1 comments about The Land That Slept Late: The Olympic Mountains in Legend and History.

1. An excellent, comprehensive and well written history of the first recreational explorations of the mountains. Nice photos. Will stimulate your own exploration of this area.

2 comments about Walking Seattle.

1. If you're new to the city or even a longtimer who always wanted to explore the colorful districts of this town on the Sound, Walking Seattle by John Owen is your best guide by leaps and bounds. you won't just read about the sights and sounds of Seattle, but also its origins and beginnings, from the first day of commerce at the Pike Place Market. Most of the city's great walks are covered quite well--the Market, Ballard, the Arboretum, Alki, Diswcovery Park, the Locks. Fremont is the perfect foil for Owen's quirky brand of humor. All in all, Owen won't lead you off course



2. This is the perfect guide for exploring the city on foot, although Seattle has changed since the book was written 5 years ago. The maps are clear, the directions precise, the information interesting, the organization flawless. There were no major problems even when places had changed (an Italian restaurant en route which was now Chinese...), but an update would be nice. Highly recommended.

3 comments about Wandering & Feasting: A Washington Cookbook.

1. Well written book with fascinating information about Washington State. The book includes recipes which highlight different regions in Washington. Ms. Caditz, a Washington native, weaves interesting stories and features throughout the book. A must have if you enjoy cooking and enjoy Northwest cuisine



2. This cook book is informative, useful, and inspiring. The recipes are yummy and well worth the effort. Be sure to try the Walnut Torte with Chocolate Glaze!

   The book is divided into regions of Washington State, with an interesting narrative about each region in each section. There are historic photos, too, so Wandering and Feasting is a book to read, in addition to cook book as reference.

   The presentation is crisp and appealing.

   A great gift for gourmets, people who cook, NWophiles, and those who like to eat others' good cooking!




3. Compiled and organized by Mary Houser Caditz, "Wandering & Feasting: A Washington Cookbook" offers more than two hundred tempting and tasty dishes reflecting the culinary heritage of Washington State. Spiral bound so as to lay flat upon the kitchen table or counter, "Wandering & Feasting is a regional collection organizing dishes from the Olympic Peninsula (Halibut with Macadamia Nut Crust; Whole Baked Salmon with Medley of Three Dill Sauces; Filet of Sole Turbans with Shrimp Sauce), Southwest Washington (Individual Salmon Wellingtons with Dijon Cream Sauce; Cream of Carrot Soup with Marsala; Chocolate Hazelnut Decadence with Rum Cream), North Puget Sound and San Juan Islands (Dungeness Crab Stuffed Mushroom Caps; Strawberries in Raspberry Sauce with Orange Cream; Easy Apple Raisin Chutney), Puget Sound (Fried Calamari in Beer Batter; Cheese Puffs with Smoked Salmon Filling; Steamed Clams with Tomatoes and Herbs), Cascades (Flank Steak with Blue Cheese, Mushroom and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffing; Baked Pears in Apple cider and Cinnamon; Trout with Chive Cream Sauce), Central Washington (Beef on Skewers with Peanut Sauce; Spinach Salad with Apples and Ginger Vinaigrette; Minted Cantaloupe Soup), and the Inland Empire (Venison with Juniper Berry Sauce; Bulgar Wheat Pilaf with Mushrooms; Asparagus napoleons with Orange Hollandaise Sauce). Occasionally illustrated with historical photography, and featuring appendices that include 'Basic Recipes', 'Low-Fat Suggestions', Glossary, 'Selected Bibliography', and an Index, "Wandering & Feasting" is an ideal and strongly recommended addition to any personal and family cookbook collection.

No comments about Atomic Marbles & Branding Irons: A Guide to Museums, Collections, and Roadside Curiosities in Washington and Oregon.

4 comments about Frommer's Seattle 2006 (Frommer's Complete).

1. consistent and non-byass reviews that were easy to read. the book lacked some color, but overall, it satisfied my expectations.



2. I found this guide book to be relatively helpful in my Seattle travels. I liked the fact that it gave day trip suggestions from the Seattle area (San Juan Islands, Mount Rainier, etc.), had some nice color pictures in the front, and gave some good summary itineraries in the beginning for people with varying degrees of time to spare. I don't refer to this as religiously as some other guidebook series I have for other cities, though. I found that it was lacking in quirky things to do or restaurants to eat at and really just summarized the overwhelmingly "normal" tourist things to do. It's a good first reference especially if you don't have a lot of time to see the city, but you might want something more detailed or a little less mainstream if you're going to have a substantial amount of time to explore the city...



