This book is the only resource available if you're interested in the architecture of Portland, Oregon, but it has its problems. Mr. King is not an architectural critic, but rather a fan of Portland architecture, especially, apparently, that of the early 1900s. Few Modern buildings are reviewed, or reviewed well. There is an odd political commentary infused throughout the book which does little to help the reader gain insight into the architecture of this City. For example, he inexplicably calls the urban planner Robert Moses a "fascist" without any explanation as to why. About the convention center he observes: "one of those dreadful holding pens full of glad-handing salespeople and marathon foot journeys to get to the restroom." Many of his reviews are as hollow and as tinny as a grammar student who has been told to fill the page with a certain number of words: "Measuring sixteen stories high on its east side, the Federal Courthouse is the most ambitious building constructed in Portland during the 1990s and certainly the most expensive public building in Portland." (Huh?)

While this book doesn't achieve the critical level necessary to qualify as an architectural guide, it's still worth having as an introduction to Portland architecture---but skip the homilies by Mr. King, they're time wasted in your exploration of the buildings of this great City.

I picked up a copy of this book in the Portland Airport, although I will confess that I didn't have high hopes for it. This guidebook turned out to be a great traveling companion. Its short entries are perfect for bursts of reading, and the the book really keeps the history (and humor!) flowing. I appreciated the book's ongoing commentary and interesting (even bizarre) facts. King seems to have done a great job of providing a thorough overview of the city's buildings, from the oldest to ones from the 21st century.
I would not only highly recommend this book for the casually interested, and the architecture expert, but also for the disinterested . . . it will hook them in!

I have lived in Portland for 7 years. I really enjoyed this book. It is fun to carry this book while walking through downtown Portland.

Boring, Unless you run across words about someone you've met, or wines you are interested in, then, the authors merely repeated timeworn anecdotes. The description of the wine making process was interesting at first, but you've really got to be into it to keep slogging through.

There is no better guide for knowing the ins and outs of wineries throughout California. Large and small wineries they are all there. Forget some of the reviews. The background of each winery is great reading...

A vast array of information not easily available. Reliable reviews of the wines of virtually every known winery, and reliable comments about the future development and direction of wineries.

Needing closure by burying the specter of his wife who accidentally fell off the cliffs near Empire, Oregon, Russell Kent returns to the village with plans to compose an opera focusing on Jules Verne's Captain Nemo. However, ghosts haunt his sleep as he dreams of his deceased spouse as well as the town and its residents.

Feeling a bit guilty, Russell has an affair with Megan Sumner, the owner of the bed and breakfast he is staying at. He also begins to meet many of the residents, but feels uneasy as he senses everyone shares a dark secret except him. Russell finds a thirst to learn the undisclosed as he starts questioning anything and everything for everyday occurrences here in Empire seem slightly off center or eccentric.

This is a strong fantasy suspense thriller that builds the tension to extremely high levels as readers accompany the hero with a need to know the truth. The story line is loaded with action and filled with an assortment of characters that manage to make the everyday appear eerie. However, the climax feels abrupt as a series of inexplicable disclosures with few or no real clues occur in a very short stretch as if a page limit barrier was hit. Still, David Herter displays his talent to keep the thrill at its acme and the need to know even higher in this powerful fantasy suspense tale.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book in the space of three days. I felt that it was well written, and highly entertaining. My only complaint was that I feel I missed something with the ending, but that could be a result of having read it so quickly. I felt Mr. Herter tackled a very interesting concept, which has been used before, in a manner that was quite unique. I highly recommend this book.

Russell Kent had been commissioned to write an opera based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. He traveled to the Oregon coast, a town called Evening. A year before, Russ had lost his wife, Anna, in Evening. She had fallen to her death from a cliff, a freak accident. In Evening Russ planned to face his past ghosts and create the opera. What he found was a chance at love anew by the owner of the local B&B, Megan Sumner.

