This is a very good, highly readable history of James J. Hill, his family and his numerous successful business adventures, and the Great Northern Railway in particular.

Of the four major biographies of James J. Hill, this one is the best and most detailed. If it has a fault, it is that it is too detailed for many readers. But for those interested in the financial history of the Great Northern Railway and the personal history of its builder, this is the classic.

Martin had full access to the James J. Hill papers, now open to the public. Pyle's 1917 biography was also based on those papers, but Pyle was an employee of Hill's and tried to whitewash the truth, which actually made Hill look worse than he was. Holbrook's brief bio was based mainly on Pyle and rumor. Malone's 1996 book on Hill is to Martin's what Holbrook's was to Pyle's--a good intro but not as detailed as Martin's.

I've scrutinized a bunch of guide books about Istanbul and Turkey, but I can easily say that I've never met that kind of detailed and well-pictured book on Istanbul. Especially the historical (Ottomans, their architecture) pictures are awesome. The only negative critic about the book for me is the out-of-date photos. For example, the Turkish policemen do not wear those uniforms and most of the bills (banknotes) that were shown inside the book are out of circulation.

This book is in the same genre as 'Eyewitness' with lush illustrations and colour. Possibly more detailed in historical information. Arranged thematically. An excellent armchair companion guide for before or after a trip. I would take 'Eyewitness' with me for the practical information (pictures of bus tickets; how to pay a dolmus driver; what to say to alight from a dolmus). But I am so pleased I purchased this book as well. Will tuck it into my bag next time, space permitting.

This is the most brilliant book on Istanbul in it's cathegory. Very coplexed and detailed on sites, historical monuments, museums and daily life. A must see before visiting Istanbul and Turkey.

We live in Southern California so I was a bit dubious how useful this book would be. Happily, it still has much to offer for anyone wishing to wildscape. There's plenty of general advice re. food/water/nesting sites etc. and good plans for bird houses and bat houses. There's a nice chapter on attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, and plenty about creating and maintaining water features (a huge attraction for wildlife in hot areas like ours).

You will need to cross reference the plant lists against what's native for your area, and find your own local native plant nurseries, but there's still lots of great advice here for wildlife gardeners that can be adapted to almost any region.

Trish

Link, Russell, Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1999, 320p.

Soft cover, perfect binding, acid free paper, 8.5 X 11.

The book is divided into 5 parts 1) Wildlife Habitat Design and Maintenance 2) Pacific Northwest Wildlife in the Landscape 3) Special Features for Wildlife Landscapes 4) Coexisting with Wildlife 5) Appendices

Volume has good index , bibliographic references and is clearly printed.

Over one third of the book is in the Appendices, they are excellent, perhaps its best 'part'.

A) Pacific Northwest Habitats B) Wildlife Plants Lists, Tables, and Maps C) Landscape and Wildlife Information for Specific Plants D) Construction Plans for Nest Boxes and Bird Feeders E) Resources (in my opinion, very important)

Content:

Well written, educationally enhanced by wonderful illustrations, good examples and step-by-step procedures. Quality, abet small, section of color photos of wildlife identification and descriptions. Includes description of habitat construction from apartment balcony to acreage. Also discusses ponds, dust paths, nest boxes and nest structures, feeders with detailed tables, brush piles, snags, hedgerows, bird watching, problems with wildlife and responsible pet ownership.

Book can be read as text or used as a reference resource. The publication is a must for any land steward or wildlife enthusiast. An excellent purchase as a gift for yourself or fellow enthusiast. Available in bookstores or if you order from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife you receive a copy autographed by Russell.

Seattle is well known for it's contributions to the performing arts in many genres. Arguably, the biggest contributors is the Pacific Northwest Ballet which is among the best in the world. One gets a sense of the difficulty and trail of establishing this fine organization.

The book not only the story of the Pacific Northwest Ballet from it's meager beginnings to the internationally reknown company that it is today, but also a sketch of biography on Kent and Francia Stowell who influenced this wonderful organization to what it is today. Ardent fans of the PNB will relive the many name changes and stages of growth through the pages of this excellent book. There is brief coverage of some of the names of those who affected the PNB early on such as Glynn Ross (Former general director of the Seattle Opera), Janet Reed (instructor and former dancer New York City Ballet) to name a couple. Though the book isn't heavy in detail, there is just enough to tell the PNB story in an enjoyable manner.

