Idaho

I think this is a great book. It's a good little read, I read it one day all the way through. A good account of some interesting things that happened in Idaho. I think it's more of a title for young adults, I think I need a more comprehensive and encompassing title of events that happened to make Idaho significant. It's a good peek into history for the state if you're just getting smart about Idaho. In fact, I think I'd pick another state to read about. I think I'll do just that for other states. I'd recommened the book. :) Annette

This book is very interesting to read for anyone living in Idaho. The state has been my home for ten years. I am not sure I would have appreciated the book, had I read it much earlier. One has to live in Idaho and become minimally aware of some history and have visited some places in the state. Then reading the book brings a sense of rewarding surprise as the reader realizes there is more to what he has known and seen. Many of the descriptions of events in the book begin in a very ordinary way and then build to connect to something important. The author uses this device to tell about the Frank Church wilderness area. It all begins with the Forest Service rangers trying to solve the problem of washing their clothing without using electricity or gasoline to power a washing machine. If there is one thing I would have wanted in the book, it would be small maps with the outline of the state and a black dot placed to indicate where exactly each event happened. It is said Idaho is a state separated by geography and distance. It is easy to live in one part of the state without becoming familiar with other parts of the state. This book would make a good gift for a number of occasions. Even people living outside of Idaho could enjoy it.

Stapilus collects the highlights of Idaho stories and presents them in readable vignettes. Some of the stories were familiar to me, after living here 27 years, but many were new, and delightful. How Idaho potatoes became famous, the first city electrified with nuclear power, the compact synopsis of "Big Trouble" in 3 pages, murderin' mountain man Claude Dallas' moment of infamy and more.Once it's done, you'll wish there were another layer of chocolates underneath the first one, or maybe that the book idea had been for 5 and 6-page versions of the stories rather than 2 and 3.