Helen Glidden wrote this gem for the amusement of her children. Lucky for us, she was persuaded to have it published. Now, happily, 50 years hence it's back in print. It's an enchanting story (mostly true) about a large family (13 children) of light house keepers posted to tiny Patos Island in the San Juan Islands of NW Washington State at the turn of the century. It is told through the eyes of the five-year-old, middle daughter and comes complete with smugglers, heroes, a murder or two, colorful characters, whimsy and plenty of humor. Glidden masters the tricky business of writing from the point of view of a youngster growing from five to 13 who, for example, thinks the bushy bearded man living on the lam in their forest and know only to her is God. The author was this girl.

This book if fun to read, Good writing, Makes you laugh and cry. You will have a great time with this book.

In 1953 as a 10 year old living in upstate New York, I read The Light On The Island and was mesmerized by the adventures of Angie and her family on Patos Island. Living on an island with a lighthouse, surrounded by marine animals and birds, rowing about in boats, exploring the beaches, coves and woods of Patos was a dreamworld away from mine. The book remained one of my favorite childhood books,[ I still have the book---its dustcover in tatters] so imagine how I felt when 16 years later I met my husband, who was from the Seattle area and we eventually moved there and Angie's world was in my backyard. Four years ago we took our sailboat up to Patos and we walked the beaches, "the petticoats" of Patos Island. For young and old alike, The Light On The Island explores the world of a child, the dreams, the harsh reality, the innocence, life and death, and growing up. Read it for the first time, read it again, ---it will light up your day!

Retired east coast police detective, David Dean, is at it again-sleuthing, that is. This time he is accompanied by his beautiful new wife, Cynthia, together with an off-beat ensemble cast of characters led by irrepressible mystery fan, Fred O'Conner, Dean's stepfather. The Deans and O'Conner are the new proprietors of Bird Song, a bed and breakfast in the charming, Victorian town of Ouray, Colorado. When their first guest turns up murdered and the second is missing, David Dean is irrepressibly drawn into a scam that involves a wronged widow, suit-and-tied, pipsqueak attorney, tent-dwelling heir to a fortune and a net-surfing cook with a dog named Brutus. Oh, and a legacy of a hundred million bucks, give or take a million or so.

The reader is drawn into the tale, gently at first, then with increasing speed and complexity, much like riding a carnival carousel, where the painted horses whirl faster and faster. Newer, and more bizarre characters, pop out of the woods and the woodwork with increasing frequency. A crutch-toting, inebriated movie star moves into Bird Song's back bedroom. The widow's fake-French boytoy camps out nearby, waiting to start a new hustle with whichever legally recognized "daughter" gets the millions. And Bird Song fills up with lawyers, heirs and contestants to the will of a man who could not have fathered any of the daughters.

The setting is stunning. And, mystery author Ray Derouin, a part-time resident of Ouray and owner of a toy store there, presents the San Juan country well, giving it a sense of character nearly as strong as protagonist David Dean. "San Juan Solution" is fun read, with lots of action, zany characters and great scenery. It's a good book to curl up on the couch with on a snowy evening.

After fifteen years on the Parkside, Pennsylvania police force, Officer David Dean retires. Almost immediately after that, David marries Cynthia Byrne. With those two radical moves to jolt his equilibrium, David makes it a trio of lifestyle events when he, Cynthia, and his stepfather Fred O?Connor move to Ouray, Colorado where they plan to run Bird Song Bed and Breakfast.

Although the B&B is not ready yet for the public, Fred rents the room of David and Cynthia to a guest and his own room to a second guest. However, someone kills their first guest and their second guest expects to be the next victim. Though the cop can leave the police force, police work never leaves the cop and with a little nudging from Fred, David begins to investigate what happened to his guest.

The mystery of SAN JUAN SOLUTION is fun to watch as it unwinds like the mountain paths that the transplanted easterners trek. The lead trio is a hoot, especially Fred and his ability to manipulate everyone and the support cast provides either trouble or local color to the terrific tale. As with the first tale (see the delightfully wacky TIME TRIAL), R.E. Derouin?s novel pays homage to the Colorado Rockies. Readers will feel as if they are hiking the trail along side of David and Cynthia. Mr. Derouin is two for two with both of his Dean novels being outstanding and a ?tri-quel? needed for fans of the series.