The town of Evening had a secret. Something everyone kept quiet about and secretly worked on, unknown by the rest of the world. Quietly, the population of Evening hid a fantastic secret in a cavern beneath the town and only referred to as "downstairs". After many decades of work, and several deaths, the secret was about to be revealed!

This story seemed to flow as smoothly as mellow music. A small bit of curiosities to begin with, followed by a constant undercurrent of tension. The story kept me guessing as to what the big secret was. Even as my imagination ran wild, I never came close to the truth. David Herter has masterfully created a novel that will keep its readers on the edge of their seats! Recommended!

This is one of the best choices I made in books. It's about a 13 year old named Storie who lives at Blue Star Camp. A fire is burning the woods down, but for a long time she and her family think it's so far from them that it doesn't matter. Of course, it soon comes dangerously close to them, and everyone must leave. Storie's father is required to try to fight the fire with the other men, but she is terrified about this and ventures out to save him. In the end, she escapes and tells her grandchildren about the natural disaster that happened to her as a kid. It's very exciting, fast-paced, touching, and just an overall great book. Yes, I highly recommend "Fire on the Wind."

The book Fire on the Wind by Linda Crew is a great book and very hard to put down. It has many thrilling and gripping scenes. No one could have written better historical-fiction about the real Tillamook Burn in Oregon in 1933 that burned over 200 acres of forest. It almost seems as if the characters are real. While reading, I almost feel like I'm actually there, like I'm part of the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good well-written historical-fiction book.

It was like a window into life in a logging camp in the 30's during the Tillamook burn. It was interesting to see how much society has changed in the last 6 decades. I would recommend this book to any one!

This book has broad and informative contents. You can also see various maps of important regeons in Northwestern part of the continent. I visited Seattle, Portland, Mt. Rainier and Oregon Coast with it. Very helpful for travellers in Washington and Oregon.

We used several guides in planning a recent trip to south and central Oregon, with a stop at Mt. St. Helens on the way home, and this one was by far the most informative! Before we went to a particular destination, I would tell my family, "First you have to listen to this!" Then I would read Lonely Planet's description and historical/geological background of the site we were about to visit. I think we all enjoyed our trip much more because of this "anticipatory set."

Highly recommended, not only for first-time visitors to a region, but for natives to learn more about the beauty and history right in their own backyard.

For the visitor, there are a lot of possibilities in the Pacific Northwest. LPs coverage is the best I've encountered in a single book. The historical background, accommodation, prices, maps, and general logistics listed, are a great foundation for someone visiting this awe-inspiring part of North America. The breakdown and explanation of the cities of Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland were excellent and accurate. As for the scenic and rustic areas, LPs description of the coast, National and State parks, & eastern WA and OR give the traveler plenty to play with. The Native American background was good, as with most LP works where there was such an indigenous population. Pack your LP on this trip.

This wonderful book landed in my hands while I was researching a quilting project for 4th graders in California. The stories were an inspiration. This is one of those must haves for any quilters library.

One of the most interesting books on quilts I ever read. The histories of the lives of the women described in the book shows, what, apart from their family chores they contributed to social and cultural live in those hard times. With nothing on hand they intended to enrich the lives of their dears and their owns and given the fact, that there was a lack of goods for surviving, they even cared for their quilts and brought them to Oregon.

America can be proud for their wives and their contribution to its history. These words from a person who is not american and from a country where there is no tradition of quilting but who deeply admires this part of America.

Between 1840 & 1870 thousands of women arrived in the American Northwest Territory by way of the Oregon Trail. Stored away for months in trunks specially built to protect them from the hazards of weather & rivers, fire & dust, a host of heirloom quilts found new homes in the wilderness of a new frontier.

Treasures in the Trunk is a splendid catalog of the inventiveness of these women, their eye for color & design & the stories of where they came from, were they going & what happened along the way.

