Customer Reviews

Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary

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"How did my town get it's name?"...Idaho Place Names gives you the answer. It will give you the history about the founding of your town and the succession of names to the present. It also includes the origin of names for mountains, rivers, hills and hollows. It takes you from "Abandon Creek" to "Zumwalt Lake" with 400 pages of intriguing history in-between. If you are interested in the history of the west you will enjoy this book.

OK, a book about how places in Idaho got their names is not likely to appeal to everyone, except perhaps those who live in, once lived in, were born in, or come from stock derived from that amazing and beautiful place called Idaho. This is not a book that the average American will buy, unless he/she is one of the folks aforementioned. But every state should be so blessed as to have at its disposal a book like this one. It's delightful. It's fun to look through, even if you've never been of Mackey Bar or the Owyhee Mountains. It's full of history, cultural and political. It's full of characters. It's fun. It should live a long and prosperous life.

Only now the University of Idaho Press, publisher of this exceptional little jewel of a book, is gone. Killed by its "parent" institution in the name of budget-balancing; which is to say, killed by craven politicians. Get the book now, from Amazon, or any other way you can. Because when it's gone, no publisher will ever bring it back. That is a shame. And it is shameful. Idaho's millionaires, like all the others, have gotten themselves numerous fat tax breaks these last few years. Meanwhile, its universities, and its one real university press, are gone. Alas, so will be this extraordinary book.

RIP, UI Press. You did great work that mattered. On those who let it die, a pox on your sad, well-heeled houses.

Idaho Place Names is an interesting, informative, well organized, easy to carry book. It provides a predictable set of informtion regarding every town, county, creek, river, peak, lake, post office,spring, pass, landing, mountain, canyon, park, basin, or bay in Idaho. Information includes origin of place name, coordinates, county, elevation & a brief history. A map of Idaho's counties is on the inside front cover.

More maps, such as a map of each county, would have been fun.

JGR

I have not yet received the product.....do you have an idea when it will be sent?