Harriet Klausner

To me, trying to lay aside an unfinished David Dean mystery is like trying to eat just one homemake chocolate chip cookie. It can't be done. This is Ouray, Colorado author Ray Derouin's second mystery in what one can only hope will be another in a long series. For the reader not familiar with Derouin, suffice it to say he is no stranger to the written word. He has written twelve plays, all of which have won national awards. His first mystery, Time Trial: A Mountain Mystery, has garnered wide spread acclaim. Thus, it was with much delight and anticipation that I received San Juan Solution. I thought his first mystery was wonderful, and it was, but this latest offering is off the scale. The protagonist, ex-Pennsylvania police detective David Dean, is back with a new bride and his indispensable, unforgettable stepfather, Fred O'Connor. The setting is the incomparably beautiful Ouray, Colorado and the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. Dean, along with his wife and stepfather, have just opened a bed and breakfast, named Bird Song, and plan to enjoy a leisurely life far away from the crime ridden east coast. Unfortunately for the trio, but fortunately for the reader, Derouin's magic and diabolic mind begins to weave a story guaranteed to please the most avid mystery fan. It seems the first guest of Bird Song ends up alone at the bottom of a mountain side ravine in his car...strapped in the passenger seat. What happened to the driver? one might ask. What driver? A good question and, well, somewhat of a mystery. This, in the hands of Derouin, is reason enough to read on. However, it seems the second guest is missing and there is reason to believe her life might also be in danger. A coincidence you say? Perhaps, but the rapid arrival of a host of characters all making inquiries into the whereabouts of the two makes for spellbinding reading. Oh, did I mention the search for an heir to a fortune, which may explain some of these coincidences? This is vintage Derouin but better, much better, than anything he had done before. Having lived in the San Juan Mountain area of Colorado I can assure the reader that the setting is authentic. In addition, the characters are believeable and the writing style is first rate. It is not until the last few pages that the mystery(s) are solved and, in his wonderful style, the loose ends are tied into a honeymoon bouquet, so to speak. If you haven't met David Dean and friends, this is your best chance. It is a delightful book.

Buy this book. Buy it new, buy it used, buy it for your friends, buy it for your enemies. Petersen has written a thoughtful and thorough examination of recent grizzly bear management policies (or lack thereof) in the San Juans of Colorado. The book is a pleasure to read.

As someone who occasionally sees grizzers on his property, I can't conceive of living in an environment that doesn't have a population of apex predators to keep things interesting. Petersen masterfully chronicles how government funded assassins with the support of short-sighted local ranching communities and clumsy land managers, managed to kill virtually every grizzly in Colorado. He also accurately details how Western ranchers have come to view public lands with more than a sense of ownership but rather with a sense of absolute entitlement. This has led them to run their stock on federal land at ridiculously cheap rates, ignore even the most commonsense principles of husbandry, and push bears and wolves into the zoos and picture books while trying to keep everyone else out. Also to blame are the Baby Huey-like semi-rich, who hack 20 acre ranchettes out of the diminishing habitat and in the process are strangling the thing they profess to love most.

Petersen manages to stay somewhat balanced, using an essay by the outspoken and bearlike Doug Peacock to say what is probably really on his mind regarding sheep ranchers and development dingbats. In the course of researching the book, Peterson also forges unlikely friendships with former (but not reformed) professional and amateur bearslayers , including Ed Wiseman, who killed the last known Colorado grizz in hand to hand combat in 1979.

There is the general belief in the book that the great bear still lives in the San Juans but has become more nocturnal and reclusive as it adapts to its shrinking habitat. There are certainly drainages wild enough to support a grizz but I personally don't believe there are any left. My heart tells me that any state with a wildlife management policy as pathetic and dumbheaded as Colorado's can't have allowed for even a single surviving great bear. Also, I am reminded of a story in Scott Weidensaul's recent (and excellent) book on vanishing species entitled "The Ghost With Trembling Wings." Weidensaul tells the story of an animal who escapes from a European zoo and whose likeness is posted on the news. Consequently, hundreds of eyewitness calls come flooding in from all over the country, each caller claiming to have personally seen the critter. It turns out that the koala had actually been run over by a train several hundred yards from the zoo immediately after escaping. Weidensaul's point is that people WANT to believe something so badly, they convince themselves of its existence. And I'm afraid that is what we are doing with the Colorado grizzly.

My copy of this book is dog-eared and worn-out after all my readings of it and loaning it to others! David Peterson is one interesting writer. I had visited the San Juan Mountains prior to reading this book and explored the area where the Wiseman grizzly was killed. At the time I thought the Wiseman griz was the last in Colorado. This book inspired me to return and do a little searching of my own. Found some bear sign but was really amazed by how spectacular the high San Juans are in July. I think this book needs another postscript wherein "the search for survivors" is updated!