Each quilt is presented in detailed photography & discussion of how it was sewn, fabrics of the time, stitching & designs. "White on White"; "Red & Green Tulip"; "Poke Stalk", "Double Irish Chain"; "Rose of Sharon"; "Lily"; "Harlow Album Quilt"; "Star"; "Setting Sun"; "Oregon Rose"; "Wandering Foot" & "Oregon Trail" is just a handful of the featured quilts.

Treasures in the Trunk is far, far more than a simple quilt sampler, it is a fascinating diary of an adventure that fired the imagination of people as far away as Russia, Italy & Scandanavia & generations of girls & boys, looking for the bright & wild edges beyond which lived strange & wonderful things. For anyone who loves quilting & history! Do check out my site for my full review & eInterview with this quilt historian & other books on quilting.

Opal Whitely's story is an utterly amazing thing in every respect. Her life as a child, her exquisite sensitivity, and her way of expressing herself -- it's all just amazing.

That said, I don't understand this version! Compared to Jane Boulton's original adaptation (if that's what you'd call it), "Opal, Journal of an Understanding Heart," this seems gutted and meaningless. Maybe it's meant to be less sad for young children, I don't know. Read the original version.

This story is about the life of a little girl named Opal who loves nature. Her mother and father died and went to Heaven. Just by looking at the pictures you can tell that she has a sad life. Her new mama is not very nice. Opal has a favorite tree that she loves. The tree is called Michael Raphael. He has an understanding soul. She also has a sweet dog named Brave Horatius. My favorite part is when Opal writes about her feelings. Kids who like to relax will like this book because it has soothing words. It has really great illustrations, too! This is a terrific story!

The "point" of the picture book edition of Opal's diary is to make it accessible to younger readers. I would not hand a young child Boulton's longer edition or _The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow_, whereas any Barbara Cooney book can be recommended to young children without reservations.

That said, this edition is satisfying in itself. The book is touching and beautifully illustrated and unique. I recommend it highly, along with the other editions of the diary and everything else illustrated by Barbara Cooney.

Lots of good detail and smaller stories threaded into one fabric, but I was really disappointed to find the 'history' of Oregon end around 1860. Took me a long time to finish either because it's dry or because I'm a slow reader...

This book attempts to trace the history of the Oregon territory by stringing together the stories of various pioneers. The book's strength is that Walker is a wonderful story teller and you can't help but be hooked by his tales of mountain men and emigrants wandering around a vast wildnerness. Walker has a keen eye for the look and feel of the times. The book is a bit light on context with only a few brief discussions of the politics of the period, but that'a probably an unfair criticism because that isn't what the book sets out to do. I read this because I'm going to the Northwest for a vacation in a few weeks and Walker's book will greatly enrich that trip.

This book describes the history of european exploration of the pacific northwest. It is full of witty, exciting storytelling better than most fiction. Walker has a gift for intensifying the drama of historical events and vividly illustrating the most striking characters.

I've recently moved to Southern Oregon and this guide has been an invaluable introduction to the hikes in the area. The book is well organized, and does a good job of ranking hikes according to difficulty and seasonality. One failing, however, is the large number of factual errors such as confusing north for south, or mis-stating the number of road miles to the trailhead. These sorts of errors had the positive value of making one more self-sufficient.

Hi, this is Bill Sullivan, the author of this book. Because of the large fires in Southern Oregon this past summer, I've decided to completely update this book. I've rehiked the trails and discovered some interesting new paths. The old edition is now out of print, but I'll have the new second edition available April 1, 2003 -- at the same price. I think it will be worth the wait!

I'm a bit puzzled by the previous review, because Sullivan'sbooks really do have fewer factual errors than most. In fact, he claims to offer a reward to anyone who reports an actual error -- this info is on page 2 of the book -- and he updates the book often, as you can tell by the copyright dates. If the reviewer above really has found a glitch, I'd suggest he report it to Sullivan (the address listed on Sullivan's Website). Maybe the reviewer has an old edition of the book?

um. i think this book is good. um, im gonna use it for my next book to read in class. If is a good book to read. Um, i like baseball. GO METS!

