Washington Books

This lovely book, full beatiful photographs is a must for any one interested in American history and garden history in general. In fact it gives us Americans a garden history (slavery excluded) to be as proud of as the British are of theirs.
Lots of well researched interesting facts, useful advice, historical insight and pretty pictures make this book thoroughly enjoyable and I recomend it highly.

This lovely book, full beatiful photographs is a must for any one interested in American history and garden history in general. In fact it gives us Americans a garden history (slavery excluded) to be as proud of as the British are of theirs.
Lots of well researched interesting facts, useful advice, historical insight and pretty pictures make this book thoroughly enjoyable and I recomend it highly.

History buffs and civilians alike will enjoy little known anecdotes surrounding a well known person, place, and the people behind both.

Good Book. Some great facts in there. Must have for George Washingtonphiles. Quick read. Author seems to know his subject really well.
REcommended to all history buffs, especially NYS.

I read this book in the early 1990's. There was considerable interest in the subject back then. There were numerous other books about the U.S. war on Nicaragua at the time. I believe that this book will endure as the best book about that era. Ms. Sklar paints the picture, entirely documented with exacting precision of the U.S. undeclared war against this tiny state, population of 3.5 million. The U.S started it and maintained it. How many Americans know that the World Court in the Hague found the U.S. guilty of war crimes in Nicaragua in 11/84. What was the U.S. response-we walked out of the World Court, rather than obey it's verdict. Read about it in this book-p.170. Only three countries ever walked out of the world court in it's entire history, Iran,Iceland and Albania. I don't know about Iceland but the other two put us in pretty undistinguished company. In this latter day, when Iconization of Ronald Reagan is the mode people should read this book to see just how obsessive the man was on the subject of Nicaragua and the Contras. Ms. Sklar shows how illegal and ruthless that obsession was.

The war against Nicaragua is staring into the same memory hole that other unpleasant chapters of American history get dropped into by politicians, much of the media, and ultimately the people.

Way, way back in the 80s, the US launched an illegal war OF terror against the mighty Central American empire of Nicaragua, which was threatening to destroy the United States and our very way of life. So evil was this nation, so dangerous, that they had to be crushed, to the point that it's easily one of the most dirt-poor nations in the hemisphere. Starting up their own Reich, eliciting the support of the Evil Empire (since no one else would help), Nicaragua is a classic example of what happens when puppets no longer follow orders and want to go off on their own.

Holly Sklar has written an in-depth, meticulously researched book that betrays little bias, since the well-known and easily verifiable facts speak for themselves. The story is very ugly, indeed. So egregious was the US that we were condemned by the World Court for 'unlawful use of force', a nice euphamism for, well, aggression, terrorism, etc. After hearing this unacceptable verdict, the US responded by walking out of the World Court, and escalating the war. The contempt for international law continues unabated.

The book is very detailed, and well-indexed. You can focus on certain chapters without losing the overall story, and indeed many Americans will recall all the hoopla, nicely spun by the media then and now. Of course, some of the very players are still on the scene today, with Oliver North now a respectable Fox News employee, and John Negroponte displaying his characteristic dedication to the Third World in his new role in Iraq.

Highly recommended reading for any American, this book will not be found next to your latest fashionable pundit's 'book'. It does, however, give an insight into how world powers behave, then and certainly now.

This is something you should really take a look at it may happen before we know it.....GORE in The White House as our Leader

Mr. Gottlieb is one of the finest photographers our country has to offer! His portrait of Washington is a love song to our nation's capitol. The photographs are spectacular, accompanied by a personal, touching and sometimes humorous text. If one thinks they know Washington, this book is a must see through this photographer's eyes. If one has never visited our nation's capitol, this will be a personal journey through a beautiful city.

This is not your typical "coffee table" book showing glossy photos of all the usual monuments and buildings that we already know from a thousand other pictures. This book is more of a work of art in itself, with photos marvelously re-worked into water-color-like portraits of scenes form Washington. The scenes too are different; familiar buildings seen from unfamiliar angles and unfamiliar buildings and views presented in a way that entices the reader to go and look. What this book does is to show Washington to be so much more than what we think we know about it. The city is shown to be as wonderful a work of art as the book itself.

