A View from the Inland Northwest: Everyday Life in America

by Stephen J. Lyons

The United States of America is a vast, ever changing mixture of people, places, and events. Americans readily identify with their nation, as well as their region, state, town, and neighborhood. The tighter the focus, the quirkier the characteristics--although common themes of community, commerce, and commitment abound.

In this wonderfully written book, author Stephen J. Lyons examines everyday life in that part of the West known as the Inland Empire -- the area along the border of Washington and Idaho redolent with an inspiring landscape of forests and fields. While not a precise geographical area, this term has the following imprecise boundaries in the Canadian border to the north; perhaps McCall, Idaho, to the south; the Bitterroot Mountains to the east along the Idaho/Montana border; and Moses Lake, Washington, or thereabouts to the west. And everything in between. Spokane, Washington would be the capitol of the region.

With sensitivity, compassion, and grace, author Stephen J. Lyons takes us into the tight-knit communities of the loggers, chaplains, artists, and others who define their lives in the wide-open spaces west of the Continental Divide.

185 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Evan Burge]

A well written collection of stories that captures the beauty of the Inland Northwest in vivid detail and... that’s about it. The idea of showcasing how the natural world is fading with time is interesting enough, but the people used to explore that idea are less so. The book is a real slog.

[Kathy]

This is a small gem of a book for anyone interested in the history, wildlife or scenery of the high desert areas of eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho. It is a collection of personal essays on subjects ranging from an elderly artist living above the Snake River Canyon who sketches the local birds with incredible delicacy and purity to the magnificence of floodwaters across the Palouse country to springtime birdwatching near Wallowa, Oregon. Each person, river and ghost town is known to the author and come alive in his writing. Having been to some of these places myself, it was a delightful read and I wished I'd known some of these details before I visited.