No comments about Medford/Ashland/Grants Pass, Oregon.

No comments about Crater Lake National Park: A Global Treasure.

No comments about Fishing Oregon (Fishing Series).

3 comments about Bicycling the Backroads of Northwest Oregon (Bicycling the Backroads).

1. Good road selection, accurate maps and helpful text make this book an excellent guide to road bicycling in northwest Oregon. The forty-five rides listed nearly all start within short distances from Portland, Corvallis, Salem, or Eugene. Ride distances range from a short 11 miler to the three day 177 mile Oregon Coaster loop. Each ride in the book includes a clear map of the ride, a cue sheet/mileage log, an elevation profile, and a few paragraphs of descriptive text. This book was extremely helpful in planning a recent ten day bicycling trip around northwest Oregon. While I did not, strictly speaking, ride any of the 45 rides in this book, the information in this book contributed greatly in road selection and understanding the terrain. For example, in the Mt. Hood area, if I had relied on the Delorme atlas, our route would have included several gravel roads. Jones and Henderson's book, however, shows which roads in the vicinity are gravel thereby helping us avoid them. For those of you fortunate enough to live in northwest Oregon, this book would be an excellent way to discover some new rides. For the non-Oregonian, the book can serve as an excellent resource in route-planning. As a sidelight, I would comment that I have yet to find a book published by The Mountaineers that has not been uniformly helpful, whether the content is bicyling or hiking.



2. I'm not sure why this book hasn't been updated in so long, and I'm not sure why there isn't more competition from other guides in an area as bicycle crazy as Northwest Oregon, but this is the best guide currently available. In general, its maps and tips remain accurate, so I give it a thumbs up.
   
   And, please, wear helmets!



3. Did my first ride out of this book today. I noticed I hadn't been riding much this year as I was going over many of the same roads as previous years. This book opens up many great locations with excellent turn by turn directions. Looks like it works hard to keep you on the less traveled roads. Just what I was looking for.

1 comments about Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas: A Guide for Hikers, Backpackers, Climbers, Cross-Country Skiers, Paddlers (Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas).

1. William Sullivan is a compendium of knowledge about Oregon. His later books: "100 Hikes in.... (Central Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Northwest Oregon)" contain great information about trails, easy to read maps, in short, they are a must for any serious hiker. I bought "Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas" with the same expectations and was disappointed. I should have read the complete title. This book attempts to give so much information about each area that it, unfortunately, doesn't give enough specifics to completely satisfy any serious member of the target audience. In addition, the maps are nowhere near as easy to read as the maps in the later books. I returned it and bought another of the "100 Hikes in" series.

2 comments about Insight Guide Pacific Northwest (Insight Guides Pacific Northwest).

1. Each travel series (Insight, Frommer, Lonely Planet, etc.) has its own emphasis and style. The strength of the Insight guides is its overview of a particular region, in this case the Pacific Northwest area of the United States. You won't find extensive lists of hotels and restaurants in this book; instead, you'll be given a written and photographic tour through Washington and Oregon, from Seattle to Portland, from Mount St. Helens to Mount Hood, along the coast, into the mountains, and across the Columbia Basin. The guide supplies a short history of the area (short, but more comprehensive than most guides) as well as the "personalities" of contemporary cities. You'll find a section on the wine-making regions and one on the John Day Fossil Beds. National and state parks are covered as well. The color photographs, included on almost every page, shows the varied landscapes in with a true eye for aesthetics. An extremely small section at the back addresses much of what the bulk of the guide lacks: festivals, hotels and restaurants (no descriptions, just addresses and phone numbers),how to get there, major attractions, and other brief travel tips.

   I recommend this book for travelers as a preparation for a trip to the Pacific Northwest or for those who have not yet decided if this region is for them. You'll need a more nuts-and-bolts guidebook to accompany it for more practical considerations such as detailed entries about lodging, maps, places to shop, and restaurants.




2. Recently we attended a wedding in Portland, Oregon and decided to see some things while we were there. This book was extremely helpful as we were deciding what to see and do. This book is colorful and so pleasing to the eye. There are lots of pictures and the maps are excellent. It gives a general overview of the area, and you learn a bit about the history too. We narrowed down what we could do in the time we had available and we took in the Columbia River Gorge area including Multnomah Falls, Portland (definitely go to Powell's Bookstore - one of the largest bookstores in the world), and then part of the Oregon coast. We stayed in Seaside, but Cannon Beach is less touristy and a nicer town. Make sure to visit Haystack Rock during low tide to see the sea stars and sea anemones in the tidal pools. Enjoy your trip!

2 comments about Bicycling America's National Parks: Oregon and Washington: The Best Road and Trail Rides from Crater Lake to Olympic National Park.