When I first saw Mr. Cleave's book "Washington, Scenes from a Capital City", I thought...What a beautiful and interesting representation of all the wonderful architecture of our great city and its surrounding area. I found Mr. Cleave's choice of buildings and other structures, and the potpourri of other familiar landmarks, signs and other details to be superb. Many features were quite amusing and brought back nostalgic memories...haunts of my youth. Because of this, Mr. Cleave's book was chosen by me to give to all visiting guests attending my daughter's wedding from abroad; a gift they treasure, I've been told! Mr. Cleave's book has served as a wonderful housewarming and graduation gift for me but, more importantly, I believe it would make a splendid corporate gift for Christmas, and for delegates to conventions/conferences in our wonderful city; someone should investigate this marketing proposal.

I am Bob S. Stearns with the Oregon Dept. of Forestry - Santiam Unit. I am personally dealing with recreational issues on state lands regarding a couple of waterfalls in this publication. Some information has changed with these locations and the publication should be altered to show that. Thank you for any correspondence. Please call at (503)859-2151 or write at adresses listed above. Thank you.

For anyone interested in tracking down waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest region, this book is the bible. Detailed accounts of where to locate them, maps, personal insight, the works. Gregory Plumb has laid the groundwork for my innate passion for these natural beauties. A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest is a must have for hikers and enthusiasts alike.

I enjoyed the book very much, including the new age and mystical elements and the out-of-body visit to the creator. I had no problem with the plotting and am not clear on what others perceived to be the problem when they cited coincidences or a disjointed plot. There were a couple of loose ends that never were completely wrapped up, but I found the book very enjoyable. But as the plot unfolded, I did not find the book to be particularly humorous despite some rather vivid and unusual scenes and bantering between John, Willie, and others -- in fact the story was unusually poignant compared to other John Denson stories (and I have reaad them all). I think there is a lot here to reflect upon about relationships, family, and some serious matters. I liked it very much.

While driving in the Oregon mountains, the heavy rain pours live salmon at private investigator John Denson?s vehicle. During the fishy torrent, he stops, camera in hand, to help an accident victim. However, as the young woman tries to talk through her dying gurgles, fish continue to pelt John and the victim. He realizes this was no accident as someone shot the female who he identifies as Sharon Toogood, daughter of Portland TV weatherman Jerry Toogood.

Unable to forget her murder, John investigates. After talking with the prime suspect, Sharon?s sister Mariah, the sibling is killed too. Needing special guidance to see through the haze of the seemingly too good world of the sisters, John enlists the help of his pal, Native American Willie Sees the Night. With Willie as a guide providing an elixir mixer, John has an out-of-body experience that may provide the clues to solving the homicides.

Though a humorous private investigative tale that feels like a ?Summer of Love? who-done-it, THE WEATHERMAN?S DAUGHTER is definitely not for everyone. The story line uses too much New Age (or is that old age) coincidence to move the plot forward, but the story remains amusing in spite of the murders. The cast is an eccentric delight as hippies, salmon, and poachers (oh my!) dominate the northwest.

Harriet Klausner

The definitive book on boundweave. It is not easy to find any information on boundweave and this book has it all. It covers four harness to sixteen, written in an easy to understand format.

This is a large book that is a weavers course in boundweave. The introduction with it's definitions, drafts and excellent diagrams makes sure you know exactly what this weave is all about before starting you on the samples to weave. The author starts with plain weave, 7 different twills, 40 or so pages on rosepath then overshot. You could actually stop there and weave for years. But that isn't even half of the book. There's taquete' & sanitum & more. Terrific! Donna

The innovation of railroads in the early nineteenth century transformed America from a nation covering the eastern seaboard to the country it is today spanning from Maine to Southern California. "The West The Railroads Made" is an anthology of stories, illustrations, and photographs (some of which are color) to tell the tale of how the pioneers of this technology were essential in transforming America in the country it is today. "The West The Railroads Made" is highly recommended for locomotion enthusiasts everywhere, and for any community library collection for Railroads or American history.

