Book Description

Anglos have been coming to Santa Fe for centuries, and early in the last century the city’s beauty and exotic cultural mix became particularly attractive to artistic immigrants looking for freedom from the greed and competitiveness of mainstream American culture. By the late twentieth century, many New Mexicans felt, Santa Fe’s unique charm was nearly overwhelmed by the evils that people had moved there to escape. The interviews collected in this book preserve the old Santa Fe, the one people are still looking for. The interviewees represent a cross-section of Santa Fe during the best of times: native Santa Feans, both Spanish American and Anglo, artists, immigrants, those who came by accident, those who came intending to stay, those who fought to preserve the older cultures’ traditions and values. The author, unlike most journalists, has known the people he interviewed his entire life. Most of these men and women were old timers when the interviews took place, and many have since died. Most readers of this book will not remember the good times it evokes. But the lively stories told here will enthrall all Santa Feans and would-be Santa Feans, as well as visitors who can only dream of living in the City Different.

Interviewed in Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog are Amalia Sena Sánchez, Consuelo Bergere Mendenhall, Fray Angélico Chávez, Katherine “Peach” Mayer, Anita González Thomas, Josephine E. Baca, Chuck Barrows, Hazel Frederickson, Alice Henderson Rossin, Calla Hay, Letitia Evans Frank, Paul Frank, Tom and Doris Dozier, Samuel Adelo, Richard Bradford, J. I. Staley, Miranda Levy, Jerry West, Margaret Larsson, and Carol Smith. Interlaced with the interviews are comments from other Santa Feans: historian Myra Ellen Jenkins, cultural geographer J. B. Jackson, and anthropologist Oliver La Farge, the author’s father. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Food for the Heart
There ought to be a name for this genre.The jacket blurb says "nature/Southwest literature".But Annie Dillard did this in the Northeast and Edward Abbey did it all over the Southwest and down rivers.Everett Ruess and Ann Zwinger did it in SE Utah with superb sketches and wood cuts.C.L. Rawlins and Gretel Ehrlich do it in Wyoming with sketches and photographs.Stanley Crawford did it with *Mayordomo* and *A Garlic Testament* a few miles SE of Tom Ireland in the Embudo Valley between Taos and Santa Fe (or halfway to Los Alamos - whichever way your crow flies).

"People who bond with 'place' and then write about it with philosophical comments and profound/funny/zen-like observations along the way" is a bit cumbersome.These people out-Thoreau Thoreau (and I'm from Thoreau, New Mexico [heh heh]; I ought to know).All these authors (and more) do this thing superbly well, in their own unique voices, but all the same, the genre deserves a better name than "nature/Southwest" or "nature/Northeast."

Ireland has added a new dimension with Angie Coleman's joyful paintings of exactly this same country round about.[I've debated about extracting and framing these paintings - still debating.Think I'll have to buy another copy of the book.]

This author reproduces his encounters with his Spanish and Indian neighbors (sometimes poignant, somtimes frustrating, always funny).These little essays/vignettes stand by themselves, but at the very end, the writer includes a story about La Pascualita - a real person who sweeps the roads with her broom and is housed and adopted by the entire community of La Madera.Ireland weaves her into a story that is reminiscent of Rudolfo Anaya, but very much his own.

And his piece about Magdalena, the magpie he adopted, is an original for sure.

"Walking around with a bird on your head is like watching life from a tenement window." "What's the collective noun for magpies?How about 'complaint'?There's a complaint of magpies in a cottonwood on the hillside across the river."

He watches the ravens of La Junta:"I was still standing there when the raven blew up over the cliff and almost into my face.It must have scared him almost as much as it scared me, to be riding the blast sixty feet off the ground and then all of a sudden to be facing a man.He shat, climbed up over the reach of harm, and held there at the closest safe distance to look again, reassembling his world into the kind of order he trusted it to have.(Ravens up.Men down.)Then he spoke.It was a sort of rattle, as much from the bowel as from the throat, and in it there was both fear and outrage:'This cliff is taken.You are not wanted here.'He drifted north, riding the thermal, checking to see if there were any more of me around, then fell up and away into the bottomless sky."