One aspect of the PNB which is covered (though lightly), is how the organization reaches out to the community. Perhaps the most visible way is educationally by the establishment of Pacific Northwest Ballet School. In addition to the impressive growth, the book details some of the challenges such as funding and lack of boys enrolled in the school reflecting the homophobic attitude of some people concerning ballet here in the states. Another way the organization is involved community wide is reflected by the number of adults enrolled in the school and the regional classes offered by the school.

Within you will find fabulous photography of both the careers of Kent and Francia Stowell as well as the defining and key moments of the company over the years; truly memory lane for followers and fans of the PNB and their wonderful school. Included in the pictures are the well known staples of the PNB; Swan Lake and The Nutcraker. It is a wonderful, charming and interesting book on one of the truly great attractions in the culture rich city of Seattle. If you enjoy ballet and dance or a fan or the Seattle area, this will be a great addition to your library.

this book is *well* worth the money, i received it as a christmas gift this year and i've been reading it over and over. if you are interested in learning about PNB or just looking at some fabulous shots of their company i highly recommend purchasing this book. it is a gorgeous hardcover with an in-depth history of the company past to present.

A book that will hopefully wake people up who live here in the NW and make them realize that we are at just as much risk for earthquakes as california. I was a 1 year old and my parents recall their terror of ensuring my safety as well as their own during the 1965 quake that hit Wa state measuring over a 7. We should all take heed to the words written and secure ourselves by having a 3 day supply of food and water, knowing what the energency response of our childrens's schools are. Because the quake that hit this summer is just a prelude to the massive one that will hit.

The book is great for getting people aware that the PNW also has a fault line. And Mt. Rainier is more than a mountain. But he says it not to scare you. It educates you in a relaxing manner. This should be mandatory reading for grades 9-12. Highly recommend it!!!

This is absolutely essential for anyone going to British Columbia or Alaska. It gives a brief description and explanation of almost all the important outdoor totem poles you'll come across, taking you through the poles figure by figure. I found it invaluable when in Victoria's Thunderbird Park and Vancouver's Stanley Park and Museum of Anthropology. A real gem you'll read over and glance through again once you're back home.

No frills, no gimmicks, just an excellent written and graphic profile of totem poles as a symbol of a North American people. Allows you to enter a community where beliefs in the earth, sky, oceans, mountains and animals continue to be spiritual.

Several weeks ago, my wife and I visited the Little Bighorn (Custer) National Battlefield Monument in Montana. As we were leaving the grounds of the monument, we noticed the Big Indian Tepee Trading Post (or something to that effect) across the road ("Gifts, Souvenirs, T-Shirts, Cold Drinks, Food, Whatever"). I didn't feel like getting scalped in a tourist ambush, but my wife wanted to check it out. So, of course, we stopped. And, I'm glad we did, because I came across this absolutely marvelous book.

Owen Tully Stratton was a medicine show pitchman from 1898 to 1904, and a licensed, small town MD from 1906 to 1950. MEDICINE MAN is his memoir, as edited by his son. In the book's first 100 pages, Owen recounts his crisscrossing of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Montana and Idaho as a medicine show huckster. While today one might view such an entrepreneur as not much better than a used car salesman at best, or scam artist at worst, I learned one very surprising fact. Owen's medicine show, and the others he talks about, regularly employed an MD licensed in the state they were traveling through. In any town the show happened to be working, the physician would set up a temporary office to see patients referred to him by the pitchman. The show's MD was not necessarily any more of a quack than the local medicos, so he was actually in a position to provide legitimate medical care - and often did. Of course the medicine show and its tame MD were bitterly resented by the local sawbones and pill pushers.

