This colorful and informative book allows the reader to appreciate the complex past and present history of Washington. Washington s natural environment is separated by the Cascade Mountains into two different environmental realms the moist, forested western Washington and the semi-arid grasslands of eastern Washington. Past and present human activities and attitudes reflect the contrasting environment.
Throughout the book these contrasts remind the reader of the complexities of Washington s landscape and human endeavors.
Dale Lambert, a Washington native, was born in Seattle and raised in the Puget Sound region. A 1960 graduate of North Kitsap High School, Lambert earned a B.A. in Education at Central Washington University in 1964 with a double major in history and geography. As a National Science Foundation Fellow, he earned a M.S. in Economics and a M.A. in Geography at the University of Missouri (Columbia) in 1973.
Lambert won fellowships in diverse academic studies, including Southeast Asian Studies (CWU), World Regional Geography (Central Missouri State University), Ecology and the Environment (Texas A&M University), Economics of Energy (Seattle Pacific University), and International Economics and Trade (Battelle Research Center).
Lambert received numerous honors and awards during his 40-year career as a social studies educator. In 1980, he was a member of an inaugural group of North American educators who toured Japan as National Council for Social Studies and Japan Institute of Social and Economic Affairs fellows. The University of Washington History Department awarded Lambert their prestigious 1987 Teacher of the Year award. Lambert was Washington’s representative for classroom teachers on the Board of Directors (1984-1990) of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, Oregon. He was also the lone classroom teacher representative on the National Task Force on Rural Education. He presents social studies seminars and workshops; Lambert is an active researcher and publisher.
Lambert has written six textbooks over the past 25 years. His first textbook, The Pacific Northwest: Past, Present, and Future, was first published by Directed Media in 1979. In 1998, Dale Lambert completed the most recent edition of this popular secondary level textbook while putting the finishing touches on the 4th grade textbook Washington: Past and Present. The demand for state history textbooks didn’t stop at the elementary level. In 2001, Dale Lambert rose to the occasion again when requests for a 7th grade Washington State History textbook poured in. Hence, the birth of Washington: A State of Contrasts. To date, Directed Media has sold over 165,000 copies of the textbooks written by Dale Lambert.
Lambert’s primary professional focus is teaching. He has taught at the secondary level in the Eastmont School District since 1964. He has been director of the Enrichment Program, Advanced Placement Coordinator, Social Studies Department Chairperson, and District Coordinator.