About roosters:"...their voices make me think of the smell of joss sticks because *things mean things:" the rooster means incense, and the helicopter means searching the river for the body of a dead man, and I deceive myself that at eight o'clock this morning the real work will begin.Things mean things: the substance of faith, what we live for, those meanings, those coincidences of sky & rain & thought that jump at us."

He makes you feel like you're perching on his shoulder, looking through his eyes, seeing what he sees, hearing what he hears, and understanding through his mind and heart.

"Towards evening, the sun dropped into a corridor between the clouds and the little valley was filled with pink light.I put down my shovel and stood under a juniper to witness the change.It was like being in an aquarium: immersed, the bare cottonwoods, the hillside, the vacant house across the river, the fence posts, my own hands acquired a light of their own.The air filled with sugary spines of ice, and a rainbow appeared, its northern pole planted in the willows of a neighbor's cow pasture.I could see impossible distances in every direction; up the valley to La Zorra, down the crooked Valleciros, up the canada behind Vigil's store - as if I could see around corners."

All through these reflections are little personal musings:

"What is it about the presence of parents that makes us feel something less than alive, when they're the ones responsible for bringing us here in the first place?"

About dreams and water:"To wake in the dark and peel off the skin of your dream:to go out in the dark in the wet yard where drops of water hang from the asparagus berries and the night sounds are swamp sounds, sounds of water.And this our dry land smells like water and the creek runs brown."

And about work:"Ulceration of the spirit.It seems that when I have a job, my life becomes the job and not much else.There is no true rest and no true work until it's over."

"...we have made our joy depend on our work, and having come this far, we can't renounce it, can't be free from it, but only look for freedom in it."

"When I stand outside watching the clouds and the birds, I'm doing my work.These things need to be studied and praised, at least reported on."

And report he does.The title of the book comes from a quote by Malcolm Lowry, "You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair."

This is a beautiful little gem of a book with lovely paintings, anecdotes and musings - the kind of book to keep by your bed and pick up and read at random.It's also a book to read all the way through from the beginning - more than once.In a word - delight.Five stars - easy.

pamhan99@aol.com ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Real Thing!
I've read all three of Hobson's excellent books about his adventures in the Canadian wilderness. My son, who is a real cowboy in Montana, told me about the books, saying, "These books tell the real story, mom--this is what it's like out here, particularly during the long, lonely, winter days and nights." Hobson's writing style, simple yet eloquent imagery, is perfect. I actually got chills when reading about grizzly attacks and those 70-degree below nights when both man and beast had to work to stay alive. Great stories, great writing!

Superb
AS exciting as the other two books.Humerous,yet portrays the adventure and hardship of that era. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the last century's most influential figures in highereducation, Clark Kerr was a leading visionary, architect, leader, and fighterfor the University of California. Chancellor of the Berkeley campus from 1952 to1958 and president of the university from 1958 to 1967, Kerr saw the universitythrough its golden years--a time of both great advancement and great conflict.This absorbing memoir is an intriguing insider's account of how the Universityof California rose to the peak of scientific and scholarly stature and how,under Kerr's unique leadership, the university evolved into the institution itis today. In this first of two volumes, Kerr describes the private life of the universityfrom his first visit to Berkeley as a graduate student at Stanford in 1932 tohis dismissal under Governor Ronald Reagan in 1967. Early in his tenure as aprofessor, the Loyalty Oath issue erupted, and the university, particularly theBerkeley campus, underwent its most difficult upheaval until the onset of theFree Speech Movement in 1964. Kerr discusses many pivotal developments,including the impact of the GI Bill and the evolution of the much-emulated 1960California Master Plan for Higher Education.He also discusses the movement foruniversal access to education and describes the establishment and growth of eachof the nine campuses and the forces and visions that shaped their distinctiveidentities. Kerr's perspective of more than fifty years puts him in a unique position toassess which of the academic, structural, and student life innovations of the1950s and 1960s have proven successful and to consider what lessons about highereducation we might learn from that period. The second volume of the memoir willtreat the public life of the university and the political context thatconditioned its environment. ... Read more

