I am an avid reader and collector of ethnological and cultural writings of the Pacific NW as well as being a native of the region. This book lacks the scholarship and detail necessary for a definitive work about the Tolowa people. It is too ambitious. It also follows the pattern of prescribed Anthropology in ignoring the fact that U.S. State boundaries are artificial in terms of culture. Oregon native cultures are as closely related to the Tolowa as California native cultures. In the linguistics section there is not enough information. This book is simply too thin to really say anything important. I also think the editing and writing could have used a few more drafts. For anyone doing research on the Tolowa, I can not recommend this book.

My wife is of Tolowa descent and I have found this book to be a fascinating read. Over the years, I have been quite puzzled, and intrigued, by what I interpreted to be the quirky behaviors, of my wife and family, such as: refusing to talk about the past; only using the native tongue to scold children and family pets; embarrassment on being identified as an Indian; an easy acceptance of the appearance of poverty even when they have good incomes; in-laws jokingly offering to bring old cars and other junk to the house so that we would look more Indian; a fascination verging upon obsession for poaching fish, game, and firewood; and, a general reluctance to do anything in a legal manner when other options are available.

This book has helped me tremendously in understanding my Tolowa kin and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking to learn about the present-day Tolowa people. As a benefit, the book briefly covers traditional culture and language -- for which a previous reviewer regrettably found great fault for its lack of detail. However, one only has to reread the title to see that the focus of this work is not traditional culture and language, but rather, how real people, whose assimilation into the American culture only appears to be complete, cope with living in two cultures.

Where else in America do the young men quietly slip out of a warm house full of family, food, and friends to illegally fish for salmon they could easily afford to buy because the fish and game wardens are, as they say, "never out on Thanksgiving"? So, to Mr. Collins I say: "Well done."

Contrary to the previous reader, I found this book both interesting and accessible. It presents a small Native California group, the Tolowa, in an historical narrative that explains who they were before Americans settled California (and Oregon), how they were changed by conquest, and how they have survived. It does not write in arcane detail about the traditional culture, but it does provide considerable amounts of information organized into an intelligent argument. Unlike many traditional anthropological studies, it doesn't stint the periods after the Northwest was settled by Americans, that is, contemporary history. Although it is not a linguistic book, it presents a clearly-written and detailed argument about language, place, and identity, and the final chapter has a long discussion of how Tolowa efforts to preserve their native language have been part of cultural persistence. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Tolowa, in an accessible history of Native Californians and Native Americans as part of the broader currents of U.S. History, or in a sensitive discussion of the politics of identity and why it matters. But be sure to buy the paperback, the hardback is way overpriced.

Yet another collection of Farm Security Administration photographs devoted to a State, this time Indiana. I already have similar books of FSA photos, titled 'Chicago and Downstate', 'A Southern Illinois Album', 'A Kentucky Album', 'Picturing Minnesota' and 'Far from Main Street', (about New Mexico) but I don't think this latest book is as good as these. The ten chapters adequately cover the years from 1935 to 1943 with an emphasis on agriculture and I think these are the weakest photos. The chapter called People and Places with sixteen photos of small town Indiana life was best, exterior shots of stores with their wares and signage (signs, ads and anything typographic was a big thing with FSA photographers) interior shots, main streets, people talking and relaxing or eating in a diner.

Each chapter has a short introduction and all the pictures are photographer credited, captioned, dated and usefully they have the Library of Congress negative number, a comprehensive book list is in the back of the book. I found the photos a little grey because they are printed in a dot screen (133) that does not do justice to the quality of the images and quite a few could be better trimmed. Despite this 'Back Home Again' is worth having especially if you live in Indiana and want a visual record of the day just before yesterday.

This book is an excellent resource for costumers interested in real life garb of small towners and farmers of the 30's. It shows nice details of shoes, hats, aprons, collar styles, fabric patterns, etc. There are a few interiors and exteriers but almost every photo (like soylant green) is of people.

This book addresses a subject that has received scant notice by historians over the years, the history of the Revolutionary War in the Ohio Country.