This book is one of the best books I've ever read. David Petersen does a fantastic job of educating the reader while involving them in some exciting adventures. While searching for grizzlies in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, David fills you in on grizzly natural history, the history of the San Juans, and the need for preserving wilderness in North America. This is a must have book for all who are interested in grizzly bears, the Rockies, wilderness, and the outdoors in general.

The delicious recipes in this book are beyond compare. You will find mouth watering and nutritous entrees, salads and desserts. A varitable cornucopia of the very best from the Northwest and from around the world.

Being a Northwest native, I truly appreciate the recipes from the 'locals'! I am constantly referring to this wonderful book, and reminscing about my childhood in Anacortes, Washington. When is the new San Juan Classics II coming out? I saw it advertised at the new Guemes Island country store last week! How can I get this new cookbook; as I have been "transplanted" to the East Coast for a few years...........Sad but true!

I have used many cookbooks in my time. After wasting much time, I now only use The Joy of Cooking and San Juan Classics. Also, I heard that they are coming out with another one!

Absolutely tremendous. It is my favorite book of color Colorado photographs.

Photographers are a dime a dozen. Kathleen Norris Cook with Western Relfections Publishing shows that there are a few good photographers. Get the book!

How then does light return to our world in the San Juan Mountains after the setting of the sun? Miraculously. Boldly. In broad stripes. It hangs like a glass cage. It is a hoop that seemingly cannot be captured.

Next moment a flash of a camera. Then an image is recorded as if earth were breathing in and out, once, twice, as if for the first time. In this camera sharp place where the only electricity is in such thunderous lightning, there are no sounds in an afternoon save the hum of a rainbow. It is so spectacular, so luminous, so fresh, that we intruders feel also quiet, intense and strangely tiptoe, as if in anticipation.

The mountains throb purple and green, and gradually the valleys below drink in red, brown and gold. Suddenly a mountain stream snatches a blue light. The earth absorbs color like a sponge, slowly drinking the mountain sun. It puts on weight; rounds itself; hangs pendent; settles and sways beneath our feet through the lens of Kathleen Norris Cook. There's no telling what a collection of such beauty, power and insight might inspire.

John Dyer has written the fundamental biography of Joseph Wheeler. The work is a colorful, enjoyable read, which should be enjoyed by most -- it is most definitely NOT a dry, cardboard biography. All readers would enjoy the style in which Dyer writes.

Joseph Wheeler was a great American, perhaps overlooked somewhat in modern times due to his rather modest approach to life and duty. This approach seems to basically have been, 'put your head down, drive on, and perform one's Duty to the best of one's abilities, regardless of obstacles or consequences.' Wheeler upheld these principles throughout his life, having served in an astonishing number of military and political positions. He served as a Confederate Major General of Cavalry for much of the Civil War in the West. He became a planter, lawyer, and Congressman from North Alabama for much of the remainder of the 19th Century. Furthermore, he sought and gained a commission in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Indeed, he would command the 5th Corps, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations in Cuba. Famous figures that served under his command there included, Colonel Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt of Rough Rider fame, as well as the 9th and 10th US Regular Cavalry Regiments (The Buffalo Soldiers), also including Jack Pershing, later to command the AEF during WWI. After his death, Wheeler was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and was one of only two former Confederate generals to have been granted that honor.

This book is highly recommended. Read it, and learn some more about a person that was truly representative of the great American Spirit, and whose life reflected an admirable and staunch observance of (and devotion to) Duty, Honor, and Country.

Dyer's book is one of the best I've seen regarding Joseph Wheeler.

Born in GA, raised in CT, obtaining his West Point commission from a NY senator, Wheeler was a product of both North and South. Robert E. Lee proclaimed that Wheeler was one of the two best cavalry commanders in the War Between the States (the other was J.E.B. Stuart) -- he was also one of the youngest, reaching the rank of Maj. Gen. at 26 years of age. While many of the old confederate commanders wasted away following the war, Wheeler became a prominent Congressman from Alabama, espousing reconciliation and industrialization within his section of North Alabama, this in order to overcome the ravages wrought by the war.

Wheeler had the distinction of being one of only two former Confederate general officers that LATER served at that rank for the US Army, this time during the Spanish-American War [Fitzhugh Lee (Robert E. Lee's nephew) was the other, although the war ended before Lee's troops could see action]. During the Cuban campaign, Wheeler had under his command such officers and men as Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (and the Rough Riders), "Black Jack" Pershing, and others that would gain prominence in later years.

Wheeler is one of the few (if not the only) high ranking former Confederate officers to have been granted the honor of being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

His story deserves a unique place in the history of this nation.

