This is the epitome of good writing. It is an excellent resource for all those who love the Olympic Coast. If you are heading to the Olympics, this book is essential. Filled with fascinating facts, history, details, and so forth, it is the Olympic Coast Bible. Buy this book for all your friends, you won't be disappointed.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON HIKING THE OLYMPIC COAST. I HAVE HIKED HALF OF IT AND THE BOOK CAME IN HANDY. IT POINTS OUT A LOT OF LANDMARKS THAT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE MISSED. ALSO GIVES THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC COAST, AND TELLS WHERE SHIPWRECKS AND MEMORIALS ARE.

Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula is a must. The book is well organized and the "inside tips" are great. I have purchased several books on the Peninsula, but they only give you descriptions of the hiking trails, some history and geology. That's good, but I need to know what to do when I am not hiking. That's where the Insider's Guide is great. It gives recommendations and information on restaurants, lodging, museums, stores, festivals and much more (there is some hiking information). Also, it includes websites, other reference books and phone numbers to look into more detail on the towns, etc. If you want to do anything besides hiking for your time in the Olympic Peninsula, then you should purchase this comprehensive book.

As one of the co-authors of this travel guide, I just want to point out some of the features that make Insiders' Guide to the Olympic Peninsula stand out from other guides about the area. In writing the book my wife Natalie and I worked to find the shops, lodgings and restaurants that stood out in each town along the Olympic Peninsula - things that were unique to the community. And the same goes for the local recreation opportunities, trails and campgrounds. This book is the result not only of a year of memorable travel and research but also of our years of visiting some favorite places on the Peninsula.

We hope that others will enjoy our first edition and be sure to contact us if you know of revisions for any upcoming editions!

The "Best Places" guides are not the most exhaustive guides to the destinations they describe, but they are very efficient because they focus on the attractions, restaurants, lodgings, and other useful information that the locally-based editors consider to be the best. I got this guide for a quickly-organized getaway to the Peninsula and was very happy with the restaurants and lodgings that we found through the book. There are also descriptions of a variety of activities, including museums, fishing, scenic drives, beaches, some shopping, and some hikes, although serious hikers will probably want a more complete guide to the trails. (We used Erik Molvar's Best Easy Day Hikes Olympics.)

Set in the majestic rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, Marjorie Reynold's admirable "Civil Wars" compels the reader's attention in a tautly told arson/murder mystery. The crackling pace of the novel, however, does not diminish the superior characterizations which provide complexity and depth to an otherwise exciting, but non-groundbreaking, novel. Indeed, the psychological tensions of the Moran family -- their origins, impact and resolution -- are the genuine backbone of the novel. Relationships twisted by guilt, abandonment, resentment and resignation become the true focus of the reader's attention; the ever-present dampness and density of growth of the area become symbolic counterpoints to the aridity of human contact the Moran mother and daughter have with one another.

Ironically, this fecund environment (lavishly described by Ms. Reynolds) has generated a remarkably fractured family. The angry matriarch, Lila Moran, capably presides over a logging empire while bemoaning the condition of her personal life. Her son, Jonah, never has emerged as a man, and instead of acknowledging his retardation due to a relatively rare neurological disorder, Lila prefers to rue his adult childhood obsession with Civil War figures. As disappointed as she is with her son, she saves a special animosity for her daughter, Jessica, who has returned home after a failed marriage and an unsatisfying adulthood. Jessica's anguish centers around the tragic drowning death of her father, who perished while attempting to rescuse Jonah, who was precipitously thrown in the water by Lila, in a brutally cruel manner of teaching him to swim. This scar runs like a red thread through "Civil Wars" and only through Jessica's renewal of a relationship with the sympathetically-portrayed Callum Lake is there any chance of healing. Callum, unfortunately, never receives the in-depth portrait he otherwise richly deserves. His adolescent feelings for Jessica serve both as personal and dramatic motivation in the resolution of the arson/murder investigation which professionally absorbs his time.

There is much to admire in Marjorie Reynolds' writing. She can, without questions, probe to the inner recesses of our emotions and provide unflinching portraits of both human good and evil. She is a nuanced writer as well, always writing to make her characters believable. My sole reservations with her second novel are small, but critical. The reader knows, from the first fifty pages, that the plot will be resolved tidily; Lila and Jessica's coming-to-grips with their own unresolved hurt and betrayal appears almost like a soap opera. The author's brilliant first novel, "The Starlite Drive-in" did not have these flaws. Nevertheless, "Civil Wars" is an honorable, penetrating look into a family at war with itself.

Reynolds easily transports the reader into the magical emerald mists of the Olympic Peninsula's temperate rain forest. Her main character, Jessica Moran, is wrapped in a weave of protective love for her brother who suffers from a newly discovered neurological disorder called Asperger's Syndrome.

Jessica's life is further complicated by her difficult but triumphant struggles in romance as well as her mother/daughter relationship. Reynold's characters have depth and courage. It's a wonderful, rewarding, cozy read. Enjoy!!

Marjorie Reynolds' book THE CIVIL WARS OF JONAH MORAN sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years before I pulled it out from the near bottom of one of my many stacks of unread books (as a fellow reader I'm sure you can relate to that). Although I should've read this book when it first came out, I'm glad I waited until now. Jonah Moran has Asperger's Syndrome and two years ago I wouldn't have had a clue as to what this was all about. In the past month I have done a lot of research on this syndrome since the child of a friend was diagnosed with it. I had no idea this book referred to A.S. until I started to read it. When they say there are no accidents, they're right.

