wonderful workmanship of the time. I enjoy collecting and learning from books and this is another beautiful work showcasing the rich heritage of the states within America.Thank You.

Great book for whom is interested in quilts, women who made them and history. No patternbook!!!! 56 quilts are shown in full color with photos of the makers.The book presents quilts as documents of history in order to learn about the lives of the women who made the migration.

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."

Karen Ball has taken a familiar historical, Biblical situation and tweaked into a very relevant story in 2007. Not only does it work, it doesn't feel even a bit dusty.

I'm impressed with the seamlessness of this third- in-the-series book. I do want to go back and grab the first two, not because I feel like I missed something, but because I'm sure the stories are equally compelling.

What Lies Within is full of conflict and challenge which makes it a speed read. Those who love to turn pages should check further into this story.

Pet lovers, you're in for a treat. Karen is an animal lover and it is very obvious in the true-to-life details of pet/human interaction.

Finally, there is a sweet love story that should get the romance lovers' hearts afluttering.

Kyla Justice has a handsome, prominent man who wants to marry her, her construction firm is a success; she should be happy, but something is wrong. Then she meets Rafe Murphy, who was injured in the war. Rafe now owns a coffee shop, and he's definitely interested in Kyla, but she's a busy lady. Then Frederick Tischler, a friend of both Rafe and Kyla hires her to build an inner city youth center. It should be an easy job, but someone doesn't want the center to be built. From day one the site has been plagued by sabotage, injured workers, and vandalism. Kyla takes on the job, but it could put her in danger.
Karen Ball has written a suspensful story with compelling characters and a strong faith message. She takes us behind the scenes into the world of gangs and street culture.

Review : "What Lies Within" is the third book in the "Family Honor Series". Karen Ball has saved the best for last.

Karen richly develops each character and I connected with them right away. Chapter after chapter the plot thickens; and my heart raced. There are many twists and surprises revealed as the hearts of the characters Rafe, Kyla, Fredrick and gang leader King K are exposed.

The story caused me to wonder what lies deep within my own heart. As I read the struggle of Rafe Murphy - x-marine, trying to make sense of his new life; Kyla - a strong women; CEO of her successful construction company as she does her job in a male dominated field. She's as tough as they come - she has to be. The author is gut honest as Rafe and Kyla share what is in their hearts and on their minds

In the author notes Karen Ball says that this book was an answer to prayer. As I read this intricate story I could see God's message emerging from the beginning of this tale to the end. It's powerful; and enlightening in many ways.

The story starts off with a bang as Rafe Murphy (leader of Force Recon Marine Squade) is in the middle of trying to save his men from impending death as the enemy is ready to pounce on them.

When he comes home he gets involved in a war that is much more personal; something he never expected to be involved with - fighting a gang in his very own neighborhood. Rafe comes to grips with the fact that those involved in combating gangs - and those resisting them - need prayer 24/7. This is a new type of combat for him. The world of gangs is a dark, pervasive place, where humanity gives way to violence and mercy to degradation. Once in a gang the only way out is death. There is only one source of light in such darkness and that is Jesus Christ. Rafe and Kyla learn that there is nothing good that lives in their hearts - but Jesus.

At the beginning of each chapter there is a quote from someone famous and a scripture. Some of these quotes and scripture pierced my heart before the chapter did. A few of the many quotes that the holy spirit used to get my attention are "We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday & fear of tomorrow." Fulton Oursler

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do...Explore. Dream. Discover" Mark Twain.

"God knows all hearts and He sees you. He keeps watch over your soul" Proverbs 24:12

The impact of this book is deep. It continues to work on my heart and my mind as the Lord keeps replaying segments of this book in my mind; through my day. It makes me realize yet again that God knows what is in the depths of my soul and still loves me. He will use me if I'm willing to be willing to let Him do the impossible deep inside my heart, mind and soul. This book is a keeper. You'll want to re-read this story and discover treasure you might have missed the first time.

Nora St.Laurent
Book Club Servant Leader
www.psalm415.blogspot.com
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Kyla Justice's construction company has been a great success, but though she is making money she feels unfulfilled as she has not given anything back to society. However, an opportunity arises to do so when a church asks her to convert a dilapidated mess into a youth center. She readily agrees though she did not realize that even Job would be pressed to remain a believer.

The Blood Brotherhood gang does not want a youth center in their territory. The owner of the site does not want a youth center built on his property as he has other avaricious plans if the construction fails. Her boyfriend Mason does not want her building a youth center in the dangerous slums. The suppliers do not care one iota about a youth center as they want top dollar for shabby material. Three previous contractors were run off or paid to leave. Now Kyla faces sabotage and worse as she remains persistent in her mission though someone targets her for harm. Only former Army Staff Sergeant Rafael "Rafe" Murphy, a local coffee shop owner, supports her quest but he has an agenda to keep her safe; he is falling in love with Kyla.

The latest Family Honor tale (see SHATTERED JUSTICE) is a terrific inspirational thriller that subtly conveys the biblical message of good deeds are important but one must give oneself to God to be with the Lord. Kyla is a fabulous center holding the plot together as she is a combination of fortitude and despair. She makes the tale as Karen Ball brings her biblical theme to life in a modern day urban gangland setting.

Harriet Klausner