Book Description

Elizabeth B. Pinson shares with us her memories of Alaska’s emergence into a new and modern era, bearing witness to history in the early twentieth century as she recalls it. She draws us into her world as a young girl of mixed ethnicity, with a mother whose Eskimo family had resided on the Seward Peninsula for generations and a father of German heritage. Growing up in and near the tiny village of Teller on the Bering Strait, Elizabeth at the age of six, despite a harrowing, long midwinter sled ride to rescue her, lost both her legs to frostbite when her grandparents, with whom she was spending the winter in their traditional Eskimo home, died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. Fitted with artificial legs financed by an eastern benefactor, Elizabeth kept journals of her struggles, triumphs, and adventures, recording her impressions of the changing world around her and experiences with the motley characters she met. These included Roald Amundsen, whose dirigible landed in Teller after crossing the Arctic Circle; the ill-fated 1921 British colonists of Wrangel Island in the Arctic; trading ship captains and crews; prospectors; doomed aviators; and native reindeer herders. Elizabeth moved on to boarding school, marriage, and the state of Washington, where she compiled her records into this memoir and where, at age ninety-two, she now lives. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (12)

Jameson Parker fans, you'll want to read this.
I heard about Jameson Parker's shooting incident from another Hollywood hunk while attending a convention in Baltimore. His comment was that "he's never been the same". Well, this book certainly confirmed that. I'd worried about him ever since. Jameson Parker writes well and retells his story about the shooting, although in a disjointed way. He tells a little more of it as he goes along. He has obviously found a new life away from Hollywood even though he occasionally returns for an audition. Even though previous reviews make it sound as though he has recovered, I wasn't left with that sense. I still think he has a way to go. Just my opinion. I do thank him for sharing his story.

Not your Average Celebrity Memoir!
This book was a compelling page-turner. While the subject matter could be construed as being depressing, I found the book uplifting and inspiring.The author's sense of humor and personality permeates each page. Mr. Parker's vehicle, life as a cowboy in modern day California, shows a terrific amount of research and was fascinating in itself. The hills of Virginia may be miles away from the hills in California but I for one found the distance fall away as I read this book. Kudos Jameson Parker for not making this a "whiny" or was that "wine-y" celebrity read.

A very enjoyable read.
I loved all the cowboy stories! Being a "city-slicker" it was all new to me and yet I found the stories interesting, and very, very funny at times. The parts about the shooting and the aftermath were hard to read and I was very surprised that the writer exposed himself as much as he did. I thought that was very brave and I hope it helped him to get it down on paper. I never felt the writer to be overdramatic, whiney or self indulgent. ANY shooting, whether the wounds be superficial or not, is very tramatic. I question one reviewers motives when they say that they purchased the book out of "sheer boredom". They go on to say that they had no interest in reading about life on a ranch. Wouldn't reading about something you had no interest in cause you to become more bored? Could this review be a personal vendetta? Sounded like it to me.

Serious and Funny all in one!
I'm not much of a book reader, but a friend said to read this book. I have been around horses most of my life and a few years back started into the 'Real Cowboy' cattle ranch scene too! Mr. Parker has done a great job at describing in wonderful and funny detail what it is really like. Add in the history he has put in there and his very personal struggles makes for some great reading and a book I could not put down until done! Great Job!

LIFE
The story illustrates how a single event can bring long lasting changes to a life. The nature of his injury has nothing to do with the trauma inflicted by a random act of terror.
The relationships he builds with the other cowboys and his appreciation for all of the animals on the ranch leads to a primal charm of self reliance and freedom.
The harsh risks of ranch life pale in comparison to the artifical dangers and trauma the average city person faces each day.
In conclusion the book is a statement of the pursuit of individual feedom ,something that is lost in our present society. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An honest story of an unusual friendship, words & pictures
DuBuys' and Harris' friendship with Jacobo Romero was an education for their minds and spirits and they share what they learned in this elegant volume. New Mexicans are hard to write about, because they use language more directly, to a different purpose, than most other Americans. It's difficult to tell a New Mexican's story, because it's hard to use a New Mexican's language. DuBuys has stood in a neutral place to see himself, his friend Alex Harris, their women, and his friend Jacobo Romero, his wife, and others, and to tell a story that is from the heart without being romanticized, that shares what he learned with striking generosity. The pictures are beautiful--the landscape of New Mexican people is even more stirring than the landscape of New Mexican land.

Lovely, lovely, lovely.
A captivating read, a joy, a lovely picture book. You will fall in love with this book... You will not be able to help yourself.