1. I purchased this book after reading a glowing review of it from the San Francisco Chronicle. I'm very glad I purchased it. This latest addition to the Bicycling America's National Parks series is informative, helpful, and truly captures the ambience of the different national parks it covers. It's not just national parks, but national recreation areas, and national monuments too, and you really get a sense of where the great bicycling opportunities are in places that also have national-caliber scenery and attractions. After reading the book, I'm definitely planning on using it for a Hells Canyon National Recreation Area trip later this summer. The chapters on Crater Lake, Olympic National Park, and Mount Saint Helens totally appealed to me, cause I've been to those places and wondered about biking there. The author does a great job of showing that the myth that you can't ride offroad in national parks is just that-- a myth. (All the rides are legal, though some do take place just outside park boundaries.) The book presents everything you need to know in a clear, often funny way. The pictures are great too. That's about all I ask from a guidebook.



2. Story's first guidebook in the 'Bicycling America's National Parks' series (California) is an excellent all-around cycling guide (and general guidebook) for the Golden State. It's concise, thorough, and balanced, presented in personable, witty language. He includes a variety of road and mountain bike routes for virtually every riding level. His lodging, shopping, and especially dining suggestions are first rate. It includes almost all the information a would-be tourist (as I was) needs for a bicycling trip to CA. Story also throws in some nice tidbits about natural and cultural history of each park, as well as description of fauna and flora (plants and animals), and worthwhile less-known attractions.

   This guide from Story features most of the same attributes as his previous guide. He includes a variety of rides that highlight the nearly infinite geographical and ecological diversity of Oregon and Washington. Once again, he includes abundant, but concise information and recommendations related to lodging and related travel info, presented in personable language (though he's not as consisently funny). As before, he provides a nice natural and historical background, serving to not just describe, but introduce the reader to each park (or recreational area).

   There is one minor shortcoming, relative to Story's National Parks/California book. That guide contained abundant supplemental information related to dining and other special attractions within or near each park. While this guidebook has some info. of that nature, it seems much more sparse. This might be because many trails in Oregon and Washington are in fairly rural areas far from any major (or even minor) population center. This considered, this guidebook still doesn't seem as complete as his California edition, which provided that reader with virtually everything we'd need to plan our trip. This isn't to say this guide is poor, it just doesn't quite match up to the standards of Story's previous guide. Once again, it would be helpful if Story included a general map of each park (this was the only minor problem I had with his CA edition).

   Even if it doesn't quite measure up to Story's California guide, Oregon/Washington is still far superior to most other cycling guidebooks available (even allowing for it's uniqueness). It's an indespensible tool for anyone planning a cycling trip to or near the national parks/recreational areas of Oregon and Washington. It's a perfect starting point, though you might want to research the areas more before heading out.

3 comments about Hiking the Great Northwest: 55 Greatest Trails in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Northern California, British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies.

1. it encompasses the hikes that every avid hiker must do before or during death.



2. The hikes cover some of the best hiking over a large area.



3. I have the first edition of this book and it has been an invaluable guide to the incredible hiking in the Northwest. Living in the east and only getting to the west when business or a vacation take me there (for relatively short periods of time) I've always tried to make the most of the time I did have to hike. I have done about 1/3 of the hikes in the book and have yet to be disappointed. I have other, more detailed, hiking books for these areas but I rely on this one for selecting my hikes. I just wish this type of book were available for other areas of the country.

5 comments about An Architectural Guidebook to Portland.

1. While there is much helpful information in this book, I'm afraid the delivery is awkward and colorless and it was an effort to complete this read. If you're working on a specific project related to architectural issues in Portland, then you'll find some relevant data. Otherwise, don't put yourself through it.



2. [Review of the second edition]
   
   When I accepted the offer to receive and review a copy of the book An Architectural Guidebook To Portland, Second Edition by Bart King, I'll admit I wasn't waiting with anticipation for it to show up. In fact, had his request not had the line "No pressure! The book is particularly helpful as a cure for insomnia, however.", I probably would have let it pass. But much to my surprise, this was far more fun to read than I expected, and I'm glad I had the chance to see it.
   
   Contents:
   Introduction; Downtown; Cultural District, Government Center; Yamhill; Old Town - Chinatown; The Pearl; Northwest; Southwest; Southeast; Northeast; Downtown Bridges; Glossary; Photo Credits; Bibliography; Index
   
   Portland has a very rich and colorful history from the early days as "Stumptown" to the present. And going into old historic sites fascinate me, as I can often "feel the past" when I imagine what things must have been like back then. But reading a book where someone waxes eloquent about the finer points of Romanesque versus Richardsonian Romanesque doesn't do a thing for me. Fortunately, this book is *far* from that. King divides up the city into some basic areas, and then covers approximately 20 to 30 buildings of note in each, ranging from the late 1800's to buildings that are due to start in the upcoming year. The first difference I noticed is that his choices are not all "excellent" examples of some style or architect. In fact, a number of his choices were voted "ugliest building in Portland" by various panels. You may not necessarily agree with the opinions, but he's not afraid to point out both thoroughbreds and nags. And he does it with a sharp and cutting sense of humor. Each selection usually has a short inset or sidebar that contains an interesting factoid that brings the building's history to life. Even the glossary is worth reading (yes, I was *that* hooked!). My favorite was probably the definition of portico... "A covered porch. There are many different styles. You do not care." It's not often I laugh out loud when reading. Especially so when architecture is the subject matter. This was a definite exception.
   