This book is details the life of one extra ordinary man, General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler.It details his life as few bigraphies do. It details the the trumiphs and the failures. But in all of this you will see the chracter of the man ride high.He had the distinction of being both a Confederate General and also leading the US Voulunteers in Cuba and the Philippines. I would STRONGLY suggest buying this book for any history buff. He may not be as well known as Grant, Sherman, Lee or Longstreet, But his contribution to the History United States deserves to be known!

This book grips the heart and pulls on all the strings. It brings out the Filipino experience for the "Manongs" as no other book that I have read. This collection of short stories, essays, poems, and correspondance lets Carlos Bulosan bring out the total message. A must have book

This reading should be considered one of Filipino-America's (and Asian America's) best literary works as of yet. There is no other writer prior to the cliche' "Amy Tan-esque" era that has made a lasting impact on American literature. The novel is (r)evolutionary in its attempt to educate generations of literature afficionados. What better way to pay tribute to equal rights activists than Bulosan's magnum opus? Bulosan is the next Walt Whitman and then some, beginning with his incipient stages in rural Pangasinan province, to his voyage to America and initiation into manhood and the adventures in between. He is Walt Whitman's echo, fervent, passionate, honest - speaking for all humankind, and fighting for the rights of 1930s struggling working class of Filipinos, Mexicans, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Asians.

Powerful works. Bulosan is poetic, honest and down-to-earth, and very vivid and lyrical in his descriptions of the atrocities he suffered as a Filipino living in America.

If you own one book on the RGS, this has to be it.

Wonderful pictures and data! Simply the best RGS book

Silver San Juan is simply the best single book on the Rio Grande Southern that you can get!

Silver San Juan tells a fairly complete story of this narrow gauge railroad; how and why it was built, the life and times of the line, and its' eventual demise. It covers the line from North to South and touches on all the branches in between.

Plus, it includes detailed rosters and photos of the locomotives and rolling stock of this little railroad that you simply cannot get anywhere else.

The colorful life of the "Southern" could fill thousands of pages. But, if you had to tell the story in a single volume, you couldn't do it better than this book does.

All in all, this is the single most important book in any Rio Grande Southern fan's library.

I appreciated this book, not just for the fantastic illustrations and stories, but for improving the reputation of the Wetherills, long considered no-good cowboy pot hunters. A great companion to this books is In Search of the Old Ones by David Roberts, in which Fred Blackburn features largely as a revolutionary who shapes Roberts' thinking about the mess each generation of southwestern archeologists passes on to the next.

Undoubtedly the popular book of the year in Southwest archaeology, "Cowboys and Cave Dwellers" tells how a group of talented and dedicated "amateurs" found the missing links between nearly forgotten collections of artifacts stored in museum basements and their original sites in Utah's spectacular Grand Gulch. In the process they unearthed valuable information about the people called Basketmakers, the first farmers of the Colorado Plateau. The first explorers and untrained archaeologists who dug sites in Grand Gulch removed thousands of artifacts, often taking little care to record their locations. By carefully matching old photographs, diaries, newspaper articles and the signatures those adventurers carved on the canyon walls, the authors of this book, the members of the Wetherill-Grand Gulch Research Project, were able to locate many of the caves and cliff dwelling where the treasures were originally found. They solved one of the most puzzling mysteries of Southeastern Utah archaeology: the location of long lost Cave 7, where Mesa Verde discoverer Richard Whetherill dug up dozens of skeletons that seemed to show evidence of a massacre. A good story with extensive historial and archaeological background and beautifully illustrated, this book is essential for anyone interested in Southwest archaeology. A good companion piece is William Ferguson's "The Anasazi of Mesa Verde and the Four Corners Region," which gives a broader view of the entire Mesa Verde-San Juan region.

After 10 years of cruising and teaching sailing/cruising skills in this area, and this is the best guide to all of the US waters of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Should be on all charter boats, but often is not, so if you are chartering inquire.

Add a "BBA Chart Kit" for detailed charts, and for the Canadian Gulf Islands "The Dreamspeaker Guide," and you are set!

Finally, adding this season's "Waggoners" guide will give you the latest contact information for marinas, etc.

This was the first book my wife and I purchased when we started boating in the Puget Sound 5 years ago. We have bought dozens of boating books since. This is still our favorite. We have worn it out and are now buying another copy to keep at the house. The descriptions of harbor entrances are more complete than other books we use - we always use Scherer's descriptions for new approaches. The book is fun to read - includes sidebars of historical or social interest. Nice photography and an eye-pleasing layout. (Tidal current charts are included in the appendix.)