I really enjoyed this but I can't seem to find the rest of the Women of the West "Series". Please let me know how to get them. Mariann98@aol.com

If you've read and loved Gear's other works (like People of the Lakes, etc.) or even if you haven't. you're sure to fall in love with gear's writing all over again. Gear has a gift for blending historical fact into believable fiction. This novel made me re-think the way I imagined the Civil War and held me entranced until it was finished/

I walked around the house like a zombie, my eyes glued to the page. Not the inconvenience of cooking nor the movie playing on T.V. succeeded of dragging my eyes from between the pages. The characters are so REAL. Garry is such a sympathetic character, not at all macho like many romance novels, but deffinatly a man. Jeremy, Robin's son is an adorable scared little boy and his affection for his toy horse, Traveller, that he made with his own hands just makes you want to cry. Robin is one of the strongest women I have ever read about. Every character portraid in the novel seemed very real and human to me. Even Major Corley. I found myself feeling sorry for him, even though he was the next thing to evil. This is a keeper for sure, I'd recommend it to ANYONE!!

I just recently moved out to Los Angeles, and let me tell you, this map set is essential. Not only does it show EVERY street in Los Angeles County, but it is also regarded as a standard. Several times since I've been here I've noticed businesses will list their Thomas Guide page number in their ads and recordings when giving directions. If you're moving out to LA, or even just visiting for a while, this book is well worth the investment.

Trying to get around Los Angeles without this would just be plain silly. Ask anyone who's ever lived there or tried to get around...everyone knows and uses the Thomas Guide.

info - info - info -info - info . . .

This is your brain without the T-guide: {help}

I bought this book thinking it would be an interesting adventure tale. It is that but so much more. The writing is poetic and heart warming. An absolutely wonderful little book!!

If you enjoy reading about cycling and living this is a great book. I've read every touring and cycling book you can imagine, but this is the best! It really gives you a new perspective on how we ride today when you look at what these two boys had to endure at the turn of the century when roads did not exists as we know today. A truly well written adventure, great venacular dialogue, credible and yet an incredible story.

I first bought the book because of its Vashon Island connection, being a lifelong islander myself. But I quickly decided it's one of the best bicycle touring stories in my library -- the boys come alive in the writing, no dreary list of statistics and mileposts, just two boys becoming men on their ride north to Seattle. Puts a whole new perspective on that ride for anyone who has cycled the Pacific Coast route in modern times.

Civil War writers, researchers, and buffs will find a valuable source about actual Confederate troop strength in Steven Newton's book. Newton's theme is that the claim that the Confederate Army lost in the battles of 1864 due to serious manpower attrition is false. He proceeds to show, army-by-army, department-by-department that the Confederates largely made good their losses in the great battles of 1863 and started the 1864 Campaigns with roughly the same manpower levels that they enjoyed at their high water mark the previous year.

Here we get a detailed look at the Confederate Army's manpower in all its component armies, departments and commands. A descriptive narrative and new order of battle, based on the latest information and research, is provided for each organization. Newton's review of troop recruiting and movements within and between commands provides valuable background for perspective writers on Confederate grand strategy.

Newton contends that the South lost, at least in large part, due to the poor use and allocation of its troops rather than a lack of men. His case is, in considerable measure, persuasive. His orders of battle, narratives and statistics show where the troops could be found which, when added together, gave Southern commanders approximately the same number of men that they had in 1863. William Marvel, in his recent "Lee's Last Retreat" takes a similar position by showing that the Confederate troop shortage during the Appomattox Campaign was less than has been believed before.

However, it seems that Newton sometimes reached his totals by including assorted collections of backwater troops that would have been of doubtful value in major operations. He fails to sufficiently acknowledge that his 1864 troop counts for the first line armies were often achieved only through the replacement of the high quality veterans lost in 1863 with green recruits and home guard type troops from the Confederacy's interior. I believe that in this sense, the Confederacy did suffer from attrition. Notwithstanding these criticisms, reluctantly made, Newton has provided Confederate military scholars with a wonderful resource. Don't expect dramatic accounts of battles here. But within its specialty it is packed with valuable and interesting information about troop strengths in the various areas and commands of the South. The highly detailed order of battle section, about 175 pages long, alone justifies the price of this book. Readers wanting to learn more about the state of Confederate manpower in the latter part of the war should not miss this book.

