Ralph Friedman (June 3, 1916 – June 3, 1995) was an American author, best known for his books about

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, which included travel guides and popular histories. Born and raised to an impoverished

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

immigrant family in Chicago, Friedman began riding the rails as a

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and first arrived in Oregon as a hitchhiker in 1933. While working on and off in canneries and as a merchant seaman, he took courses at six different colleges and universities. Friedman was involved in labor and anti-war causes, and he met his wife, the broadcaster and political activist Phoebe Friedman, on a picket line in front of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

in 1948. In 1950, the couple moved to Portland permanently. During his career, Friedman wrote ten books and contributed to many other books, magazines, and newspapers. He led a travel class called "Oregon for the Curious" for Portland Community College (PCC), and also taught writing and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

at PCC and at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

. Friedman's highway guides, such as ''Oregon for the Curious'' (1966) catalogue obscure, off-the-beaten-path parts of the state and are often illustrated with historical anecdotes, spurts of creative

purple prose In literary criticism, purple prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing, thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall. Purple prose i ...

, and criticism of commercial overdevelopment and

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

. His books were bestsellers and remain a staple of used bookstores in Oregon. Regional writer Matt Love believes that they may have helped inspire the environmentalist reforms promulgated during Tom McCall's gubernatorial administration. Friedman died in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

on June 3, 1995, his 79th birthday.

Works

* ''The Other Side of Oregon'' (1992) * ''In Search of Western Oregon'' (1991) * ''This Side of Oregon'' (1982) * ''Tracking Down Oregon'' (1978) * ''A Touch of Oregon – Love Song to a State'' (1976) * ''Tales Out of Oregon'' (1976) * ''Oregon for the Curious'' (First Edition, 1965; Second Edition, 1966; Third Edition, 1972) * ''Northwest Passages: A Book of Travel'' (1968) ASIN B0006CY1RA * "West's Wildest Cattle Drive" (Real West, Mar. 1965, p. 23) * "A Bible for Snowshoe" (Real West, Jan. 1961, p. 37) * "Legend of the Amazing Pete French" (Real West, May 1962, p. 43) * "Murdering Scourge of Snake River" (Real West, Jan. 1963, p. 11) * " Home on the Range" (Frontier Times, March 1963, p. 28)

References

External links

Caxton Press, publisher of several of Friedman's books; books can be ordered onlineImage of the cover of "West's Wildest Cattle Drive"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Ralph 1916 births 20th-century American travel writers Writers from Chicago 1995 deaths Writers from Portland, Oregon Portland State University faculty 20th-century American non-fiction writers Portland Community College faculty 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers