Customer Comments

At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book about a movie that’s based on a book, but one look at the gorgeous photos (the real deal, no Instagram here) and I was hooked. What’s not to like? Matt Love skillfully documents the process of Paul Newman taking on Kesey’s iconic book of a struggling Pacific Northwest dynasty, and chases down the fantastic personal stories within the stories. So much more engaging than any beach-ready tabloid, it made me pine for long summer evenings in Oregon, cold cans of Olympia brew, and Kesey’s novel itself. The perfect vacation reading, whether you’re traveling to the coast, the mountains, or just dreaming of the seventies.

“Love and the Green Lady”, Matt Love’s tribute to the Yaquina Bay Bridge on the occasion of her 75th birthday, got me thinking - should there be more than just one green lady? Is the point that she’s one of a kind - special - or should there be a green lady in every port? Functional beauties spanning the nation, but where would they lead? Sure, they’d transport unseeing, unthinking people, but also the other kind, too. See-ers, thinkers, dreamers, teachers, do-ers. A Matt Love in every school? Sadly, there is not. But this book, like his others, asks great questions - what if more states were like Oregon, more presidents like FDR, or more engineers like Conde McCullough? What would happen if we had more social reform and public works, more jobs, more money for schools, more artists, more support, more people paying attention - could we have a nation of green ladies with their accompanying knights? Every green lady needs a champion; maybe if there were more green ladies, there would be more champions. We’re lucky there’s at least one.

And I thought this book was gonna be about football... Matt Love follows up his great book "Gimme Refuge" with intensely personal essays so captivating that I defy anyone to not want to read more of his words. These stories are accessible, fresh, and charming, yet laced with some misty gloom. Just like Oregon.

Simply an awesome book and totally not what I expected. After my boyfriend read it in one sitting, I begrudgingly began what I thought was just another story about a wannabe writer and rockstar. I was blown away by the passion and imagery of the author's subtle personal narrative weaving together rural life, teaching, nature, and yes - rock and roll. Matt Love's story transcends state lines but is truly an Oregon tale. Inspiring and unforgettable!