Colorado Books

Best Read. John Annerino's CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST. -Tucson Weekl

CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST by John Annerino features the author's photographs of towering red rock and rushing waters. -Travel-Holiday Magazine

CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST by John Annerino. A stunning overview of the "inverted mountains." -Summit Magazine

For people who love the West, especially those who seldom leave the concrete road, this book provides unbelievably beautiful pictures and stories about gorgeous places in the wilderness. -Rocky Mountain News

Foremost are the photographs. I would call Annerino's canyon portraits the best of a really good lot, even over big-time large-format photographers. While the large-format works are stunning artistic studies of light and color shot with impossibly huge f-stops, Annerino's canyon photographs give expression to the phrase "wearing one's heart on the sleeve." His photos have an active passion that others lack. Anyone who knows him will say he is among the "hardmen' to tackle the Southwestern mountains and canyons, but that he is definitely the most sincere in his passion for place. Perhaps, because of this he lacks a calculated commercial view of the places he photographs. His images also record his own passion, creating compelling and unique photographs. More than any other contemporary outdoor photographer, Annerino's photos mirror his love of the land's people. In the text, Annerino portrays canyonlands people as part of what makes the places special. He has a deep affection for past and present native peoples, but unlike some Anglo North Americans, Annerino isn't a lost 20th century soul. Rather, he seems to have a straightfoward and genuine admiration for native people, and has learned a great deal about them. His research on each canyon's history is impressive. Annerino writes with an immensity commensurate with his subject. His style is old-fashioned, evoking an older, more grandiose era of writing of explorers like Powell and Pattie. While many modern writers seem bent on infusing themselves into as much of the story as possible, Annerino's style is not so full of himself as full of the intensity of his canyon experiences...Annerino is at his best when he writes about Mexico, especially the Big Bend passage where he talks about the injustices served the Mexican across the river at the hands of our national park there. An optimist who sees great things in the canyons, Annerino neither ignores nor dwells on the obvious problems facing the West like pollution and development. And fortunately, CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST is not a treasure map guidebook to these areas. -Desert Skies

I recently purchased this book because I was going on vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado and could not find any decent trail maps on the web. The maps,mileage, and trail difficulty descriptions were accurate. I am looking forward to more excursions using this book as a guide.

A must have book if you are planning to 4-wheel or jeep these trails. Very helpful GPS waypoints included that can be used with your GPS to mark & find highlights along the trails.

My wife and I went on vacation in Colorado and rented a Hummer to drive around in. I took this guide with us and we went on several adventures with it! It is pretty good, though some details were lacking and some trails hard to find. Overall, a great guide to seeing some back country in CO!

This book is the best trail guide that I have been able to find. I use an ATV as most of the trails are open for ATV's. The descriptions of the trails and directions to navigate the trail have been excellent. The distances to the turn points have been accurate. Mr. Wells is now writing books especially for ATVs and I can't wait.

I've lived in Colorado since 1989 and have spent an unbelievable amount of time in the mountains here. I purchased the first edition of this book at a little gift shop at the top of Monarch Pass, gave it a permanent home in my Jeep, and I haven't looked back since. It's a fairly pricey book, but given the accuracy of the information contained within, not to mention the time and effort it takes to amass that information, it's worth every penny and then some. Mr. Wells has driven every trail personally, and the maps, presumably created from a fusion of USGS maps and personal observation are very clear and useful.

Apart from the individual trail guides, which are laid out cleverly using Colorado's ski slope difficulty symbols (green circle for easy, blue square for moderate, black diamond for difficult), there is a lucid and very in-depth introduction as well. This isn't a couple of hastily written paragraphs admonishing you to use caution and get out there and have fun, but rather a nearly 20-page essay on how to be a safe, conscientious, and well-informed backroad and trail driver. It's very useful and relevant information, thoughtfully and intelligently presented.

Bottom line: If you plan to explore Colorado's wonderful backroads and trails, buy this book, period. Give me this book, my GPS, camping supplies, food and drink, and my camera, and I could happily wander the Colorado Rockies in my Jeep for weeks!