Now in a newly revised edition (copyright 2000) incorporating additional details discovered about the titular fight, Jerry Keenan's The Wagon Box Fight: An Episode Of Red Cloud's War is a complex historical analysis of a singularly crucial wartime battle. With black and white photographs, diagrams, exhaustive notes, a bibliography of primary sources and an index, The Wagon Box Fight spares no resource in its in-depth analysis. Very highly recommended for historical recreationists, 19th century military buffs, Native American studies, western historians, or anyone with a keen interest in the juncture of American history that formed the background for "Red Cloud's War".

Keenan does an outstanding job of defining this epic fight during the Indian Wars. His ability to blend the story factually with accounts from participants and archology makes for fascinating reading and will be a book one keeps for further reference. One should have this book in hand when he/she visits the sight/monument.

While only a brief moment in the half century of Indian Wars--it proved the value of breech loading rifles to the US Army as a means to counter being outnumbered during battle. The same senario worked at Beecher Island and didn't work on the Little Big Horn when the Army's Indian opponents had acquired a higher ratio of repeating arms than in the past.

Highly recommended book!!!!

My parnter and I just spent two wonderful weekends in Portland - all due to this great book. We followed five of the walks in the downtown portland area and got so much out of it (due to the book) that we flew back to Portland three weeks later to visit again and did an additional four walks. This is a great book - I thoroughly recommend it.

I have lived in Portland all my adult life and yet was surprised when I found the description of walking trails that I did not know existed. The descriptions are clear and inviting. The planning of the walks are easy to identify with in terms of distance and time required. I think this is a must-have book for the walkers in the Portland area both for visitors and residents.

I really like this book! It's thorough and easy to understand and includes a guide to help with choices about what walk you'd like to take. The directions are clear and Ms. Cook has included interesting tidbits of information you can follow along the way, as well as maps and photographs. It's not easy for me to get around because of a disability, but I don't need to be afraid of setting out with this guide. It lets me know how long the walk should take and the difficulty of the walk. What an exciting and fresh way to see the city!

This American poet writer delivers songs in sentences and has a singular voice that calls out to you long after the book is lost on the shelf. His words don't just stay with you, but the spirit of a decent man does too. An engaging, funny, reflective, lyrical read.

Luis writes from his soul; he is a wonderful person and it shows in his work. Kirkus doesn't know what he/she's talking about...Luis is one of the world's greatest writers, and one of my favorite people. I hope he's happy and well. I am, Nicolina

I knew Luis and the other half of this "troubled marriage" (Kirkus Review) that ended. She left, he fell apart, she fell apart. But that was seven years ago! He's remarried and she has a two year-old by someone else! This is one of the great writers of our time; surely he can find something more interesting to think and write about. P.S. where do you want me to send your dad's records???

I have an 8 year old granddaughter and a 3 year old granddaughter. This book is perfect for the older one to read to the younger one. They both like it as much as Grandma does. The illustrations are colorful and the story is just right.

This is a really special book for children. The colors are brilliant, the figures well drawn and the words flow very well. The story is not deep, but ideal for 2-4 year olds. Frank the Coyote, obviously, lives way out west, has coyote friends and meets other animals along the way. Frank teaches that it's ok to be alone sometimes and the joy of being with friends. Unlike some children's books, you won't get tired of Frank the Coyote and your children won't either. I highly recommend this book for parents of young children.

We purchased this book when visiting Grandparents in Tucson. My two year old really enjoys this story about Coyote Frank and his friends. The illustrations in this book are full of saguaro cactuses and animals that are found in the Sonoran Desert. We enjoy looking at the illustrations and remembering our visits to Grandmas house.

My wife and I had never gone anywhere near New Orleans. The Unauthorized guide pulled no punches and gave amusing and thorough advice on subjects we hadn't even considered. It is very useful and we heartily reccommend it to everyone.

I used this book to guide me through a recent visit to New Orleans and it proved invaluable on numerous ocassions. The writing is tight, informative but not dry, and it covers a lot of issues which other guides fear to address. The section on avoiding crime and scams.."I know where you got those shoes" was invaluable and saved me some money and some strife! The restaurant guide is excellent and the affordability rating very accurate. Using this guide it was easy to get the best for the least at every meal. Pay attention to the guide, especially about "Mothers" and "The Gumbo Shop" and you can't go wrong! The swamp tour info was also a great help and the guide wasn't wrong when it recommended one over the other (we did both). I highly recommend this guide and really...can't praise it enough!