A deserving Pulitzer finalist and a NYTimes Notable Book
This is a fluid and absorbing book. Each chapter/vignette builds carefully upon the preceding one. The author's knowledge of the Southwest and its intertwined cultures and his affection for the land and his friends makes this a powerful read. Anyone interested in the Southwest, biography and/or photography should read this. It's wonderful!

A powerful blend of imagery and interpersonal relationships.
River of Traps is not your typical conservation book. This is a drama, provided to the reader in subtle, sweeping prose and powerful photography by the co-authors.

This book is about transitions: young adults, coming of age in world still not comfortable with the overwhelming changes wrought by the turbulent 60s; the politics of water in the southwest; and the transition of a wizened native seer who knows he only has so much time left to impart the wisdom he has gained from his life in the native land he loves.

Never overwritten, but requiring a fair amount of patience, I highly recommend this non-fiction account of three young adults coming into their own, in a new world, only partly of their making.

Four and a half stars. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Disappointing
I bought the book, because in the subtitle it claimed to be "An Eyewitness Account of the Columbine Tragedy". Very disappointingly, though, it deals more with how the author found her way to Jesus than with the Columbine tragedy. The book offers no analysis whatsoever of the circumstances that led to the tragic events at Columbine High, April 20, 1999. The two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, are barely even mentioned and Heidi Johnson makes no effort in trying to understand how two seemingly normal teenagers could commit such a terrible crime. The tragic school killing is seen as the work of the devil and faith in Jesus, who died at the cross for our sins, is pointed to as the solution that could prevent more Columbines from happening. This message is repeated over and over throughout the book. The most interesting part of the book is Heidi's description of her problems with getting accepted among her peers when she was a new student at Columbine High. Coming from Denmark, I don't know much about American high schools, but if an intelligent and beautiful girl like Heidi can have problems with getting friends at school something definitely must be wrong! And one can, perhaps, better understand how Dylan and Eric, who were isolated and constantly bullied at school, must have felt. Part of the problem is, according to Heidi, that many people today are more concerned with getting social status, money and career than with accepting and caring for each other. Many American teenagers lack a sense of moral direction in their life and are obsessed with alcohol, sex, drugs and violent computer games. Their hedonistic and "sinful" lifestyle represents the "evil forces" in modern society and faith in Jesus is the only true answer. Thus, Heidi tends to look at the world simply as a struggle between "good" and "evil", Jesus and the Devil. This analysis, however, seems a little too simplistic and Heidi's constant repetition of the same religious message gets rather tiresome in the long run. If you want a detailed analysis of the circumstances that led to the shooting at Columbine, Heidi's book is, I'm sorry to say, not the one to pick. Rather, I would recommend Brooks Brown and Rob Merritt: No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind the Murders at Columbine High School (Lantern Books, 2002).

Very Good Book
I think that this book is very good because it details the experiences of someone who was at Columbine and how her faith helped see her through what happened.

However, I think this book's main weakness is that the author does sound slightly self-righteous at times and I don't think that this is a book is suitable for anyone who wants to learn more about what happened at Columbine on 4/20/99.

This is a great book about someone who survived what happened at Columbine and I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone who is a Christian.

'Silence' Spectacular
Writing a book must be a hard thing to do, and for a 19 year old girl to write about something so horrifying must be even harder. I picked up Heidi's book from our church, and couldn't put it down. I've read alot of books on Columbine and all are good. This is no exception. Although it is short, I like that, as it doesn't take long to read and doesn't overstate things twice. I like how Heidi has it set up, with her life before Columbine, the shootings themselves, and her life now afterwards. It is a personal account, and perhaps can help some people who are still dealing with it come to terms with it, or at least make it more of a reality. It gets one inside the head of a survivor who was there and makes all that we heard on the news and saw in the papers come alive. You should read this book if you were at all affected by Columbine! yay Heidi!

