First off being a native Californian and also having been in Oregon quite a bit, the author tends to take the stereotyping a bit too far. Not all Oregonians are anti-anyone else, nor are they all New Agists. To an extent, the stereotyping detracts from the book and the plot which is actually very good. Maybe with future novels the author can avoid this. The book is very funny especially toward the end which wasn't expected. The author even made puns out of the title...once was enough. For the most part the book is intelligent and a fun read, but there were so many characters to keep track of that at certain points I would forget the relationship between the different residents of the town. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this mystery for the most part. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

I read all the later ones before I found a copy of this...and it was the best of the lot. Maybe a little unbelievable in spots but so enjoyable that you don't care.

This is a remarkable look at the untamed American West of 1834-1837 through the eyes of a young naturalist. Despite its age, this account is quite readable. The smaller segments describing Townsend's visits to Hawaii, Tahiti and Chile are also enjoyable.

Since this is a diary, it does have some flat spots (not every day can be an adventure), but mostly Townsend fills his descriptions with details and color that bring his encounters alive. You can sense Townsend maturing as the journey goes on. One suggestion to the editors: If a new edition is produced, it would be nice to include a map of Townsend's travels, because in some places it's hard to tell where he is.

A tip to the reader: Skip the introduction, since it's mostly just a summary of what you'll be reading. It does, however, contain a description of what happened to Townsend after the book, so go back and read that once you finish.

hi everyone, please buy, read and cherish this book! you would not believe how much work went into this - I know because I'm the author's daughter. BUY BUY BUY! :) thanks

I liked this book. I think Neely Jones is a very likable new mystery heroine with lots of promise. However, I did find the author's use of racial slurs to be over the top. Don't get me wrong. Racism is alive and well in America. But, as an African-American, I can honestly say that I've experienced less blantant racism during my entire life than Neely experiences in just one page! I hope MK Wren can tone that down in the next book. I look forward to reading about Neely's further adventures.

African American Neely Jones leaves her San Francisco police officer job to accept a deputy position in the sheriff's office of Taft County, Oregon. She moves because her significant other Jan Kato works at the nearby Westport Oceanographic Center. However, the white male department refuses to take seriously their new black female token. To them she is a double token to satisfy blacks and females. Her lowly situation changes when she unseats the present sheriff, Gill Willis, in a write-in campaign. Surprisingly, Neely did not run for office nor wants the job. However, an irate Gill immediately quits to protest Neely's election.

When she takes office, Neely learns that Gill was on the take as someone left an envelope filled with money for him. She receives anonymous calls warning her of the consequences if she fails to resign. She ignores the threats until Jan is found dead in a pool of jellyfish. She deeply grieves her loss even as she feels guilty by not acting on the personal threats. Still, a determined Neely plans to uncover the identity of the killer regardless of whether she obtains any cooperation from her own staff.

M.K. Wren,s new series is a twenty-four karat winner that reads more like a suspense thriller than a police procedural. Readers see bigotry operate in a de facto open manner as well as hidden in the shadows. The heroine is a strong person who bends but becomes more powerful as she refuses to allow narrow minded individuals to stop her from accomplishing her job. NEELY JONES: THE MEDUSA POOL is book one of what appears to be a dynamic series that looks like it's heading for a wonderfully long run.

Harriet Klausner

In a land of raw winds and merciless sun, Marybeth MacKinder was a quiet, raven-haired young widow traveling westward with her former husband's family and the memories of a loveless marriage. Here she was losing the batle to protect herself and her infant son from the brutish brother-in-law who was trying to claim her as his own. Then Joshua Rivers stood before her offering her a tenderness she had never felt. He was a man of the frontier, a man both tough and gentle, whose very touch gave her a thrill she had never known. As the wagon train pushed across a continent, Marybeth would see new horizons opening up before her and feel a passion-bred crouage to face both danger and a new destiny. But the joy she felt in Joshua's arms would be threatened by savage jealousy--and a bullet...for the journey of her heart had just begun.

This book combines all the elements, a wagon train to Oregon, young widow with a child traveling with her really, really mean loutish in-laws (the men), down trodden mother in law and of course the handsome hero. I really enjoyed this book and have read it several times.

I read this book in school as a child (well, I'm only 17 now, not exactly old) and I was permanantly at least 10 pages ahead of the teacher so impatient was I to continue with the story. The novel follows a group of families as they make their way to the promised land, fighting attacks from animals, illness, obstacles in their path, but like all good stories the ending is a happy one. There are bits when the reader will laugh, those when a tear may venture out over his or her cheek, but always will the reader be anxious to see what's on the next page. A great novel, highly recommended.

Actually, "The Oregon Trial" by R. Conrad Stein is not a novel but rather a volume in the Cornerstones of Freedom series. However, it does contain two large sections describing in some detail what it was like to travel the Oregon Trail. In 1836 Dr. Marcus Whitman led a group of missionaries from Liberty, Missouri that included two women, including his wife, Narcissa, who kept a diary of her trip. This was the first wagon train to travel the trail, although it consisted of but two wagons and the trail was really the combination of hundreds of Indian footpaths the 2,000 miles along the Platte, Snake and Columbia rivers. In 1843, when the mass movement of Americans to Oregon really began, the first great wagon train of 120 wagons and a 1,000 pioneers took to the trail, led by Jesse Applegate, who wrote a lively account of a typical day on the way west.

Stein also covers the early days of the trail, when it served as the major route for mountain men, as well as the history of the Pacific Northwest that was the end point of the trail. This book is illustrated with historic paintings and a few photographs. I know an entire generation of children have played "The Oregon Trail," which was one of the first really big computer games (at least it was at our local library) and I have to think that finding out more about the "real" Oregon Trail will appeal to them. Stein certainly gives his readers a feel for what it was like on that trail, which claims over a dozen lives for every mile it trekked across the country.

