Ralph Friedman

Ralph Friedman (June 3, 1916 – June 3, 1995) was an American author, best known for his books about Oregon, which included travel guides and popular histories.

Born and raised to an impoverished Lithuanian Jewish immigrant family in Chicago, Friedman began riding the rails as a hobo during the Great Depression, 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 in 1948. In 1950, the couple moved to Portland permanently.

Friedman died in Portland, Oregon 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) "West's Wildest Cattle Drive" (Real West, March 1965, p. 23) "A Bible for Snowshoe" (Real West, January 1961, p. 37) "Legend of the Amazing Pete French" (Real West, May 1962, p. 43) "Murdering Scourge of Snake River" (Real West, January 1963, p. 11) "Home on the Range" (Frontier Times, March 1963, p. 28)