Pretty Fair
I enjoyed the book because of her eyewitness account of the shootings in the library.I also thought her earlier experiences in school were interesting.The books talks a LOT about her religion so if you find that a turnoff be forewarned.I think she means well, but she came off a little self righteous at times.
If you are seriously interested in Columbine or are a Christian, this is a book you will want to buy. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (6)

The year's round of seasons on a Montana ranch
Montana has produced so many fine writers. Here's another one. Aadland is the son of a Lutheran minister, growing up in south central Montana between the Beartooth Mountains and the Crow Reservation. His "memoir" is mostly about the present, with flashbacks to the past, which include stories of his wife's forebears, who emigrated from Norway in the late 19th century to set themselves up as ranchers. And there are memories of his boyhood, working as a hired hand, a tour of duty in Vietnam as a marine, and raising a family.

The particular achievement of the book is its description of daily life on a modern-day ranch. Of the many books on ranching, this one conveys better than most the seasonal routines of labor from spring calving and breeding to fall roundup, sale barns, and feeding during the months of snow. There are descriptions of haying, fieldwork, irrigation, keeping machinery running, and visits from the vet. The book also describes well the evolution of ranchwork from when ranchers used horses and hired men to get the work done, and neighbors pitched in to help each other with harvesting. Today, much of the work is mechanized, ranchers work alone, and the undependable seasons, slow markets, and razor-thin profit margins require second incomes for both rancher and spouse. Besides raising cattle, Aadland and his wife are school teachers. He travels 60 miles each way to the high school in Bridger (pop. 724), and in winter months sees the ranch in sunlight only on weekends.

He's also a horseman, raising and training walking horses, and much of the book is devoted to this subject. There are descriptions of patiently working his horses, including a team he uses to harrow a field for no other reason than to experience the pleasure of this old-fashioned method of farming -- no deafening engine to block out the sounds of the natural environment, or to damage hearing. He's a literate rancher, quoting Robert Frost and Thoreau, and both thoughtful and articulate. He's also informative. You learn about practices of breeding horses and cows and how a vet tests for pregnancy. You learn the tentative relationship between weather forecasts and the timing of cutting and baling hay. He has a steady eye and a sense of pacing that makes his book a graceful and unhurried cycle through the seasons. You become so intimately involved in Aadland's life that the sudden tragedy that occurs in the final chapters is both a jolting surprise and thoroughly heart-breaking

It should also be mentioned that this is a handsomely designed book, illustrated with many fine drawings of ranch life by artist Nik Carpenter. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in working ranches, the Big Sky country, horses, and the making of not just a living but a life. As a companion volume, I suggest "Some Horses" by Thomas McGuane, another Montana writer, as well as Linda Hasselstrom's "Windbreak," which recounts a year on a cattle ranch in South Dakota.

An engaging compilation of the thoughtful writings
Sketches From The Ranch: A Montana Memoir is an engaging compilation of the thoughtful writings of Dan Aadland. Sketches From The Ranch is about living on a western American ranch (which was founded in 1892), experiencing the turn of the seasons, rejoicing in the birth of colts and calves, embracing simple means of life even as Thoreau did at Walden. Superb black-and-white sketches by artist Nik Carpenter add a visual and emotional touch to this moving memoir.

A moving memoir
Sketches From The Ranch: A Montana Memoir is an engaging compilation of the thoughtful writings of Dan Aadland. Sketches From The Ranch is about living on a western American ranch (which was founded in 1892), experiencing the turn of the seasons, rejoicing in the birth of colts and calves, embracing simple means of life even as Thoreau did at Walden. Superb black-and-white sketches by artist Nik Carpenter add a visual and emotional touch to this moving memoir.

An intimate and engaging view into ranching life
I am an unlikely reader of a book about ranching, a city professional within minutes of the Mall of America. Yet, Dan Aadland brought me intimately into his world and not only let me taste the experience of ranching, but like all good writing, let me feast on life. The sensual quality of the author's writing moved me to respond with my senses. For example, I found that I most enjoyed reading the book on my deck overlooking the woods, feeling the breeze against my face. It was in this setting that I read about cattle buying. Here is a subject I definitely would not have pursued on my own. But Aadland brought the scenes and participants to life and had me so engaged, it was one of my favorite "sketches." I relished his description of the feast he prepared on his private moose hunt. As he wrote about storytelling over Yukon Jack and grapefruit juice, I was compelled to pour my personal version: Cuervo Gold on the rocks with lime juice. I sipped as he told his stories. Dan Aadland not only illuminated the world around him. He effectively brought me into his private world of thought and emotion. I felt right with him as I read his disclosure, "I wonder what I would be psychologically without this space around me, shudder, and force myself to think happier thoughts." I shuddered with him. His emotional honesty was particularly striking as he describes an emotional catharsis toward the end of the book. Aadland's ability to expose the most private--and enlivening--aspects of human experience helped me to identify with him and feel less alone. This was particularly poignant when I recently experienced an emotional reaction similar to the author's. I called up the experience of the author and felt soothed. The isolation-breaking quality of Aadland's writing is a real gift to his readers. I came away from Sketches with a deep respect for ranching, and for a life well lived.