The book begins by giving a short but concise history of the conflict in the western country. Though not generally known today, there was much bitter fighting between the British allied Ohio tribes and the American settlers on the frontier in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virigina in the years between 1777-1782 with both sides commiting terrible atrocities. The Americans became deterimined to stop the raids by launching an attack against the British stronghold at Detroit, the support center for the Shawnee, Mingo, Wyandot, and Miami Indians who were raiding up and down the frontier. Though the Delaware were largely allies of the Americans, they later threw their lot in with the other tribes late in the war after the infamous massacre of Christian Delawares at Gnadenhutten.

Fort Laurens, named for Continental Congress president Henry Laurens, was built by order of General Lachlan McIntosh and was intended as the first step to securing, through military occupation, the wilderness of the Ohio Country. It was also intended to serve as a first step toward the ultimate goal of reducing Fort Detroit. Sadly, the fort was so far removed from its supply base at Fort Pitt and surrounded by a wilderness infested with hostile tribes that the maintenance of the fort soon became impossible. Despite its best effort, the garrison commanded by Col John Gibson, lacking food and supplies and finding themselves under nearly constant attack by the Indians and British rangers, was finally forced to abandon the post. This halting attempt to subdue the Ohio tribes was a total failure.

This is a short book but contains alot of good info on a little known subject.

This is a good introduction to the site of Ft. Laurens in Bolivar, Ohio. While it takes three or four chapters to actually get to the fort itself, all of this preliminary information is needed to understand the context in which the fort operated. The one thing I wish would have been done differently was the use of footnotes or endnotes--there were none. However, there was a useful Note on Sources at the end of the book. The final chapter is devoted to the archaeological excavations performed at the site in the 1970s. This is a very interesting section, and now that more excavations are currently being conducted, perhaps an updated edition of the book could be prepared.

If you want to identify native plants, get an Audubon guide. If you want to grow them, get this book. It discusses cultivation methods; soils and other environmental factors; where in the region specific plants will live; where to find (and where NOT to get) plants, seeds, and cuttings; what sorts of insects and diseases harm our native plants; etc. Good reference for any Northwest gardener from Oregon through BC, whether you're east or west of the Cascades. Some historical uses for specific plants (culinary, medicinal, etc.) are also briefly given. The book's real drawbacks are its lack of color pictures (there are very few), and its sometimes slightly erroneous descriptions. I suggest coupling this book on growing native plants with a good Audubon guide if you're trying to identify what plants are growing wild on your land.

Of the books I own on NW native plant gardening, this book is my most often referenced. It is full of detailed information about a vast array of NW native plants. Dr. Kruckeberg's enthusiasm for the propogation and stewardship of NW natives shines throughout the book. However, this is not a book about landscaping or effective planting combinations; it is a scholarly work that may be useful to a homeowner interested in native plants and their care, or to the professional landscaper in need of detailed reference information. I am impressed by the breadth of the author's knowledge.

Excellent history of a little-known and fascinating chapter in early American maritime and trade history on the Pacific coast. Kendrick's and Gray's expedition helped spark Jefferson's interest in the west; their exploits were precursors to Lewis and Clark. Lively and full of interesting anecdotes, particularly of Kendrick's activities.

Scofield digs deep into hard-to-find journals and letters from the voyages of the Amercian fur trading vessels Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington. His colorful descriptions of the meanderings of the two boats paints a vivid portrait of life aboard a trading ship along the mostly-uncharted coast. Most impressive here is Scofield's insight into the men who pressed on with arrogance and greed to find fortune in the Otter fur trade circle of the late 1700's.