   "Serious" students of architecture might feel that King doesn't treat the subject matter with the reverence that it deserves. To that I say, get a life. But for the average person who goes to work in downtown Portland every day without noticing the rich history around them, this book is a true gem.



3. The book contains a brief history of Portland architecture, and a building by building look at the best, and some of the worst, buildings in downtown and surrounding areas. Anyone who has been to Portland and actually looked at the buildings knows that Portland's architecture is pretty special. There are only a few of the original turn of the century cast-iron frame buildings left, unfortunately, because they were torn down to build a freeway in the 1940s. The freeway is now gone (moved 14 blocks west, away from the Willamette waterfront), but only 10% of the buildings near the waterfront survived. The area around Skidmore fountain shows what Portland looked like then.
   
   The book doesn't limit itself to just old buildings, though. There's a description and photo of the Henry building, the condo development completed in 2004 directly behind Powell's books. And the new Park Towers building, occupying the space across the street from the old Hamburger Mary's, is present as well.
   
   This is a really excellent and detailed look at Portland's unique architecture. It would make an excellent guidebook for walking tours in downtown.



4. Now in an updated and expanded second edition reflecting Portland's growth in the twenty-first century, An Architectural Guidebook to Portland is teacher Bart King's guide to the amazing buildings that distinguish Portland, Oregon as a place worthy of sightseeing. From 19th-century cast-iron front buildings to the Old Town and Chinatown to the breathtaking downtown bridges and much more, An Architectural Guidebook to Portland is sure to intrigue architecture enthusiasts, Portland tourists, and armchair travelers alike. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this blend of historic preservation and history vignettes, which features over 250 separate entries.



5. This is an outstanding architectural guide, written for architecture enthusiasts and serious cultural travelers. Why did I give it only a 4 (instead of a 5)? Because it is not entirely inclusive of entries from the 2001 edition. The author, for some odd reason, has removed (or condensed) many of the entries from the 2001 edition to make room for mostly modern structures from the past six years. My simple complaint (and recommendation): In any new edition, add, but do not subtract.
   
   Otherwise, it's nearly perfect. The small building selection (about 250 sites) is wonderful, and is a perfect balance between historic and modern landmarks. The author wrote the text with a fun, tongue-in-cheek style that is both insightful and entertaining. It really works well. The photographs are all monochrome, and there are very few, perhaps one per page, or about one for every other entry. There are a few interior shots of important public spaces. I would say that the photography meets minimum standards of a book like this, but that's about all. For those of you familiar with the Dorsey and Dilts guide to Baltimore, this book is similar in feel and format. There's a very brief introductory essay to establish the historical context, and short architect biographies inserted into the text. Mostly the author chooses to let us interpret the history of the city through the buildings.
   
   As for the architecture, I'll leave that for you to discover. Suffice to say that Portland is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Surrounding suburbs and towns are not discussed, but that's fine since there's more than enough to keep one interested within the Portland city limit. And if you think Portland is just a smaller version of Seattle, you should take a look at this book and reconsider that conclusion.

3 comments about Portland Cheap Eats: 200 Terrific Bargain Eateries (Best Places Budget Guides).

1. My husband and I like to eat out at least three times a week, so this book has been very helpful in finding places that won't break the bank. We stay primarily in SE, but it includes restaurants all over town. Highly recommended.



2. My husband and I keep this book in our car so that whenever we're in Portland we can grab it quickly. In addition to the alphabetical listing and descriptions of 200 reasonably priced restaurants, the book has an excellent index. You can look up restaurants by section of town or by the type / style of food you want. Cheap Eats has given us the opportunity to sample many different restaurants that we would never have found without it. Instead of picking the same places over and over, you can expand your choices...and eat well inexpensively.



3. This was likely a very good book when published, but unfortunately, it is a bit out of date. For example, there are 15 reviews in the B's (alphabetically), but 5 of the restaurants have closed. Having said that, the book is well done and still useful when trying to find a good place to eat-just call ahead. There are 2 indices that I found helpful: listing of restaurants by neighborhood and listing by food type. The index lacks page numbers, but the restaurants are organized by name, so just remember your ABC's. My book appears to be the 5th printing of the first edition, purchased mid-late 2004. Portland prides itself on great food and local ingredients. If visiting, don't miss trying one of the local restaurants. A good, free guide is the weekly Willamette Week newspaper.