A native Oregonian, Williams worked for the Service in the northwest and served at its national historian in Washington, D.C. before returning to Portland to continue his historical research and writing. His history draws on official records, but more heavily on narratives that retired forest workers began systematically in 1945 in order to record their experiences and observations. He covers the environment and early history, early conservation efforts 1880s-1905, taming the wild forests 1905-10, building the management system to 1910-29, coping with the Great Depression and war 1930-45, ramping up timber production 1946-59, getting out the cut 1960-76, turbulent times 1976-89, and coping with new directions. An epilogue ponders the next 100 years. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)