Another excellent book on western life by Dan Aadland.
Dan Aadland's memoir includes many wonderful stories of hard work accomplished in the beautiful ranchlands of Montana. I enjoyed learning about the true bravery required to bring a string of ponies hundreds of miles over wild terrain. The joys and sorrows of daily ranch life are artfully depicted, along with the history and culture of southern Montana. An excellent read. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Small World
THE BRIGHT COUNTRY is a heartbreakingly beautiful, sad, hilarious, touching book that flows and burbles along like a favorite trout stream. I've probably bought 6-8 copies of the book over the years and loaned, given or otherwise forced it upon at least twice that number of people. It's not a perfect novel, but is easily the most honest look I've ever encountered into the heart of a guy I wish I'd had the opportunity to know. There's more than a little bit of trout fishing, but this is a book that hooks non-anglers as well.

A Bright Ending
I can't write Harry Middleton to tell him how much I admire his writing, or how much his stories and themes resonate in me. He died not long ago. And if I may quote Russell Chatham, "It hurts to know that Harry Middleton rode the back of a garbage truck every night during the wee hours to put groceries on his family's table." It's true. It's part of this story.

This is the moving, affecting story of Middleton's struggle with depression, his mother's death of brain cancer, and, most memorably, a blind trout on the South Fork of the Platte River. Like all of Middleton's books, the language is wonderful and the characters are memorable. Perhaps more so than most, this book is Middleton laying his soul bare, telling a story as it happened, cutting close to the bone.

And if flyfishing isn't the whole story here, it is part of the path to redemption.

Harry, we hardly knew you, and I wish there had been more time, and more books. But you will live on for me and for those readers who discover you. Ollie ollie oxen free. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Book!
A really well-written book. This is not a children's book as it lists. It can be easily read by a teen or adult, but certainly not the 4 to 8 catagory. Very enjoyable biography of one of the members of the survey party that helped make Yellowstone National Park a reality. Text flows and is not dry or too detailed (but detailed enough for a good picture of his life). Has lots of B/W prints of his artwork and period photos. Also has several pages of color plates with his artwork. He was not only a good photographer who happened to be in the right place at the right time, but a very talented artist. I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

The ten companies of the Terry Texas Rangers were officially activated into the Confederate Army as the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, but throughout the Civil War they were known by the name of their first commander, Col. Benjamin F. Terry, who fell at the battle of Woodsonville.In over 200 battles including Shiloh, Bardstown, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chichamauga and Knoxville, they gave credence to Gen. John B. Hood's remark that there was "no body of cavalry superior."When the South finally surrendered, there were scarcely enough men left to form one company. This volume of vivid descriptions, of the first-hand experiences of men in the ranks throughout the duration of the war, makes available three of the rarest pieces of Texana concerning the Terry Texas Rangers' role in the Civil War. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful Collection Of First Person Accounts
This book is a must have for anyone interested in Terry's Texas Rangers (8th Texas Cavalry). It contains three rare first person accounts of the Ranger's activities during the Civil War including the diary of Ephraim Dodd who was unjustly hung as a spy by Federal troops. There are also several photos and an excellent introduction by Thomas Cutrer. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (6)

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.

The McCall era saw Oregon protect virtually all of its beaches for public use; adopt the first bottle bill in the nation; clean up the Willamette River; adopt the country's first statewide land-use planning system; and much more. Although many of these concepts did not originate with McCall, he was the catylist and provided the leadership to make them a reality.

This era is brilliantly chronicled by Brent Walth in "Fire At Eden's Gate." Walth, a reporter for the Eugene Register-Guard, and now The Oregonian, knows the state and its leadership well, and this allows him to tell the McCall story with comprehensiveness and clarity. But this is more than a political biography; Walth also chronicles the story of McCall's celebrated family (including grandfather Thomas W. Lawson, "the Copper King"), his path to the governor's office, and his sometimes troubled personal life.