As do many books with subjects attempting to cover the entire "Pacific Northwest," this book focuses primarily on a certain area of the PNW. In this book's case, it's Oregon (no offense at all to this wonderful state). The photos are all small, black-and-white, and obscure. There are MANY photos of feces in this book. While it's helpful to know feces identification, it's more important to identify mammals by species identification. Perhaps I'm lucky, because I get to see more actual animals in the wild, rather than only their droppings. Some mammals in the book are not even pictured at all. Some of my friends have never even seen a nutria (coypus) or a marten in the wild, so pictures of them (and other animals) would have been helpful and more aesthetically pleasing to them. I've seen wolves in eastern Washington and a brown stage black bear in western Washington which the book does not address. On the other hand, the bat and shrew sections were extensive and thorough. Overall, the book is interesting and is scientifically well-organized. Included is ample, specific information on habitat, behavior, and breeding.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest and want to identify the wild mammals you see, this book is very helpful. However, there is a lot more to the book than just good descriptions of mammals. Stories about each creature bring to life the animals you may never encounter. Chris Maser is clearly fond of his subjects and tries hard to help the reader get a feel for their lives. It is fun to just open this book at random and read a few pages about vole or bat you never knew existed. I have several mammal identification books. This is the best one.

I will give two pieces of advice to the author of 60 boat dives. 1. Don't tell me about shore dives in a book called boat dives and 2. There are a lot more than 60 dives in Puget sound. Diving for 5 years in the sound 500+ boat dives has told me that this book should be renamed and expanded to 202 boat dives in Puget sound then it might be worth the price tag.

But it is a good start. With a lot of good information in a reasonabley easy to read format.

This book stays on the boat so we won't forget it. The GPS coordinates are a great idea and make the sites so easy to find. The author's input on how to dive each site safely has also been of great value. We have also appreciated the inclusion of some of the 'difficult to reach' shore dives and often frequent some of these sites that we used to avoid like the plague!

I bought this book because I live in the Pacific Northwest and I wanted a memento of my area in case I ever move away. There are excellent large photos of areas I have seen with my own eyes, such as Portland Oregon with Mt Hood in the background, the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon beaches, Multnomah Falls and Vista House's view, both along the Columbia River Gorge, an inside picture of Timberline Lodge, Stonehenge, which is a 10 minute drive from my home, the Riverfront park in Spokane and the HUGE Radio Flyer wagon slide that is there, Mt Saint Helens, to name a few. Also there are pictures of places I haven't seen yet that I would like to see, in California, and Vancouver BC and Oregon's Crater Lake that is on the cover as well as in the book. Includes some history and historical photos in the beginning of the book. If you don't live in this area this book may inspire you to visit.

Like wow! When my parents were looking at this book and hoping to get an idea of the Pacific Northwest, I didn't know what all the oohs and ahs were all about. But after taking a gander at the many gorgeous pictures depicting the natural, cultural and historic wonders of this diverse region -- safely under the blanket with a flashlight -- I can see why they liked it so much. Containing almost none of the preciousness one often sees in coffee table books, nor the high flown gas one sometimes finds in other works devoted to American regions, nor the sappiness of the normal trade book intended for use by armchair travelers, Mr. Landphair and Ms. Highsmith's work really makes you want to visit the Northwest and soak up the sights. The captions are eloquent without being overly long, and the photos are artistic without being 'artsy.' The printing itself is a work of art. I would unreservedly recommend this to anyone either of my own age group or older. Awesome! Move over Playstation 2!

Helpful descriptions and paw ratings of dog-friendly hotels in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. However, they omit many of the smaller cities, and for the cities they do list it would be nice if there was a list of hotels that didn't accept dogs so you'd know they checked them. 'Doing the Northwest with your Pooch' lists many more hotels and many more cities (just no descriptions). We recommend 'Pets Welcome' as a useful additional cross-reference that is worth its price because of its hotel descriptions, but do not rely on this book exclusively. The authors donate 5% of book proceeds to the Humane Society of the United States.

This comprehensive well designed guidbook is informative, accurate and offers new opportunities for me and my canine pals.

Ummm, well I didn't read the book, and that's why I gave it 3 stars because I dont really know how, the book is, but if you start a book on the wrong foot that's not, well a good start. Well, I think, I am pretty sure of the tribe this person is talking about. It is the tribe that I am from. ACTUALLY, It's a branch of the Blackfeet. The Correct way of spelling this is "Pikuni." It was spelled "Piikani." Thank u

John Jackson's Piikani Blackfeet examines the history and culture of the Piikani people, using government records, journals, and scholarly studies from both published and unpublished sources. Chapters chart the realities of early Native American life.