More than any other single factor, railroads made the West the way it was and is in many respects today. The Federal government undeniably had a major role too. But the Louisiana Purchase, offers of free land, troops for security, and such, were government measures related mostly to setting the stage. It was the railroads which accounted for the details of Western development; details which caused settlers to lead their lives in certain ways and make decisions about which opportunities to pursue. Thus did the railroads play an incomparable role in how the West was developed. "The railroad was foreground, everything else was background," is the way the authors put it.

The co-authors steeped in Western history with academic and professional backgrounds go into all aspects of the railroad's effects. Railroad lines not only determined the location of towns, but also the layout of them. In their earliest stages, roads in Western towns were oriented toward the railroad depot. Furthermore, the railroad depot was the first experience settlers and immigrants had of a town; and as a place for the receiving and shipping of goods, a town's economy and in some cases its existence depended on the depot.

Railroads adapted as they changed the West by their presence. The original few early lines tied all parts of the West together internally and with the cities and states of the eastern parts. The value of land, the farms growing corn and wheat in such quantities that it affected the diet of all Americans, mountains of ore for Midwestern and Northern factories, and transport of large numbers of persons for rapid growth in many inviting areas were all major economic and sociological developments directly related to the railroads. As the West became more developed and their original roles faded, the railroads adapted by promoting tourism based on the natural wonders of the West and travel to major cities and other vacation areas.

The work is based on innumerable facts colorfully related; which facts were taken from the authors' scholarly knowledge and interest in Western history. Another part of the book's popular style are the hundreds of illustrations enhancing the text. A map of one early Western town, for instance, demonstrates the town's streets leading in straight lines from the railroad depot so people and goods can move easily to and from this hub. Color travel posters complement text on the different railroad lines' playing up the West as a tourist destination. Railroad documents, prints, and photographs are other sorts of illustrated materials. The assorted visual matter is so bountiful it spills over into the back matter of notes, bibliography, and index.

Wetlands and Urbanization: Implications for the Future Editedby Amanda L. Azous, Richard R. Horner* Lewis Publishers, 2000, 338pages. Reviewed by Helen Engle, National Audubon Society, Washington Environmental Council, WA Native Plant Society, People For Puget Sound; the urban lovers of wetlands.

Wetlands, as every schoolchild knows, are those wondrous places of important resources like frogs and tadpoles and cattail spears and yucky channels to muck about in with boots and little boats.

Wetlands, as the editors of this important compilation of wetlands research and monitoring data point out, are the absolute basic building blocks of a healthy ecosystem -- from flood storage and pollutant trapping to groundwater recharge and discharge, shoreline stabilization, food chain support and critically important habitat in the lives of fish and wildlife of uncountable species.

Scientists Amanda Azous and Richard Horner recognize the value their encyclopedic collection of charts, tables, and citations to the citizen organizations' highest environmental priority campaigns. And so, as `citizen scientists' we turn to this good work for the references we need as we work with agencies and consultants and as we educate the public -- young and old -- about the vital functions of wetlands. Not to mention our role in educating land managers and authorities who set regulations and restrictions.

The book includes descriptive ecology of freshwater wetlands in the Puget Sound Basin; and separate chapters deal with your favorite creatures among macroinvertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals. And how these populations are impacted by development's impacts on water quality, soil quality, and hydrology. Human values are included -- as our wonderful swamps and marshes turned to sumps for industrial and highway runoff, it seeped into our consciousness that we actually valued the beauty of those wetland places. Not to mention the excitement of birding, botanizing, herpetologizing and whatever. . . .

The book points out that the decades of intensive studies of upland birds -- of the forests and fields -- had no counterpart in the species-rich wetlands. Our nearby urban wetlands provide resting, feeding, breeding habitat for a wide diversity of birds --including of course waterfowl -- and provide high quality passive recreation in densely populated urban areas. The data collected and referenced here is invaluable.

