Reviews (7)

1st rate biography
Over the past 25 years I have read dozens of biographies. Most are not much more than a chronological listings of a person's accomplishments with little depth or analysis. This is one of the few biographies I have read that helps us understand the person which is what a real biography should do. But it is more than a biography. It helps us understand the life and the times of Tom McCall. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get to know Tom McCall, Oregon political history of the mid 20th century and the environmental movement.

Tom McCall's Story Is Oregon's Story
More than two decades after his death, almost three decades after he left the governor's office, Tom McCall remains the defining figure of Oregon politics. It was during his tenure in office (1967-1975) that Oregon gained its reputation as a national leader in innovative public policy. Where have all the Tom McCall's gone??
This biography of the modern day father of Oregon, makes this native long for days past.For days when Oregon was a leader on the national politcla/cultural/social scene.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Political    5. Regional Subjects - West   

Reviews (4)

A real "keeper" of a book

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

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

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Country life    5. Drake, Barbara    6. Farmers & Ranchers    7. Oregon    8. Oregon - Local History    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Regional Subjects - West    11. Social life and customs    12. Willamette River Valley    13. Willamette River Valley (Or.)    14. Women   

Reviews (4)

The old Wild west
I read this great book after visiting the wild horse sanctuary in South Dakota, what a blessing!I was traveling back from the Tetons, where my father(74 yrs old) and I had been working for the forestry service riding mustangs.What a great book to read after my experience in the wild.It must have been GREAT living back then.ENJOY the book, great read

Review of Pastures of Beyond
A wonderful collection of stories about the life of cowboys and indians during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.The author provides a look back at a period of time in the American West that is now gone.

Delightful Stories, Well Told
I don't know if you'd exactly call this a biography or not. It's a series of stories, loosely connected, ordered somewhat in a timeline. And fascinating stories they are. He lived in a time when the west, and indeed the world was changing. Then again, I guess it's always changing. I had dinner last night with a young man that seemed a lot like Hawk Hyde must have been 40 years ago. Forehead white as can be, the rest of his face well tanned. Not a dimestore cowboy. He even made the same comments about rodeos, he competes in the local ranch hand rodeos, but the big money circuit is not for working ranch hands.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1925-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Historical - General    7. Hyde, Dayton O.,    8. Oregon    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Ranch life    11. Ranchers    12. Reference    13. Regional Subjects - West    14. Yamsi    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (1)

Fantastic journals of a tough breed,lifestyle and adventure
I own originals of Hobson's three books and re-read them every few years.His ability to vividly portray the life that he and The Top Hand and later Mrs. Hobson had in the interior of British Columbia is to have been there.It is hard in today's comfortable way of life to envision the situationsand dangers that were simply a part of how it was back then. Having grownup in the mountains of the U.S. West, I can only marvel at the abilities ofthese adventuresome pioneers in the cattle country of B.C. To have met RichHobson was of great interest to me... I simply waited too long and he hadpassed away. The travels and travails through Hobson's life would make anawsome story for a movie. Note: Make sure you read the three books insequence... and enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Canada    3. Canada - General    4. General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Regional Subjects - West    8. Fiction / General   

Reviews (6)

Book does justice
Even an non-dog mushing fan from Anchorage can acknowledge the huge contributions Joe Reddington made for our great state. This biography by Lew Freedman does great justice to a great Alaskan, tracing his path from the lower 48 states up to Alaska and his family life, adventures and achievements while in Alaska. Reddington have been acknowledge founder of the famous Iditarod Race to Nome, one dog mushing race every Alaskan virtually follow even if he/she isn't a fan. (4.5) Honoring a true Alaskan hero.
Joe Redington, Sr., may not have been an Alaskan by birth, but any resident of the state would agree that he was, and remains, a symbol of the Alaskan spirit. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Redington always had a fascination with the rugged far-north, and read every book on Alaska he could get his hands on. In 1948, at the age of 31, he finally made the decision to pack up his family and move there. They homesteaded in Knik, off the Parks Highway, on the northwestern side of Knik Arm, and that's how Redington got involved with sled dogs. Mushing was an effective way to get from place to place, and Knik Kennels was born. By chance, the property opened directly onto the historic Iditarod trail, which by that time was in poor shape owing to disuse. Redington cleared a section of the trail for his own use, and soon became caught up in the route's historical significance. The famed 1925 "Serum Run" had followed that trail when there was no other means of rushing life-saving medication to diptheria-stricken Nome. Thank you Joe Redington!
I was so pleased with this book that I felt compelled to encourage more people to read it. It offers the history of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race which is interesting enough, but more than that, it is the story of one man who gave everything he had to Alaska and dog mushers everywhere. If you are looking for an inspirational read, this is it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Alaska    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Alaska    8. Mushers    9. Regional Subjects - West    10. Sledding    11. Sports - General    12. Winter Sports   

