The Good Rain : Across Time & Terrain in the Pacific Northwest

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable reading!
Review: I recommend this book to anyone interested in or fascinated by the Pacific Northwest---its geography, history, ecology and pressing issues on environment and preservation of its cultural and anthropological resources. I like the range of subjects and the "traveling sense" or the sense of place you get as he shares his experiences one area at a time. Very well written, uplifting, and pleasurable reading even to people who have not lived in this region but at least got a sense of it on short visits. Suddenly, visions of Mt. Baker looming on the horizon over Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands spring up!

Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Lovers of Pacific NW!
Review: I'm now a confirmed Timothy Egan fan. What a wonderful book! (And thoughtful, evocative writer.) He so skillfully brings together the multiple strands of this book -- human, natural, written, and personal histories -- that you feel physically drawn into the events and locations he describes. This is not a book just for lovers of the Pacific Northwest; anyone who is interested in people, politics, history, nature, or travel will be held captive by Egan's words. As someone born and raised in the Northwest (Pacific and Inland), I was astounded by his insight. Once again, he delves deep into the heart of our communal history to bring up forgotten (or unnoticed) truths.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Lovers of Pacific NW!
Review: I'm now a confirmed Timothy Egan fan. What a wonderful book! (And thoughtful, evocative writer.) He so skillfully brings together the multiple strands of this book -- human, natural, written, and personal histories -- that you feel physically drawn into the events and locations he describes. This is not a book just for lovers of the Pacific Northwest; anyone who is interested in people, politics, history, nature, or travel will be held captive by Egan's words. As someone born and raised in the Northwest (Pacific and Inland), I was astounded by his insight. Once again, he delves deep into the heart of our communal history to bring up forgotten (or unnoticed) truths.

Rating:
Summary: Anyone who cares about the Pacific Northwest - read this!
Review: One of the best books I've read. I've lived in the Northwest all my life, but learned more about the region from this one book than from any other source. The book looks at how the Northwest has changed and how we have changed it over the last 150 years. Egan looks at specific places when telling his history like Crater Lake, Olympic National Forest, etc. I was surprised by how the changes in the natural history held my interest as well as the human history. This book led me to take a trip to the beautiful Olympic National Park in Washington and has led to my interest in Jon Krakauer's books. I can't wait to read Egan's new book.

Rating:
Summary: Vital Northwest
Review: Reading this on a recomendation from the Seattle PI, I became a fan. My friends and relatives received copies for Christmas. For the native or the transient, this is the vital book of how the Pacific Northwest works.

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable, if you live in Washington.
Review: The Ladies' Literary League of Leschi gives this book one of our rare 4-star ratings. Knowing more about the history of Washington adds a fourth dimension to what you see. This book is both a page-turner and a reference work you'll turn to again and again.

Rating:
Summary: A Book for The PNW Junkie
Review: This book helped me make it through career moves to Boston and San Francisco. I would read it and feel impassioned about my homeland. It is a book for anyone who LOVES the PNW. Don't be surprised if it makes your eyes water! However, it is not for everyone, people without a passion for the PNW or those who do not espouse the importance of the environment will be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This book is an excellent anthology of selected historical topics of the Northwest. Be forewarned that it has a very liberal slant. It is very engaging and extremely well written. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A revisionist latte sipping weenies view of Wash. history
Review: This book is crap. Mr. Egan should stick to essay and opinion rather than delving into history. After enjoying "Lasso the Wind" I was bitterly dissapointed with this effort. This book, which purports to weave a tapestry of Washington State history is nothing more than a collection of revisionist, Seattle-centric, urban biased cliches and, often, folk tales masquerading as fact. His environmental views are as un-original as they are irritating. His standing on an Olympic peak and blaming the lousy Puget basin air quality on logging slash fires is typical. Presumably the fact that he drove there from his Seattle home in the real culprit, his automobile, is either totally lost on him or simply dramatically inconvenient. I can't say that I actually finished the book. After the chapter in which he tries to cast convicted racketeer, pedophile, and attempted murderer Bob Satiacum as an oppressed Native American activist, I literally threw this junker against the wall (thankfully my wife at that point took it away from me and replaced it with Isabel Allende's excellent "Paula"-best trade I ever made!). If you're a transplanted green paint style environmentalist, living in the trahed urban hell of Seattle and loving the myopic view therefrom, you will love this book. If on the other hand, you are interested in the rich natural history, and the complex political and human history of your wonderful State, you will recognize this as a piece of fluff. There are way better choices out there.

Rating:
Summary: A revisionist latte sipping weenies view of Wash. history
Review: This book is crap. Mr. Egan should stick to essay and opinion rather than delving into history. After enjoying "Lasso the Wind" I was bitterly dissapointed with this effort. This book, which purports to weave a tapestry of Washington State history is nothing more than a collection of revisionist, Seattle-centric, urban biased cliches and, often, folk tales masquerading as fact. His environmental views are as un-original as they are irritating. His standing on an Olympic peak and blaming the lousy Puget basin air quality on logging slash fires is typical. Presumably the fact that he drove there from his Seattle home in the real culprit, his automobile, is either totally lost on him or simply dramatically inconvenient. I can't say that I actually finished the book. After the chapter in which he tries to cast convicted racketeer, pedophile, and attempted murderer Bob Satiacum as an oppressed Native American activist, I literally threw this junker against the wall (thankfully my wife at that point took it away from me and replaced it with Isabel Allende's excellent "Paula"-best trade I ever made!). If you're a transplanted green paint style environmentalist, living in the trahed urban hell of Seattle and loving the myopic view therefrom, you will love this book. If on the other hand, you are interested in the rich natural history, and the complex political and human history of your wonderful State, you will recognize this as a piece of fluff. There are way better choices out there.