3. This is my first Frommer's travel book, I've always used Let's Go before, and the only reason I brought Frommer's is because Let's Go doesn't have a Seattle edition. I find that I still prefer Let's Go in terms of the writing style, amount of detail and organization. Let's Go organizes in terms of area, for example, if you're exploring a particular neighborhood, you can just mark a chapter and you'll find everything in that chapter, i.e. sights, dining, accomodations, nightlife, etc. On the other hand, Frommer's organizes in terms of things to do, so you need to go to a different chapter to find a restaurant, and another chapter to find a hotel. Even the maps are organized this way - there are different maps for the same area for dining, accomodations, etc. I found the constant flipping through the pages very cumbersome. Also, Frommer's maps are not as detailed and harder to follow. For instance, we were exploring the Pike Place Market area and the map says there's supposed to be a restaurant there, but it wasn't. Frommer's doesn't provide detailed instructions on how to get from one place to another. Frommer's does provide categories with a varying range of prices - from very expensive, to moderate, and affordable. However, for the budget-minded traveler, I highly recommend Let's Go.
   
   On the other hand, if you're only going to stay in Seattle and the surrounding areas, I would still pick Frommer's out of all the other books available because the other books include the entire Northwest area and only has a small chapter on Seattle. I do like the best things-to-do or eat lists



4. I have been living in Seattle for 5 months and I got this book to navigate around, but this was disappointing.
   The book is more like a short reading about the city, rather than a travel guide. I would not be able to navigate myself around if I were traveling Seattle using this book.
   I think this book is for people who read other standard travel guides such as LonelyPlanet, and want to know more.
   I did buy LonelyPlanet after buying this book.

No comments about On the Fly Guide to the Northwest: The 40 best Flyfishing Waters of Oregon and Washington (On the Fly Guide To...).

1 comments about Cross-Country Ski Tours: Washington's North Cascades (2nd Edition).

1. This book helped me out a lot in terms of finding areas to ski in when I first moved to Washington from Montana. However, some of the dialogue disturbed me, as I am a cross-country skier who also works for an organization that fights for the elimination of catastrophically damaging logging techniques. One quote is as follows: "In the rosy glow of the 1980s, it seemed that the overcutting of timber on forest lands was, if anything, a boon to the cross-country skier: more forest roads to explore in the winter, more clearcuts for downhill runs, and easier access to high meadows." At one point, it even described clearcuts to be "picturesque." I see clearcuts as the rape of the land, and because I learned how to cross country ski on narrow trails used for hiking in the summer rather than forest service roads, many of the descriptions turn me off to areas rather than draw me in. Where can I ski in a truly wild area, enclosed by frosted trees?

No comments about Mountain Biking Spokane and Coeur d' Alene.

5 comments about Fodor's Washington, D.C. with Kids, 3rd Edition (Special-Interest Titles).

1. While this is a great guide for parents, it is particularly helpful for those who may not have children at these ages. An Aunt, Grandmother, family friend who wants to spend time with children but doesn't know where to start and may not have a crew of friends with children needs this book. It can be the beginning of really great time with and for the children and adults together.



2. I found that this book was an interesting and direct source of information that helped me to find places to visit as well as how to get there. It is a wealth of information for where to take kids of all ages that would be of interest to them in Washington, D.C. I found it helpful also to know the phone numbers to be able to call about questions that I might have before visiting the places. I would highly recommend this book to anyone such as teachers or parents who are interested in taking kids to the Washington,D.C. area.



3. This guide may be good at highlighting attractions, but it's woefully impractical for real-life touring.
   
   We used--or, I should say, tried to use--this guide on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., and we wound up very frustrated with it. We were attempting to do as much as we could by Metro and taking the car only when it was practical and necessary. We followed the guide for Metro stops and wound up walking, sometimes miles, with two young kids (aged 6 and 3).
   
   For instance, we took the Metro to the zoo, got off at the stop recommended in the book and had an uphill walk for more than a mile. Someone told us later that there would have been ample parking, had we driven. I wish the guide had mentioned it. Another time, we followed the instructions on which Metro stop to use for the Lincoln Memorial. We popped out of the station onto a street filled with mainly government office buildings and no signs directing us to the memorial, which, again, was a long hike away. (A kind man saw our "lost" looks, asked if we were looking for the memorial and pointed the way there.) We found out from locals that it would have been better to have taken Metro stops along the Mall--possibly the same distance but with more diversions, like a carousel and grass to run around on, for youngsters.
   
   This is not a trivial complaint when you're dealing with kids. And, given that this book is specifically about touring D.C. with kids, I would have expected the authors to do better.
   
   By the time we were leaving, it had become a joke to consult the book's maps and station recommendations. We came to the conclusion that whatever it recommended, we should do something else.



4. I ordered this book to help plan a trip to Dc for my family. I was excellent. This book was also passed to our high school principal who used this book for a personnel trip to DC. This was his favorite book to use for learning about DC.
   
   I found this book VERY valuable and will be used for future trips to the area.



5. Authors' tone indicates they are clearly amazed by Washington DC, but this doesn't translate into any new or interesting information about the city for visitors. Lots of info out of date.

1 comments about The Northwest Coast: Or, Three Years' Residence in Washington Territory (Washington Paperbacks, Wp-62).

1. I suppose it is pretty silly to review a book of this age, but I loved it so much it's going on my list of books worth reviewing.
   
   The language is wonderful and it's hard to believe that someone with such a range of interests and writing ability would be found in the ranks of the pioneers.