The Oregon Trail is well known in legend and history for the many brave Americans who emigrated to Oregon in covered wagons. Here, Ralph Compton continues his "trail" series. Although I knew that livestock was common on the trail, I didn't realize that Oregon became cattle country for some. In this book, the trials of herding cattle across a hostile land is combined with the trials of ordinary families seeking a new life in the "promised land".

Again Compton describes the struggles, hardships, and decisons that were faced during the early and late1800's, of the many people who were traveling westward. Many were good folks, but there were some who would who would rob or kill for for the least thing. The seasoned Texas cowboys who were good to their word and not afraid to to defend what was right with out thinking twice. The Texas long horn cattle--stubborn and mean, but also would stampede at the slightest action. The immigrants who were green and unaware of the dangers of a new land. All this, Compton has written in an action packed series book describing a trail drive of the old west.

Beautiful and provocative on several levels, this book shows the varied environments of Oregon at two points in time. The book constitutes an important historic document. Comparisons of the photos also lead the reader to ponder the effects of growth and development on the landscape and to wonder about the future of The Beaver State. Let's hope that when a future photographer sets up a camera at the same benchmarks, he or she records the effects of good decisions Oregonians make about growth and land use today.

This is a beautiful book which will interest anyone researching Oregon history. The photographs are large and colorful and explained with great care. As a matter of fact, any history buff might enjoy looking through this book to see what time does to place.

I really enjoyed this story. I really liked it when her family felt sorry for her and let her have that cat. It's about a little girl on her way to Missouri with her family, Ma, Pa, Kate, Benjy, Duffy, and Doris.

My 7 yr. old advanced reader found this book not only reasonable to read, but it held her excitement at wanting to know what would happen to each of the characters as the wagon train progressed on its journey and met real dangers. It was not too scary, but filled with the concerns of real life in the pioneer days. The story developed the unfolding of a girlhood friendship in such a way as to show a young reader ways to ease into a relationship. It was a delight to read with a child and educational in many ways.

Carolyn N. Long documents the events in the case Oregon v. Smith, the saga of Al Smith, and the Klamath Indians. All the people who played a part in this judicial/legislative/religious tug of war were treated with respect by this author. Long asks us to ponder the question, who is more powerful God or Caesar? The sacramental ingestion of peyote has been part of the Native American Church for centuries. This native belief clashed directly with state and federal laws propelling this case to the highest court in the land. This book is a remarkable work that articulates each argument in a concise manner that is accessible to readers from any discipline. For example, the portion of the book that explains the disagreement between Justice Scalia and Justice O'Conner. Scalia's conclusion that generally applicable laws did not invoke the free exercise clause, was as interesting as O'Conner's refusal to dismiss a century of First Amendment jurisprudence. Controversy and politics make this case especially enthralling. Long describes the legislative process that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act went through. Her focused writing explained how legislative actions sprout and are nurtured through the political process, one reason why this superb book compliments coursework in Political Science. Oregon v. Smith contained interplay between citizens, local politicians, special interest groups and high profile members of the judiciary. The intense political positioning throughout this case, was as intriguing as a good game of chess and more enjoyable than a great work of fiction. Bravo!

In Religious Freedom and Indian Rights, Carolyn Long examines the events surrounding the landmark Supreme Court case Employment Division v. Smith, and presents a case study on the struggle between governmental power and individual religious freedom. Using the story of a Native American man fired for worshiping in the manner of his religion, the author illustrates the ongoing struggle in this nation over the meaning of the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment, and its application in American government. As a case study, Employment Division v. Smith is an excellent choice, and Professor Long has done an admirable job of presenting all sides of the issue. By utilizing primary sources such as Justice Thurgood Marshall's personal papers, and through conducting many interviews with those involved with the case, she has written a text that is informative, balanced, and (above all) enjoyable. A great attribute of this book is that it is real; the interviews with Mr. Smith, his attorney, and Attorney General Frohnmayer add a "real life" dimension that many political science case studies lack. The reader walks away from this book knowing that Al Smith is a real person with real emotions and beliefs; that is a refreshing change. The book is a fairly easy read for college students, and the reader is kept interested by the regular "changes in scenery" between the Supreme Court, the attorneys, and the other players throughout the book. Religious Freedom and Indian Rights provides valuable insight into the inner workings of a landmark case and the various dynamics that come to play when one is allowed to take a controversy "all the way to the Supreme Court." This book will doubtless prove to be an asset to those seeking a better understanding of the First Amendment's free exercise clause, and would be a excellent choice as a text for a Civil Rights and Civil Liberties course.

Beckham has done more to understand the history of the Indian people of the Oregon coast than any other author. As a member of the Coos tribe, I am grateful for his attention to a history which not only very few non-Indians but also Indian people are aware.

However, mostly missing in this book is the Indian voice, or a discussion of the motivation and understanding of the Indian people who were being uprooted and systematically killed. While Beckham is clearly sympathetic to Indians, this is still a book written from the dominant culture's perspective; even so, the discussion of the motivations of the non-Indian settlers is somewhat superficial.

Because so little is written on the subject, this is an important addition to the history of the Oregon Coast in the early 19th century.

Professor Beckham's presents a terse and lucid account of the displacement of the natives of the Rogue Valley and surrounding areas. I grew up in the Rogue Valley and in fact my family homesteaded there, although they began a couple of decades after the natives had been displaced to reservations. I wish very much that this book had been required reading in my high school, because we were raised to be essentially blind to the melancholy history of our area.

The book is essentially a scholarly memoir, with extensive footnoting for anyone wanting to find more detail in the historical record. Yet, the writing is accessible and vivid. This is a highly recommended read.