Right off the bat, I want you to know that this is a highly biased review.

First, Randi Platt is an old friend of mine, lost for years and then found again after her first Fe-As-Ko book hit the stands. We're such old friends that I know where "Leckner" and "Perrault" came from.

Second, I live in Walla Walla, Washington and if we didn't have a team like this in 1898, we sure did in 1973 when Kurt Russell (that's right - former Disney poster child, then the consummate cyber-soldier, Goldie's husband, etc.) played for the Walla Walla Padres. It was a third-rate farm club for the San Diego Padres, managed by a woman called Peppermint Patty - that alone tells you a lot about the team.

With that said, I loved the book. Problem is, I kept reading it aloud because its language is meant to be spoken. I have the same problem with Garrison Keilor's books.

It begs to be a movie and Russell should star in it. It would be a "Wild Wild West meets Major League".

Anyway, it's a very fun read and a story well-told. Thanks for it, Randi.

It seems that the FDR writer is back wanting more Fe-As-Ko stories from cowpoke Royal Leckner.

This time it's 1897, Royal and E.M have been married about four years. And so have Leviticus and Lou(ella) Perrault, owners of the Four Arrows ranch. Royal is still foreman of the ranch and caretaker of its owner. As he reminds us, Leviticus and Lou(ella) Perrault are "short a hat size", but "nice and honest, which is better than smart and fox-like any day."

It's time to take the cattle to Portland for the annual sale, and Royal is bringing Leviticus along to teach him how "to sign on the dotted line". E.M. foresees trouble in Portland and decides she'd better go along as well. So the cattle get loaded and all are headed for the city. Except, Leviticus who has managed to walk onto the train, down the aisle and right back off - something's caught his eye. It shouldn't be a surprise that a long-time rock thrower like Leviticus would get fascinated by a base-ball. Once they get Levi back on the train, Lou(ella) says they are going to get themselves a base-ball in Portland.

As it turns out (and things do turn in Royal's life), the buyer isn't available when they go to sell the cattle, so it's declared a day off. E.M's off to buy hats and Royal goes shopping with Levi and Lou(ella). Innocently enough, Royal accepts baseball tickets for an expedition game from one of the local storekeepers. This probably wasn't the best place to take Leviticus for "he may only have a half mind, but the half he does have is damn hard to unset." Worse, Royal runs into E.M.'s half sister and full-time trouble, Augusta, who is also the owner of this Bowery Bulldogs. E.M. shows up and immediately takes exception to find Royal in the club house drinking champagne with Augusta. Knowing this isn't going anywhere right, Royal decides to take his new fishing pole and get out of town, leaving E.M. to sell the cattle.

Days later, E.M. shows up with a wagon overloaded with men passing the bottle, whooping, hollering and following out. These are not men Royal recognizes. Like Jack sent to town to sell a cow, but coming back with magical beans, it seems that Leviticus traded the herd of 1200 cattle for his very own baseball team, just as Lou(ella) said they'd have. Smart and fox-like Augusta had him "sign on the dotted line" when E.M. wasn't looking. And now it is up to the Leckner's to look for the giant beanstalk, despite winter coming, no cash, and ten extra mouths to feed. But E.M. is not without her resources; she has her father sitting in jail, the "seven vestal Burnbaums", daughters of Idlehours late banker, and Lou(ella's savant talent with numbers.

To give the benefit of hindsight to this rather nefarious situation, Platt has Royal Leckner tell his story years after the events while narrating to one of FDR's WPA depression writers. Platt dresses Royal's storytelling with a narration so colorful it's hard not to want to read every line out loud. It's a talented writer that can write a spellbinding story that hangs together right down to the funny bone. And Platt does this yet again in her third fe-as-ko, as she keep the plot moving, the bases loaded, and the pages turning until it all adds up to another home run for us, the readers of these fe-as-kos.