Back to the story though - this is a wonderful book. I loved Ms. Reynolds' first novel and was not disappointed with this one. Although there are some complex twists and turns to the plot, she manages them with ease and clarity. The relationships between Jessica and her family are realistic & well-developed and the changes that take place are logical. I've spent very little time in the Pacific Northwest, but I enjoyed reading about the area and the Native American side of the story makes it even more interesting.

I place Marjorie Reynolds right up there with Elizabeth Berg, Jane Smiley, and Anita Shreve in her ability to tell a good story about people you'd like to know.

Although well written and generally humorous, the hikes described in this book are often not day hikes, or barely on this side of being day hikes. It seems Mr. Blair doesn't include looking at flowers, trees, animals, views, etc. on hikes, but instead sprints as fast as possible from point to point. A hike estimated at a "conservative" 7 hours took a triathlete and a disance runner NINE HOURS to complete. One hike he describes as a day hike (High Divide) is described in EVERY OTHER book as a 2-4 day hike. Fast and light is one thing, but Seabury Blair is living in a fantasy land. Be forewarned: unless you are a VERY strong hiker who doesn't enjoy hiking for reasons other than for a good workout, this book downplays the difficulty and potential seriousness of these hikes. I strongly suggest a book such as Wood's "Olympic Mountains Trail Guide." Don't waste your money on this one.

But I've come to like the book. I was very impressed by the North Cascades book in the DayHike! series, so I bought the Olympics one. The author does have a very good sense of humor, and understands the whining that accompinies 3,000 ft elv gains! I was a little disapointed that some of my favorite hikes were not included(oh well, then I won't have to share them!) in the Eastern Olympics and that I found a few errors-such as when bridges fell in,and some of the FS road directions could be better-with this book if you don't know the NF rd system, a FS rd map is a wise investment!. Still, it is a nice addition to your library-and it won't drag your pack down like Wood's book. And his love of hiking is very noticeable :)

Although I wouldn't call this the best Olympics hiking guide (that would be by Robert Wood), this book is excellent and not especially redundant with the Wood's book. Author writes well and with good humor, making for nice reading. One very noteworthy thing about this book is text devoted to off-trail hiking and a number of death-march hikes of 20+ miles.

After many years of wanting to go there, I recently "discovered" the Olympic Peninsula while on a get-away vacation. I also heard about this book and after reading it, I have to give it a qualified thumbs up. Reading this book would have been somewhat bewildering and a little tedious before I traveled to the Olympic Peninsula. Having made the trip before reading the book gave me a basis upon which to appreciate the writing. There are some very interesting and even disturbing stories in here, from the fantastic to the bizarre and the terrible. For anyone interested in a behind the scenes look at one of the most fascinating and beautiful places in America, this book is a must-have. The writing is generally excellent and very readable and the organization is sound and chronologically logical. There are some poignant descriptions of life in earlier times and a rousing look at turn of the century logging practices. On the down side, the discourse on modern resource extraction activities is a bit long-winded and the book concludes with a rather disjointed short chapter which I am still trying to place in the larger context. Overall, a good read and of definite local interest.

This book had a very good plot. The details concerning the history of the native people and the region could have been less; it kind of took away from the direction and the pace of the story. The book was good until the ending, which completely made me feel as though I wasted my time reading the beginning and the middle. It was as though the author's deadline was upon her and she wrapped up the ending all neat and packaged. Absolutely ruins the book.

I was seriously disappointed in the ending of this book. I couldn't wait to turn every page and find out what was going to happen next, although I was completely mystified as to why a Siberian tiger was left on the island and who put it there (I assume it was Lima, but that was never confirmed). I was also disappointed with the way the murders were "solved" (was the little girl's murder ever solved?). The imagery Ms. Stokes creates is undeniably spectacular, however, there were too many loose ends left at the end of this particular novel, and it seemed like she just got tired of writing and ended it too quickly, with not enough explanation. I must have told at least six people what a great book I was reading, and they all wanted to borrow it when I was finished; now I'm not sure I even want to lend it out! I haven't read the Tree People yet; I will though, as I would like to know if all her books end in a similarly disappointing fashion - I sure hope not! The Listening Ones sure had great potential, but the ending fell totally flat.

I felt this book was wonderfully done. Being from the Pacific Northwest I could relate to much of what the author was trying to portray in regards to the area and the people. What I enjoyed the most is an insight of our wonderful Native American culture. I was quite intrigued by such a beautiful outlay of one of the Indian cultures. I have just completed this magnificent book and have just purchased "The Tree People" this weekend. I hope to finish that very soon. To the author, please continue writing. I really have enjoyed "The Listening Ones", please don't stop now!

All I wanted was a book about flyfishing on the Olympic Pennisula, instead I got a poorly written, self serving, factually incorrect diatribe. About the only thing good I can say about this, is it will discourage flyfishers from coming to the Olympic Pennisula keeping what is a great place to fish-sparce.

I really enjoyed this book- great fishing tips mixed with quality story-telling. Doug is a very knowledgable fly fisherman