This is a wonderful book. The first time I read it, I was very impressed. It is very well written and beautifully illustrated. Once I finished the read, it felt more like having seen a movie, than having read a book.

Over the last 10 years or so, I have made many trips to the Wallowas (this is where the story takes place), and have come to love the natural diversity of the area and the independent nature of the people that live there.

One day I was in a local Wallowa area bookstore, looking for items on local history and found this book. I read it and the story touched my heart - so much so, that over the past several years, I've bought at least 6 copies to give to friends and relatives.

Several months after reading the book, I was on a deer hunt in the Wallowas with my son. I was focused on finding a way to a remote high bluff overlooking a wild river valley. It had been a long and difficult 4wd ride over bad terrain, and at some point in checking my maps, I realized I was about to cross the "Cat's Back".

Traveling through the area, I remembered reading the book and realized that this was where the story took place. I recognized important locations from the paintings, photos, and well written prose contained in the book.

The beautiful illustrations accurately reflect the natural beauty and ruggedness of the area. It did not take much imagination to envision the hardships this small family faced, and it was also easy to understand why they may have wanted to call this place home.

Thinking back, in my minds eye, I could see little Caroline leaning into the wind - straining to hear the music ...

There's no need to go out there though - you can just buy the book.

Can't recommend it enough.

This is a must read for anyone interested in the region!

Living in Brazil, I can't remember exactly how I happened to find this book. The important aspect is that I found it, I read it and even some years later I still carry some passages in my mind, so I have to regard this book as a good one.

It is a kind of autobiographical narrative of the youth of Mr. William O. Douglas, who later in life became a Supreme Court Judge in America.

An interesting aspect, is that later I learned that as a Judge, Mr. Douglas would very often give shelter to the 5th. Amendment in his sentences, and by reading the book, we can sort of understand how his personality and his passion for freedom was formed many years before.

It is a first person narrative of his early years as a child and later as young man, and we can clearly understand his respect for wildlife and independence in a human's being life.

Recalling his early expeditions as a boy in nearby mountains, Mr. Douglas describes us the forests, rivers and rainbow-trouts of his youth. At a certain time I started to think there was too much information about trout-fishing, but we should always forgive and understand a man when he decides to tell us about his childhood. :)

This book is not about the Supreme Court Judge, but on the contrary, it is about the poor boy who grew under the mountains and borrowed some of their magnificent dignity from them.

I hope to read some of Mr. Douglas' Law writings one day, so I can finally understand the whole man and close this chapter. But this will still take some years, and until then, all I can say is that I have nice memories from this book. By the way, a pretty hard to find book.