Editorial Review

In the mid-1960s, as mechanization and the forests' depletion drove many loggers into the cities,Kim Barnes's parents turned to fundamentalism to sustain their increasingly difficult life. The author struggled to live by this religion's exacting tenets, but her chilling descriptions of the harsh punishments meted out for lapses make us understand why she ultimately had to leave it behind. Yet she conveys understanding and love for the rigid yet secure world of her youth in this haunting memoir of faith and loss in the Idaho woods. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A compelling, honest tale full of great surprises
I loved this book!Being an avid outdoorsman I ordered it by the title because I expected to learn something of living in the wilderness.In that regard, the book did not disappoint, but there was much more.Kim Barnes also shares an astonishingly honest story of another kind of wilderness - Pentecostal fundamentalism.Having grown up in a very similar religious tradition, I can vouch that her story does not exaggerate.Barnes pulls no punches in revealing human foilables, but without passing judgment on the sincerely held beliefs of others.
wonderful book!
Incredibly moving and beautifully written.One of the best books I've read recently.

terrific
This book was heart-warming and enjoyable. I sent it to all my sisters. Thank-you to the author. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Family relationships    6. Idaho    7. Literary    8. Poetry    9. Regional Subjects - West    10. Wilderness areas    11. Women    12. Women poets, American    13. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    14. Modern fiction   

Reviews (4)

A thoroughly engaging memoir
Tony Cohan's attempt to cope with the father who dominated his life has produced this splendid tale of escape into adventures literary, musical, and romantic in lands far and near.Mr. Cohan's abundant talents enabled him to find acceptance among musical and literary figures whose names will surely inspire threads of memory for readers of a certain age, say 60 and older.The memoir thus opens many more windows than would the ramblings of a less gifted protagonist.
Captivating real life adventures...
This is a favorite for me - a retrospecitve on real life adventures of a man experiencing life with reckless abandon, yet searching for something - meaning, fulfillment, legacy...
slow read, not particularly gratifying
I purchased this book based on the author's experiences with many artists that have touched my life.I found this to be a slow read and not particularly thought inducing.Perhaps someday as my father is aging I will re-read it and find a new appreciation for it, but until then I would suggest avoiding this one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. California    7. Cohan, Tony    8. Fathers and sons    9. General    10. Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif    11. Homes and haunts    12. Intellectual life    13. Literary    14. Novelists, American    15. Personal Memoirs    16. Regional Subjects - West    17. Terminally ill parents    18. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (1)

I really enjoyed this book
I read the book and then recommended it to a book club I was organizing. We used it as our first book and everyone enjoyed it. I found the stories spellbinding and the history was very interesting. Nick Wilson led a fasinating life and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history from the old West. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Frontier and pioneer life    4. History    5. History: World    6. Native American    7. Pioneers    8. Regional Subjects - West    9. Shoshoni Indians    10. United States - 19th Century    11. United States - State & Local - West    12. Wyoming    13. History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)   

Reviews (5)

Love this one...
stories of these types of guys are fascinating.His first hour ever in Vegas and he blows 12,000 bucks, on marker.Proceeded to go right back to the airport and flew home to Pittsburg.But he fell in love with the place.He didnt go back as a gambler, but to get where the real money is, with intentions on becoming a casino owner.After more than 7 years(most of them in Australia - you'll have to read it) he had acguired a substantial grubstake and headed off to Vegas.He runs an ad in the paper looking investment opportunities.Although the ad did not directly produce investment results, it did provide him with some very important connections. He buys a vacant lot far off the strip, gets licensed, builds a casino, adds a hotel and self-promotes his ass off.To fill in the blanks and know the rest, you gotta read it yourself.He even had ties, loosely at best, to Anthony Spiltro, the real life mobster the Joe Pesci character was based on in Casino.I love this one.

The Stratosphere
Most interesting...biography of Bob Stupak.Easy read.If you wonder where did the idea of the Stratosphere come from... this has the answers.Bob Stupak is a fascinating gentleman, this tells his story.I just returned from a visit to Vegas and went to the top of Stratosphere, road the High Roller Roller Coaster and took the Big Shot...came across this book while in Vegas and couldn't put it down.Gives background of several casinos and the personalities involved with them... recommend it.

