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

25 Books to Read Before You Die: Pacific Northwest Edition

A consummate selection of books written by Pacific Northwest authors.

Regional author Egan’s classic travelogue of the Pacific Northwest has only grown more prescient (and pressing) since its 1990 release. In The Good Rain, Egan follows the path of Theodore Winthrop, who in 1853 journeyed across Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Winthrop was overcome by the wild majesty of the Pacific Northwest; Egan is equally in awe, but also angry about the clear-cutting of old-growth forests, threats to local animals like salmon and wolves, and the continuing repercussions of the violent white expansion into Native lands. Egan’s a fluid and engaging writer, allowing even the somber portions of this book to sparkle with the enticement and energy of a story well told. A vivid portrait of our beautiful and irreplaceable wilderness, The Good Rain is not to be missed. Recommended By Matt K. , Powells.com

A fantastic book! Timothy Egan describes his journeys in the Pacific Northwest through visits to salmon fisheries, redwood forests and the manicured English gardens of Vancouver. Here is a blend of history, anthropology and politics.

Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of eight books, including The Immortal Irishman, a New York Times Bestseller. His book on the Dust Bowl, The Worst Hard Time, won a National Book Award for nonfiction and was named a New York Times Editors' Choice, a New York Times Notable Book, a Washington State Book Award winner, and a Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book. He writes a weekly opinion column for the New York Times.