Although we'd been to New Orleans numerous times and thought we knew the city pretty well, this guide took us places we'd never been before and really helped us discover parts of the city and its people that it would have taken years for us to accumulate on our own. It guided us so artfully that our experiences in New Orleans led us to move here full-time.So many guides steer you to this or that, but one of the biggest assets of this guide is what it steers you away from: the bad restaurants and ones that aren't worth the money, the overpriced amusements, and high crime areas.What it does give you is not so much of "what" is in the city, but the "how's" and "why's" of life in New Orleans. And it's pronunciation guide to street names and the like in New Orleans is as valuable as if you were going to a foreign city. Which, of course, you are--New Orleans is the United States' most foreign city!

Being a native Californian, I was immediately attracted to this book. Then I opened it. I fell in love with the wonderful little watercolor illustrations and personal journal format. I agree with a previous reviewer who made the comment that this is a nice little souvenir book. It's defitely a worthy addition to the bookshelf of a Californian or someone who just loves California.

I live in California and I am often asked how I can stand the crowds, traffic, smog, whatever? The fact is California is a very nice place to live and visit, and Ms Gessler catches the essence of this perfectly. You can easly read the book in about an hour, but will find yourself going back again and again to enjoy the little watercolors of plants and wildlife and special places that caught her fancy, it is a fun read.

A delightful read. Not a serious word in this little book of California - absolutely adorable. The illustrations are whimsical, the text is full of humor. I was right beside her experiencing everything and that which wasn't familiar I long to visit.

Basic Review

I was told to read the way west as a highschool [kid]. I'm glad I did! I havn't read The Big Sky the first in the series I only knew that is was a series after I read the way west but I still eaisly followed. Guthrie is an author that convey feelings and messages is little words a compelling gift. He also has a way with discription and makes understand the characters personality and way of thinking completely. I have long since been interested in the Oregon Trail and life of the pioneers and will gladly read the whole series. This book tells the harsh truth but without sentiment meaning it didn't bring tears to my eyes but made me stop and think. By the end of the book I was thankful for modern times though it made me reflect on modern families.

About the Book

The book starts out telling the story of Lije and Becky Evans and son Brownie after they get "the fever". They decide to go west to Willamette Valley Oregon to help settle the territory for America (joining a wagon train with people of different backgrounds and storys). Dick Summers and ex-mountain man agrees to go along and piot the train it encreasingly becomes his story. He falls in love with the mountains and old trails once more they don't understand it is part of him and at first envy how he knows and can do everything with little. If it were not for him the train would of gone through more trials and hardships than it did. He becomes best friends with them and there is a sence of loss when the mountains reclaim him. I want to know what happens the Evans family Guthrie wrote it that way and I was amazed I would like and appreciate a book written in 1950. I recomend this to everyone and history buffs finding it hard to get good books on the Oregon Trail before 1850+. The Way West had found a place in my heart and I declare it a classic by my standards for teens to adults. I know that everyone will approve and enjoy this book. It took me a while to read but once I got started I couldn't put it down!

This book changed the way I read novels. I used to read mostly fast-paced books with lots of excitement, "page-turners" that propel you towards the ending. Although The Way West has a good story line, it did not develop in the way I expected. I kept waiting for the Indian attacks and shoot-outs, standard fare for a novel about a wagon train, but they never quite came. In the meantime I started to appreciate the way the author got into the minds of the characters, how well he described their lives and journeys.
This book is not so much about telling a story about a wagon train as telling the individual stories of the people in it. The book describes their day-to-day lives, their attitudes and motivations, and gives insight into the times in which they lived. The landscapes of the early west are painted beautifully. Guthrie does all of this in a writing style which is very readable.
Most novels today use techniques to keep you on the edge of your seat, so that when you finish a chapter you want to dive into the next. They manipulate the reader and compel you forward to the finish line and - if the author is crafty enough - to the next book in the series. This is much more about selling books than creating art.
I found that when I reached the end of a chapter in The Way West, I was often inclined to return to the start of the chapter and read it again. After reading this book, I started looking for books of greater substance, that create lasting images. Guthrie's other books fit the bill nicely.
The Way West is a beautifully written book. Slow down and enjoy it.

This sequel to The Big Sky continues the story of Dick Summers. It would be very beneficial to first read The Big Sky. I actually found The Big Sky more interesting and if possible, better-written, than The Way West. Both books are extremely interesting and hard to put down. The Way West tells the story of a wagon train on its way to Oregon. Dick Summers, an experienced mountain man, agrees to lead the group to Oregon. This takes place in the early days of the Oregon Trail when men were still working out the exact route they would take. There are six Big Sky novels of which The Way West is the second. I am currently reading the third book in the series, Fair Land, Fair Land. It is every bit as good as the first two. All of these books are historically accurate and, once again, very hard to put down. I highly recommend The Way West!! Enjoy!!