This book is a treasure trove -- even if you only read one chapter. If you can't buy it, ask your library to put it on the shelves. Its timely values for us in the age of "Restore the Salmon" are the comprehensive guidelines for wetlands management, not only for urban managers but for the home gardener, farmer, and ephemeral-flowing-ditch-watcher. The native and recommended non-invasive plant species, for instance, is a beautiful list. A comprehensive source of support material, definitions and glossary, and guides of all kinds make this the book for our organizations to use.

Visit some of our favorite wetlands (we have field guides to them), and see if you don't fall in love with what some people still think of as just yucky mosquito factories.

* Besides Amanda Azous and Richard Horner, the Puget Sound Wetlands and Stormwater Management Research Program Team also included Klaus O. Richter, Lorin E. Reinelt, and Sarah S. Cooke. Other authors include Marion Valentine, Ken Ludwa, Brian Taylor, and Nancy Chinn. Numerous federal, state and local agencies, academic institutions and other local interests participated in the research program.

Wetlands and Urbanization: Implications for the Future Edited by Amanda L. Azous, Richard R. Horner* Lewis Publishers, 2000, 338 pages, $89.95 at Amazon.com. Reviewed by Helen Engle, National Audubon Society, Washington Environmental Council, WA Native Plant Society, People For Puget Sound; the urban lovers of wetlands.

Wetlands, as every schoolchild knows, are those wondrous places of important resources like frogs and tadpoles and cattail spears and yucky channels to muck about in with boots and little boats.

Wetlands, as the editors of this important compilation of wetlands research and monitoring data point out, are the absolute basic building blocks of a healthy ecosystem -- from flood storage and pollutant trapping to groundwater recharge and discharge, shoreline stabilization, food chain support and critically important habitat in the lives of fish and wildlife of uncountable species.

Scientists Amanda Azous and Richard Horner recognize the value their encyclopedic collection of charts, tables, and citations to the citizen organizations' highest environmental priority campaigns. And so, as `citizen scientists' we turn to this good work for the references we need as we work with agencies and consultants and as we educate the public -- young and old -- about the vital functions of wetlands. Not to mention our role in educating land managers and authorities who set regulations and restrictions.

The book includes descriptive ecology of freshwater wetlands in the Puget Sound Basin; and separate chapters deal with your favorite creatures among macroinvertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals. And how these populations are impacted by development's impacts on water quality, soil quality, and hydrology. Human values are included -- as our wonderful swamps and marshes turned to sumps for industrial and highway runoff, it seeped into our consciousness that we actually valued the beauty of those wetland places. Not to mention the excitement of birding, botanizing, herpetologizing and whatever. . . .

The book points out that the decades of intensive studies of upland birds -- of the forests and fields -- had no counterpart in the species-rich wetlands. Our nearby urban wetlands provide resting, feeding, breeding habitat for a wide diversity of birds --including of course waterfowl -- and provide high quality passive recreation in densely populated urban areas. The data collected and referenced here is invaluable.

This book is a treasure trove -- even if you only read one chapter. If you can't buy it, ask your library to put it on the shelves. Its timely values for us in the age of "Restore the Salmon" are the comprehensive guidelines for wetlands management, not only for urban managers but for the home gardener, farmer, and ephemeral-flowing-ditch-watcher. The native and recommended non-invasive plant species, for instance, is a beautiful list. A comprehensive source of support material, definitions and glossary, and guides of all kinds make this the book for our organizations to use.

Visit some of our favorite wetlands (we have field guides to them), and see if you don't fall in love with what some people still think of as just yucky mosquito factories.

* Besides Amanda Azous and Richard Horner, the Puget Sound Wetlands and Stormwater Management Research Program Team also included Klaus O. Richter, Lorin E. Reinelt, and Sarah S. Cooke. Other authors include Marion Valentine, Ken Ludwa, Brian Taylor, and Nancy Chinn. Numerous federal, state and local agencies, academic institutions and other local interests participated in the research program.