Utah Books

I'm originally from Salt Lake and half the things in this book I didn't know about. After reading it, I made plans to visit some of them (like the sculpture in the middle of the dessert and the Joseph Smith Sphynx). I brought my family along and we all had a blast playing "tourist" seeing all these cool things right near home.

If you're planning a trip to Salt Lake City, get this book along with a traditional "where should I stay and eat" travel guide. You'll use that to book the mundane stuff and this to discover what to explore.

Just like the other True Secrets of books they have a great map on their website ([...]) with all the addresses of things found in the book.

I bought a copy of this book primarily as a challenge. I've lived in Utah all my life and thought there's nothing a guidebook can teach me. Boy was I wrong! I learned something and I had fun reading it.
Something I think that's nice too is they put pictures of a lot of things they talk about. This is a really cool book.

A breathtaking journey through the halls of academic culture. An inside look beneath the belly of the University of Utah. I found it to be a non-stop thrill ride on the guidebook express -- how refreshing, gentle reader. I'm waiting with baited breath for Mr. Whitley to make an investigative sojourn to other nadirs of Higher learning. Whitley penetrates all 20 topics from parking to safety and security with pluck, perserverence and persipicacity. Clearly, Whitley is on the prowl and there's no stopping him! I never feel LONELY on his PLANET!! It's time to LET GO of all other guide books!!!

This book has a great perspective because it is written by a student. It was the first book where I felt like the author was writing the guide for me instead of for my parents. I loved the guides for entertainment around town and all the tips on housing and what not. In addition to that of course there is a lot of info on academics and student organizations. I think everyone looking at this school should get this book. It rocks!

Utah Byways showed me that there's a whole lot more to exploring Utah's wildlands than what those 4x4 magazines show. I was very happy to find, using Utah Byways, so many spectacular little dirt roads through this state's incredible wild lands, and they don't even require me to be a serious off-roader. Great book if you like adventure!

Anyone who wants to explore some of the West's most spectacular and historic backways will love this handy, spiral-bound guidebook. It includes the 90-mile-long Transcontinental Railroad National Back Country Byway, the Pony Express National Back Country Byway and Canyonland's famous White Rim Road, perhaps the most exotic and remote 4WD road in North America. All the routes are perfect for a stock sport-utility vehicle.

The Utah History Encyclopedea, edited by Allan Kent Powell, and published by University of Utah Press (1994), has proved to be my number one source for research on the history and Native American studies in Utah.

I am an archaeologist and have been working in Utah quite a bit over the last three years. While I had some knowledge of the prehistory and Native American Tribes of southern Utah, I did not have any specific knowledge of the history of Utah, its founders, historic events, towns, or cities. Each of the reports I write (typically for government agencies)needs to have an Archaeoogical/Historical/Cultural Context section. I have used this book hundreds of times in the last three years. While not all of the information I need is contained in the book, each section and article has a suggested bibliography which I can use to find additional information.

Although this is a reference book, I find that I frequently enjoy reading articles which are not related to my research. While it has proved to be an enourmous resource for my research, its articles are written in lay terms, which anyone might enjoy who is interested in the history, prehistory, or Native American of Utah and the West.

I highly recommend it to the general public and my colleagues.

Deborah Dosh Director Kinlani Archaeology, Ltd. P.O. Box 67 Flagstaff, Arizona 86002 (520) 526-9797

This book is an enormous, enormously readable encyclopedia of a book. It's thorough, has a huge variety of entries, contains information I've found nowhere else, and is well worth paying for for any fan of the West, of the Four Corners states, and of Utah in particular.
Its entries on various mountain ranges, mines, periods of history, Indian tribes, historical personages, legends, towns, cities, controversies, scandals, religious movements, and area wildlife are thorough, fascinating, good reading.
Each entry is written by a different western writer, and so the entries read like spellbinding (though fact-filled) stories, not like boring, dry, textbook accounts.
Some of the entries, however--such as the entry on missing 1934 artist-photographer Everett Ruess--were not fact-checked well enough, and so constitute the book's only weaknesses.
Overall though, the book is worth any price you could pay for it. Don't be surprised if you pick it up to look up the Henry Mountains and keep on reading clear through I and J. It's that good.

Marshall Bowen, a distinguished professor of geography at Mary Washington college, describes in great detail the farming settlement occuring around Wells, NV in the early 20th century. He describes factors that caused people to come to this marginal land, what led to their eventual failure and the aftermath. In particular, the author looks at people from Utah who settled here. If you have any interest in frontier settlement or the Utah/Nevada region, this book is an excellent read

Never in a million years would I expect to find a book about Mormon settlers in the Utah desert interesting. Yet this book was extremely interesting and informative. But, this should be no surprise because that has always been Dr. Bowen's gift. I had the pleasure of taking 3 Geography courses with him at Mary Washington College and he was as interesting in person as he is on print. Dr. Bowen could turn the most dry Geography course into the most interesting class on campus. In a country where most people do not know a thing about Geography, just watch Jay Leno, we need people like Dr. Bowen who can teach and entertain at the same time. He is the Patch Adams of Geography! Read this book and even better...go to MWC and take his class.