Anyone interested in understanding Oregon public life in the second half of the 20th century should enjoy and benefit from reading this well-crafted biography.

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.

Walth does an excellent job detailing not only the political successes of one of Oregon's greatest politicians, but also of the man's personal shortcomings.

I am not certain how much appeal this book will have to non-Oregonian's or people who are unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, but I feel that it should be required reading by all students of political science attending Oregon universities.

Our state legislators who are constantly invoking McCall's name and legacy to advance their own political gains, would do well to read this biography. Our elected officials of today pale in comparison to the individual giants of years past.

Oregonians Explained
I am a Native Oregonian living on the east coast and this book helped me understand why I feel like a fish out of water in the midst of uncontrolled suburban sprawl, minimal recycling facilities, and chemical pollution violations are repeatedly ignored by local politicians.
Mr. Walth's book was exciting to read. I recommend it to anyone seeking to understand Oregonians and why we're so proud of the place we call home. Brent Walth tells the story of how Tom McCall gave us that pride.

biography equally about Oregon as it is about McCall
Deserves a place in every hotel and bed/breakfast gift shop across Oregon -- for visitors to the Pacific Northwest to pick up. Walth tells the McCall story and in doing so coaches the reader about the things Oregonians are the most passionate about. Most of us cannot travel to another state and name their most famous governor -- yet McCall's legacy is often mentioned by domestic and international visitors to Oregon.

A riveting biography of a complex politician.
Walth chronicles the life and times of Oregon's most sacred politician. Tom McCall was an outspoken conservationist who pushed his agenda with honor. Yet he had personal failings -- a drinking problem, a drug-addicted son -- that Walth didn't sidestep, but instead presented tastefully. This is a top-notch political biography. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Relive Yellowstone Memories
For anybody who has worked at Yellowstone National Park, or has lived there, this book will stir up some wonderful memories. It takes you out on Lake Yellowstone in Jim Wolfe's fishing boat to see the park from a beautiful and unusual perspective as you learn the lore and share the Spirit of the Lake. It was a simpler time when there was fun to be had with other Savages who shared the same dreams for the future and awe of nature as it was found in Yellowstone. A happy, fun, and spiritually calming read, I recommend to any Yellowstoner or Savage.

Yellowstone and fishing? What more could you want?
Wolfe takes us to a great park at a great time. Yellowstone is absolutely magical and it shows in this book. Plus, he throws in a few tidbits about fishing in our great park. His memoir takes place in a day gone by. Things have changed. But the beauty, the wonder and the thrills are just like they were.

This book brings back great memories to those of us who have been lucky enough to work in the oldest and best national park.

What a Place!
I highly recommend this book for Lovers of Yellowstone. It chronicles the adventures of a Savage working there. It's well written, with great detail placed on the history and Magic of Yellowstone. If you want to relax and get lost in a era gone by, then this book is for you. This book does a good job of making the Savage experiences real. You get a sense that Yellowstone is not just a park but an au inspiring place. Great BOOK!! ... Read more

Book Description

This collection of vignettes of famous lovebirds from Colorado’s past includes such incendiary historic characters as Baby Doe and Horace Tabor, Mollie Dorsey and Byron Sanford, and Cort Thompson and Mattie Silks. The couples were chosen because of their impact on the state’s evolution and their propensity for drama.

Also includes tidbits on: • The optimism that characterizes the West, even today • The historic time period of the gold rush of 1858–59 to 1912 • Trends in fashion and culture from this period ... Read more

Reviews (2)

History Comes Alive
History comes alive in this authentic yet fascinating peek into many of Colorado's movers and shakers.This is NOT history as you remember it from school.No endless list of dates, no dull recitation of soldiers in battle.Instead, the famous and the infamous, along with representatives of the solid stock upon which the state's future rested, are captured in readable vignettes.While Fetter is an historian, she never surrenders to the mundane and ordinary.Every life has a story, and the collection of historic characters--heroines, scoundrels, the tragic, the triumphant--make you wonder if you could have met the challenges of frontier life. . .how your own existence will be viewed eventually.Perfect for history buffs, lovers, students, and visitors to and residents of the state.