The remainder of the volume is Owen's recollection of his life as a degreed and licensed MD, practicing at various times in Washington, Idaho and Montana. It was a hard existence, both on himself and his family. But Dr. Stratton reminisces with a perceptive wit that calls to mind the writings of the great Mark Twain. At one point, the author, a self-confident general practitioner (GP) but reluctant surgeon, recounts the time he assisted on an appendectomy with a more experienced, but inebriated, cutter:

"My surgeon, in his drunken enthusiasm, discarded contaminated instruments by throwing them against the wall. The patient knew nothing of that, and her convalescence was uneventful. With that experience, my surgical feet warmed up a trifle."

Evident to the reader are the striking differences between the practice of medicine then and now, with some not necessarily for the better. Take, for example, "house calls". For those of you too young to be acquainted with the concept, a house call was a visit by a physician to a patient's home to render care. This was simply the way medicine was practiced in those days, and up until the time of the mid 20th century. (As a young boy in the early 50's, I remember accompanying my father, also a GP, on his house call rounds.)

I cannot recommend this book to highly. I was particularly impressed by the circumstances surrounding the good doctor's own death, as related by his son in an Editor's Epilog. His departure from life was pure class.

My own father is deceased these past 25 years, but I shall give this volume to my mother, also an MD. Her maternal grandfather was a physician in rural Missouri at the end of the 19th century, and I'm sure she'll find it as fascinating as I did.

I may be a bit biased as this book is written by my great-grandfather and edited by my great-uncle. However, the "Medicine Man" is a fun look at a time in U.S. History when the west was still to be explored. It was a time of story tellers and colorful characters. That is the story of the "Medicine Man". I would love to hear what you think of the book. Owen "Brad" Stratton

The beautiful photos of lichens and mosses are the best feature of this book. Even many of the harder to identify crustose lichens are included and equally well photographed in this handsome guide. It is difficult to get a handle on lichen identification without some formal training, but this book will enable you to at least make identifications for some of the easier foliose and fruticose ones, such as parmelia or usnea, for example, and perhaps the more difficult ones too as you become more knowlegeable and experienced. The crustose lichen, rhizocarpon geographicum, for example, isn't that hard to identify from the tile-like pattern it makes on rocks and the lime-green color and black apothecia on the plant thallus.

Along with the photos, there are good descriptions and range maps showing plant distributions.

I had the opportunity to take supposedly the only full-semester lichenology class being taught that year in the entire U.S. by the late, great Harry Thiers, back in the mid-80's at San Francisco State University, a graduate botany course in which I'm proud to say I got an A. So I have some formal training in the area, and feel I can judge a good book on the subject when I see it, and this beautifully illustrated field guide is definitely worth the relatively modest price.

Focused on the moist parts of western North America, this guide uses photos, range maps, and keys to identify and describe the primitive plants that are everywhere around us, but poorly understood. Great for plant exploration in the cool parts of the year. If you've ever wondered about those beautiful green carpeted forest floors, the delicate life growing on trees and rocks, or the lacey ferns in the fields and woods, this book is for you.

I wish all guide books were as well researched as this one. Each hand drawn map has GPS waypoints on it plus all the major features and a reference to the USGS/Green Trails Map. Locations of nearby campgrounds and supplies. Plus a very nice rating system so you don't get in over your head. There are 2 maybe 3 overlapping trails with the "Kissing the Trail" book but that's ok. Wish I had thought of having a career of riding my bike and writing a book about it. Way to go John.

These two books are the bomb(S). The directions and the descriptions of the rides are spot on and most importantly the selection of the rides (if you like truly remote, tough, and stunningly beautiful adventures) is tremendous. My copies of these books are dog eared with love and mud. Trust me you cannot go wrong with these books - and I've biked all over the country - or biking in the Pacific Northwest July - Sept - Amazing! Too good! Be prepared for some long drives from Seattle (2hrs each way) but the memories will last much longer. Enjoy! I hope Zilly goes on to write books for the rest of the country...

I recently got given this book, and I can see myself making most of the recipes in it as the first 3 have all been so successful. Great variety of recipes, good layout and directions, and the added bonus of a list of great Northwest Restaurant to try out when you don't fancy cooking!

Simple, elegant recipes that make a stunning meal. The herb baked salmon, asparagus linguine, and black mussel linguine were absolutely wonderful. Each dish had clear instructions and only required a few good ingredients.