Dull Treatment of a Fascinating Subject
I almost bought this book but was fortunate enough to find a copy at my local public library.(I heartily recommend that alternative to buying the book if you have a choice.)I started reading it with great anticipation, but was disappointed off the bat by all the filler material on Bob Stupak's father, Chester.Yeah, sure, the old man was a great influence on his son, but two paragraphs would have sufficed!Next, I kept expecting to read interesting anecdotes about Vegas World, one of the funkiest gambling joints the world will ever know--the very epitome of cheesy.However, the stories just aren't there, and it is a major shortcoming.Finally, even the manner in which the author addresses the great plunge the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino took after it opened in 1996 makes that event--the repercussions of which are still felt today in Las Vegas--seem anticlimactic and irrelevant.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography    5. Business    6. Businessmen    7. Casino Management    8. Casinos    9. Gamblers    10. Las Vegas    11. Nevada    12. Regional Subjects - West    13. Stupak, Bob   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Dictionaries    4. Encyclopedias    5. Frontier and pioneer life    6. General    7. Historical - U.S.    8. History - General History    9. Pioneers    10. Regional Subjects - West    11. U.S. Local History - Western United States    12. West (U.S.)    13. Biography: general    14. Places & peoples: general interest    15. USA   

Reviews (2)

A Ground-Breaking Work
Colin Chisholm's Through Yup'ik Eyes is a truly remarkable and ground-breaking work. From Yup'ik Eyes
A humbling, chilling, sensitive, compassionate portrayal of a love toward a mother, and the search for the identity of a silent history, is truly extracted by the author about his experience as a child of a mother whom he wants strongly to understand.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1967-    2. Adoptees    3. Adoption    4. Alaska    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Chisholm, Colin,    10. Kotlik    11. Literary    12. Regional Subjects - West    13. Social life and customs    14. Specific Groups - General    15. United States    16. Yupik Eskimos   

Reviews (4)

Five star book and writer...Homestead
This was the first book By Jane that I read.I was so impressed with her story and her writing that I immediately went out and bought her next trilogy.Upon reading the first of those books which I found as interesting, entertaining and historically accurate that I immediately went and bought every book she has ever written and am waiting for the next one.
From the Dry, Hard Soil
Jane Kirkpatrick's writing carries with it the spirit of the pioneers."Homestead" chronicles the Kirkpatricks' effort as a married couple to carve out a living from the dry, hard soil of eastern Oregon.They rough it as they go along, working toward a suitable well, a home with an actual foundation, and a road that doesn't rattle their teeth from their jaws.
Grasp every day
Not many people would have the courage to take on what Jane and Jerry do, as chronicled in Homestead by Jane Kirkpatrick. Whether it's shooting rattlesnakes or handling dog seizures, surviving a plane crash or navigating a treacherous road, chasing down run away calves or protecting watermelons from the onslaught of deer, the Kirkpatrick's seem to have faced and conquered it all. Such stories usually make for great fiction. The most startling realization, however, is that this story is real.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Ethics    7. Farmers & Ranchers    8. Frontier and pioneer life    9. General    10. John Day River Valley    11. John Day River Valley (Or.)    12. Oregon    13. Oregon - Local History    14. Pioneers    15. Regional Subjects - West    16. Religious    17. Social History    18. Social life and customs    19. United States - State & Local - General    20. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (1)

Famous New Mexicans
"New Mexican Lives"Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Historical - General    4. History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. New Mexico    8. Reference    9. Regional Subjects - West    10. United States - General    11. United States - State & Local - General    12. American history    13. Biography: general   

Reviews (7)

Essays by a poet homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness. . .
I came across John Haines while reading William Kittredge's great anthology "The Portable Western Reader." Haines is better known as a poet, and maybe that's why these essays are so vividly written. They represent a period of years from the 1940s to the 1980s during which Haines homesteaded off and on near Richardson, in central Alaska. They are only somewhat reflective and focus instead on capturing the raw experience of living in the woods, along creeks and rivers, through the seasons of the year. As a homesteader, Haines lived off the land, raising his own vegetables, hunting game, and trapping marten, lynx, beaver, and fox. Many of the essays concern hunting and killing animals, and they are written in a matter-of-fact way that may repel some readers. They do, however, capture a point of view toward wildlife that is possible for a man of letters to entertain, and as such they illuminate a set of values that has a long history among people who have lived by hunting and gathering on the frontiers of the world. exquisite language
The writing in this book is simply gorgeous.What a gift when a poet can be convinced to write prose, because each word is selected and crafted and inserted in each sentence as if its value were immeasurable.My only dismay at the end of this book was to discover that Mr. Haines is not a prolific writer (at least of books).Fewer and fewer people will have the view of the world that this author had-as a homesteader and trapper. We are blessed that he has shared this account of life at its most raw and simplest elements.

