Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America by Jack Nisbet
David Thompson explored the land of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest for the British business interests. However, he is not well known in history. This book intersperses the author's visits to the modern northwest, with the exploration stories of the Thompson. It seemed like it should have been interesting than it was.
Ancient places is a series of essays related to the Pacific Northwest. There are essays on giant meteors, the formation of landscapes, biscuit-root, ants and an amateur anthropologist. This is not a broad history, but an in-depth look at minor areas. At times the essays can be engaging, but most of the time I found myself trying skimming quickly to get to the point. (Alas, there usually wasn't one.) I enjoyed finding out a few more details of the inland Northwest, but would not spend a lot of time on the book.