Everything you need to know about Utah is in this book.
Well, not everything. But it's a great place to start.
Look up a town, canyon, mesa, river, or county, and this will tell you how it got its name.
It's well-organized, well-written, and just plain fun to read.
...Some of the book's information is questionable, but history is always kind of uncertain, especially when you come to the sort of isolated desert areas that cover so much of Utah.
For instance, the book says "Sweet Alice Springs" got its name from an area Indian maiden that would offer her body to the local cowboys, but Ned Chaffin--an old-time cowboy himself--has said it was named after a song "Sweet Alice" that a tone-deaf friend of his tried to sing while they were out riding the range.
The author also suggests that a rancher named John Kitchen named the slickrock butte known as "Mollies Nipple" after his wife, when that place name was actually already on maps long before John Kitchen ever moved there.
All that's neither here nor there though, because this book is a great read, and a must for anyone who lives or travels in Utah.

Quite a few states have place name books, but I've never seen one better than this one (only Attwood's "Length and Breadth of Maine" comes close). Locations, both man-made (towns, dams, etc.) and natural, are listed in alphabetical order; then the county in which each can be found along with it's name origin are given. Usually this is as far as books like this go, but Van Cott gives us much more. Sometimes a little history of the location is related, and then, best of all, the section, township, and range is given, making it easy (or at least easier) to pinpoint the sites specifically on maps or in the field. Finally, each place name is referenced to books listed in a 600+ item bibliography.

Van Cott has covered all the bases that need to be covered in this great book. If you're interested in how places were named (how Faust in Tooele County, for example, was named after Doc Faust who operated the Pony Express station there) or exactly where places are located, especially ghost towns (Faust is at the south end of Rush Valley, S27, T7S, R5W), or both, this book is your best source. The listings run double-column for over 400 pages, and it appears to be thorough but not complete: I have come across old towns in post office listings from the 1800s not listed (Shem, Millersburgh, and Panaca, all from Washington County, for example). Despite the omissions, it's a great achievement and a marvelous tool for anyone interested in (most of) Utah's place names and locations.

I,ve floated and fished the Green for over 20 years and one of my great joys is listening to the tales and advice from great guides such as Dennis Breer and Emmitt Heath. Dennis has put his love and knowledge of this great river into a concise,informative, yet poetic read. Dennis' book will make you a better fisherman in general and, certainly better prepared to match wits with the Green's great trout. The fly tying instructions with color plates are well done and and a necessity to"match the hatch". Sit back and enjoy the Green from your den or get ready to experience the magnificent Green River canyon.

I,ve floated and fished the Green for over 20 years and one of my great joys is listening to the tales and advice from great guides such as Dennis Breer and Emmitt Heath. Dennis has put his love and knowledge of this great river into a concise,informative, yet poetic read. Dennis' book will make you a better fisherman in general and, certainly better prepared to match wits with the Green's great trout. The fly tying instructions with color plates are well done and and a necessity to"match the hatch". Sit back and enjoy the Green from your den or get ready to experience the magnificent Green River canyon.

This is a beautiful book with color pictures and wonderful detail. This book is worthwhile reading even if you don't hike, you can be an armchair hiker and learn about all the beautiful places Utah has to offer. I bought it for my son and now it is on my want list.

I have been hiking Utah's trails for many years, and I am always looking for new places to explore. I have already looked through most of Utah's other hiking guides, and I have to tell you that this one is without a doubt the best one out there. It is informative, easy to read, the maps are excellent, and, most of all, the color photographs that illustrate the trails will blow you away. It is a little more expensive than the other guides, but definately worth it!

A superbly organized and profusely illustrated to Alpine, Nordic, and Telemark skiing, along with several other increasingly winter sports such as snowboarding, "Utah: The Complete Ski & Snowboard Guide" by skiing and winter sports enthusiast Michael Fine provides the reader with all the information necessary to enjoy memorable winter athletic activities whether as a recreational weekend or part of an extended winter vacation in the mountains and high valleys of Utah. Accessible organized to be thoroughly 'user friendly', aspiring skiers and winter sports recreationists will learn of each major Utah resorts' terrain type, as well as such amenities as restaurants, rentals, transport, and more. Thirteen Utah destination resorts are showcased and range from the Alta Mountain Resort to the Wolf Mountain Resort. "Utah: The Complete Ski & Snowboard Guide" will prove an invaluable, essential itinerary planning resource for enjoying Utah's winter sports resources and opportunities.

The author actually went to every single resort in Utah last year and wrote about his experiences. Mike Fine is a long-time Utah resident and an avid skier. The book is very helpful for non-Utah resident skiers at any level to find a resort that will give them the most of what they want out of a skiing vacation. It's even helpful to a local seeking a day trip to a ski resort he either hasn't tried, or has not been to for a long time. It's an absolute must for anyone looking to ski in Utah.

I work at the Rose Shop, a nursery and flower shop in Sandy, Utah. Drought resistant plants are one of our specialties. This book is fantastic for our area. I have as many books on this subject as I can find and this is my favorite. The price is a little higher but I highly recommend it. Don't wait on this one. It is well worth it. I couldn't put it down. I want a second copy for the nursery.

This is a great coffee table book with gorgeous photographs but also one that is very usable in terms of moving toward a lawn/garden that is much more efficient in terms of water. Given that water will be a continuing concern in the West, it's a timely publication.