Other books by James Roethe
Growing Up:
The 50s in Middle America
"I grew up in Monroe, Wisconsin during the 1950s. In January of 1950, I turned eight years old. I graduated from Monroe High School in the Spring of 1960."So begins James Roethe's meaningful and appealing reflections on what it meant to grow up in the midwest in a time of great development in the United States of America. His anecdotes here are mostly personal, with a focus on family, education, and work as it happened then in small-town Wisconsin. Filled with full-color photos.
Birds of the Orinda Country Club
A compilation of 47 articles on the birds seen over several years of hiking and walking at the Orinda Country Club (including Lake Cascade) in Orinda, California.
These Shoes Were Made for Traveling
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”—Mark Twain
This book is a follow-up to another book that I wrote just a year or so ago about a series of hiking adventures that 14 friends from Orinda, California, took throughout Europe under the leadership of Peter Watson of Duende Travel of Somerset, England – These Shoes Were Made for Walking – Reflections on Many “Duende” Moments During Walks Through Italy, France, Spain, England and Portugal.
Duende: “[H]aving a soul” or “a special charm that makes a person or activity irresistibly attractive.” That is the essence of the experiences had during our many walking trips.
It seemed inappropriate to include in that book, stories about other trips not involving my “Duende” friends. Yet, I wanted to tell these stories as they too involved many “duende” moments and “duende” experiences. Thus, we have this book.
I hope the reader will enjoy the following stories of adventures experienced on six different continents – North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.
These Shoes Were Made for Walking: Reflections on Many “Duende” Moments During Walks Through Italy, France, Spain, England and Portugal
It all started on a Saturday evening in December 2008.Our friends Buzz and Lani Schulte invited seven couples to their home in Orinda, California. Also present was Peter Watson of Duende Travel, a small travel company formed in 1995 by Peter and his wife Kate Littlewood, out of Taunton (Somerset County), England. Buzz and Lani had been on several walking trips led by Peter with a group of Stanford Alums and thought it might be nice if they could take one or two similar trips with some of their own close friends. Peter Watson is a graduate of Oxford University and a historian. He is particularly knowledgeable about English, Irish, French, Italian and Spanish history. He also speaks French, Italian and Spanish in addition to English and he lived in Grazalema, Spain for a number of years. Peter’s principal clientele is Stanford University, for whom he leads several walking trips each year. All of Peter’s trips have a theme around which the walks that he plans are oriented. The themes inevitably revolve around the history of the region visited. Buzz introduced Peter to his dinner guests on that evening in December 2008 and we listened. It quickly became clear that the trips Peter leads are much more than simply walking trips, and we were hooked …
Poetry Takes Flight: Birds of California
Poetry Takes Flight is James Roethe's second book about birds and his first book of poetry. The book is intended to provide the reader with a bit of knowledge about the birds of Northern California and, hopefully, some understanding of why so many people today have taken up birding as a hobby. Its focus is on the hills of San Francisco's East Bay where the author has lived, hiked and birded for the last half century. East Bay birders are blessed with hundreds of miles of trails along the shoreline and in the hills East of San Francisco Bay, most of them part of the East Bay Regional Park District - one of the country's largest park systems and home to several hundred species of birds. In addition, the local water utility makes available to hikers an additional 60 or so miles of trails on a permit basis.
Poetry Takes Flight's 77 poems are intended to tell readers a bit about the more common birds seen during a typical hike in Northern California. In some cases, they describe characteristics of the birds in question that new birders should look for when trying to identify birds that cross their paths. In others, the poems tell of events experienced by the author that demonstrate how even the most experienced birder can be surprised at the antics of these wonders of nature. The hope is that some readers will become more interested in birds - look for them when hiking or put up feeders so as to enjoy them when at home. For birds are fascinating to watch.
And if the book piques the interest of a just few readers to take up birding, that will be a bonus.
The Roethes/Nortons of Wisconsin: The Ramblings of a Boy Growing Up in Wisconsin
James Norton Roethe decided to write this short history to give those in his family, and his children’s and grandchildren’s families, the opportunity to learn a bit (if they so choose) about their ancestors – “where they came from and some of the things they did with their lives.” Based on Roethe's memory and available research material there are many gaps in the history, possibly to be filled in by others. The hope is that any readers will find the text and pictures that follow to be of interest.