This book is prose at its best!
Haines is best known as a poet, and you can see it here--the ideas and descriptions are spare and powerful. He gets right down to flesh and bone, the essences of things: the people he's met, the traps set, stories heard, the bone-cold loneliness of the place, it's all right here to be read, as if everything superfluous has been chipped away and all we have left is the experience in itself, what the land has told the writer. For anyone who wants to see what a master can do with the English language, or who wants a glimpse of a land and a way of life the likes of which few will ever see again, here's your ticket. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Alaska    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. General    6. Literary    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Outdoor life    9. Poets, American    10. Regional Subjects - West    11. Wilderness areas    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    13. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Communes    3. Counterculture    4. History    5. History: American    6. New Mexico    7. Popular Culture - Counter Culture    8. Regional Subjects - West    9. United States - State & Local - Southwest    10. Social Science / Popular Culture    11. True Stories   

Reviews (2)

Riveting Tale of Two Fatherhoods
When Rudell Lesley told his wife Hazel he had to go out for a while to look for a lost flashlight, he never returned, leaving her to raise their eight-month old son alone. The baby, christened Martin Craig Lesley, emerged with remarkable academic ability that came with a talent for remembering and processing every experience on an unusually deep level.
Compelling in a tragic and real sense.
I had read four of Craig's fictional books, before reading his biography, so was familiar with his real-life characters.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Parenting - Fatherhood    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Regional Subjects - West    7. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (16)

Absorbing memoir of a Wyoming ranch family . . .
There's a growing literature of memoirs written by women who grew up on ranches, and this is a fine addition to it. Jordan tells of her family, who for four generations raised cattle in southeast Wyoming, north of Laramie and Cheyenne. With some irony, it was more circumstance than a love of ranching that kept the Jordans on the land, until the author's father sold the home place in the 1970s. But the love of that spot on earth lives on strongly in the author, and her book is a tribute to it and to her family who toiled there through good years and bad.
Great book with a deeper meaning
Jordan's book was much more than ranching and her life, she tells us about her feelings and thoughtsthat are associated with her life events.The reader becomes indulged in her feelings are can feel empathy for her.Thisbook is a down to earth, real life story that is worthy of reading by mostpeople.

It's a great read and good therapy all in one.
I thought, "This will be a nice distraction."Boy, did I underestimate this book.Ms. Jordan takes you with her through her life and her relatives' lives.You feel the draw of the west and the power ofthe Wyoming wind.Getting caught up in the struggles of the variousgenerations, and Ms. Jordan's, sheds light on your own life.As Ms. Jordanheals, the opportunity to resolve one's own conflicts seems more possible. This is a wonderful escape and marvelous therapy all rolled into one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Historical - General    6. Jordan, Teresa    7. Ranch life    8. Regional Subjects - West    9. Social life and customs    10. Wyoming    11. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (15)

Simple, Eloquent, Heartwarming
I was very touched by the story of the people in Mountain City.I enjoy books about real people, whom from the outside seem as if there is no story but from the inside have warmth and wisdom.How many towns have you driven through and thought ," who lives here, what do they do?" Well now we know. Greg Martin wrote an excellent book and it should be must reading for all people interested in the real heartland of this country.

Strong and spare, like the desert
I was fortunate to hear Greg Martin give a reading from this book.Reading this book from end to end I heard the echo of his voice, the caring for his family, the strong feeling of place and anchoring he gets from Mountain City. Driving by, I have often wondered what it must be like to live in some of the small, lonely, almost-empty towns that aren't too hard to find in the West. I wonder where the people came from-and went to, and what happened, and this book gives me a glimpse into one such place.The smallness and sparseness aside, there's more history and depth than I would have thought driving by it.I'll look more carefully at other small places now.

The Literature of Loss
Thomas McGuane says that "...all literature is about loss, or the recognition of loss..." and Gregory Martin's debute memoir certainly shows this to be true.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Basque Americans    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Mountain City    9. Mountain City (Nev.)    10. Nevada    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Regional Subjects - West    13. Social life and customs    14. United States - State & Local - General    15. Biography & Autobiography / General    16. Martin, Gregory   

Reviews (1)

Fascinating insight into the foundation of modern California
San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego - some of the string of pearls along the length of California.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1713-1784    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. California    5. Christianity - Catholicism    6. Explorers    7. Missionaries    8. Missions & Missionary Work    9. Regional Subjects - West    10. Religion    11. Religious    12. Serra, Junipero,    13. Spain    14. Saints & hagiography    15. Serra, Junípero   

Reviews (4)

Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone
I was encouraged to read this book by the cover quote from Mary Oliver and was rewarded appropriately.A beautifully written, thoughtful journey of self discovery.And a special gift at the end for anyone exploring their own path in becoming a writer, the author offers insight and direction that resonates as true.

Great story...
This is a great 'get-away' book.It conveys what it must really be like to be alone in the wilderness for months, in a beautiful place, and the journey of a person's thoughts without the distractions of modern life.It also is a powerful story about the author's relationship with his father.Highly recommended.

We're never alone, even when we're by ourselves
I loved this book, and I'm glad the author brought us along on his journey.I have often wondered what it would be like to take off for awhile, and leave the bustle of everyday life behind.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Description And Travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Literary    7. Naturalists, Gardeners, Environmentalists    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Regional Subjects - West    10. Wildlife    11. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    12. Biography: general    13. USA