Treasure Trove of Colorado History
I grew up in Colorado and thought I was familiar with the stories behind the famous names of many of the towns, buildings, streets and monuments throughout the state.However, "Colorado's Legendary Lovers" provided fascinating new insight into these pioneers and introduced me to many previously unknown but equally fascinating characters.With humor and compassion, Ms. Fetter takes the reader into the intimate lives of the politicians, madams, magnates, miners, chiefs, gamblers, scoundrels, heroes, heroines, saints and sinners who contributed much of the color and drama to the rich history of the early West.Some of the stories detail triumphant lives of great success.Others describe tragic figures who never were successful or whom success ruined.A few made me laugh out loud.All are told in detail so vivid that the reader is transported back in time, hearing the sounds coming from the mines and saloons, smelling the perfume and dust, and feeling the heat and cold.If you're headed toward Colorado, this is the book to read on the plane, curl up with in front of the fireplace at the ski lodge or keep on the nightstand at your Bed and Breakfast. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

It sucked
It was so terrible, it made me want to kill myself

read it before you buy any other book
A brilliant book because it captures the magic of London's life and reads as if he had written the book himself - fantastic stuff, and the academics should take note - this is how you bring a man and writer alive, not kill him with turgif analysis and prose. London would be proud.

Simply The Best
Simply the best biography I have ever read. Jack London wrote stories that pale in comparison to the excitement and drama of his life.

a hobo stew with Jack London: paid in advance
Frequent with biographies, the subjects by nature or design overshadow their conveyance, the lives greater than the telling. With Alex Kershaw's handling of London, the disjunctive telling of the life seems to overshadow the greatness of the subject. Kershaw provides documented anecdotal events in London's life, but these episodes are weakly connected, seemingly the paragraphs lack smooth continuity, making the reading of some sections an effort to connect the sequence of events a muddled mess. In a section of Chapter 4, "The Boy Socialist," Kershaw describes London's burn-out from cramming for entrance-exams for Berkeley, his passing with distinction, his fleeing the world by setting sail, his re-course to moor, his impulse to get drunk on shore, and then his arrival "at Berkeley in autumn 1896, in high spirits" (46-47). THEN, we're offered an ancedote about London's comeuppance in a boxing ring, a recollection by a contemporary about his attire, followed by the philosophical influence of Herbert Spencer's book (48). Kershaw's neglect of the biographer's role (and duty) to segue events, providing coherence and significance in the synthesizing of complex elemental parts to a life whole, distracts me from the subject. Yet I expect all biographies to be as great in the telling as their subjects, like Johnson's Boswell or Wolfe's Donald or Joyce and Wilde's Ellman or Genet's White. Kershaw does indeed emerge as a singular teller of a great life, and his telling is marked by fleeting absurdities involving subtly recurring images of human mastication and digestion: "Bite as he did, Jack did not fully digest the philosophies. He chose only that which tasted good, and then wolfed [sic] it down. The tastiest morsel . . . ." (48). Unfortunately, I was stuck with the tab, and here's my tip.

The book travels well-worn trails.
I've read O'Conner, Stone and Sinclair's biographies of London, plus big swaths of others, including his daughter Joan; additionally, I've read many articles. [ Seeing a video interview of his youngest daughter Becky was also interesting.] And now I've read Kershaw's biography. It covers, really, no new ground, though it does expand a bit on the voyage of the "Snark". Yet, if one wants to get into that voyage specifically, there are Johnson, Charmain London and Jack himself to fall back on, re. journals and articles of that voyage. I'm afraid I agree with the "Kirkus Review" writer concerning Kershaw's biography, [included on this site]. There was just too much rehash--crib note stuff--of his stories and books. Kershaw wasted time. He got into works of fiction, at length, that are bad--amongst London's most agonizingly blatant hack work, ("Burning Daylight"). And more than anything, he did not try and plumb the depths of his wildly contradictory acts and words, not the least of which was London's addled racism. Lastly, he did not thrust London and his fame into proper context--he began to do it, then backed off. A reader gets too little social context, and with London--that's really necessary. Still, I found the book worth reading, and if this work was the reader's first biographical exposure to London--I can see where it would work far better. ... Read more