This book and the references it makes, particularly to websites, will give you accurate and fun information about getting to the highest point in each of the fifty states. There is useful general information about hking, and each of fifty descriptions is excellent. If you buy the book and join the club, you will have something to do on vacations for years to come.

This is the second copy I have purchased as a gift. Also I have one that was a gift to me. The book is outstanding for the hiker/traveler. My copy is dog-eared from all the attention it gets. It is well organized and accurate in its descriptions and directions.

After thru-hiking the AT, my wife decided she wanted to go to the highest point in at least the continimerous 48 states (plus Hawaii as a reward). I bought a membership to the Highpointers Club and a copy of this book. We've used it to summit 13 states so far including easy drive-ups like Florida and Arkansas as well as challenges like Colorado (second highest point in the lower-48) and New Mexico.

While the book isn't a detailed hiking guide, it does contain information that is absolutely necessary to reach certain highpoints, especially those on private property. Additionally, the book contains a list of local highlights and interesting sites to see.

P.S. Our favorite highpoint, so far, is Kansas' Mount Sunflower!

Highpointing is a great way to see all 50 states and get a little exercise (or a LOT of exercise in some cases), and this book is the perfect guide. I have climbed 22 Highpoints and own 4 Highpointing books. I would definitely consider this my favorite of the 4. I would still recommend owning more than one Highpointing book, but like I said, this is definitely my favorite. This one also seems to be the quickest revised and the best kept up to date. Though I suppose you can always get updates on highpointing very easily off of www.highpointers.org.

Excellent guidebook. Provides everything you need in a few concise pages for each "mountain": Location, directions, summary statistics and comparisons, maps, alternate routes, nearby attractions, and human interest. The hiking distance and vertical elevation charts for each route are instantly helpful. The absence of errors is truly amazing for a book category that is continuously travel directions, distances, and routing. This book is so reliable that I have occasionally gone into the backcountry without procuring the mandatory real map. I own many dozens of mountain guidebooks--this may be the best for quick lookup of needed information! It is even a very convenient page size for fitting into a day pack. The authors have made these journeys a much simpler task compared to the days of the Frank Ashley book.

This is one of our favorite cookbooks...it is wonderful! We have given it for gifts and those people also love it. Every recipe we have made is superb.

I gave this book to my friends as a college graduation present. I went with this as the present because a) the food it produces is great, b) the reviews for this cookbook were steller, and c) the food it produces is great! My friends have given rave reviews, which makes me feel good.

Also, my family uses this book frequently and loves it.

I am a lover of cookbooks, but this is the one that I use the most. Every recipe I have tried out of this book is fantastic. It is also beautiful and durable. The recipe instructions are very clear. And although you may not have every ingredient already in your cabinet, they can all be found at any good, well-stocked grocery store - no trips to "specialty" markets. I highly recommend this book.

I am very impressed with this cookbook. I've lived in Colorado for nearly a decade and had seen this cookbook in lots of homes and stores. It seemed like a 'tourist' attraction... boy, was I wrong. I love this cookbook for a number of reasons. One, my food is devoured by family and friends and they actually 'ask' for my recipes! (A secret dream of mine). Secondly, my kitchen seems to be readily stocked with the items these recipes require...how often does that happen? So, I love this cookbook. I've even sent my mother-in-law recipes.... another secret dream of mine. Enjoy.

I received this cookbook in 1997 as a bridal shower gift. I have yet to make anything that doesn't turn out well! This year I have bought if for 2 other friends who just married - and know that they will love it too! Just the Heavenly Potatoes are worth the price of the book. I also love the "pantry" section in the back of the book - comes in really handy for shopping lists - and always having the basic ingredients on hand. Highly recommend!!!

I have so many wonderful things to say about this book and yet none of them do it justice. I've been a rider my entire life, mostly riding dressage, and this book really brought it all together for me. If you want a deeper relationship with your horse, and by that, I mean you really want to put in the mindfulness and discipline to really see what an amazing relationship you can have, then get this book. Now. Mark, with his wonderful story telling ability, takes us through a journey that I think many of us can apply to our own lives. He has so many important things to say. While he can help people with techniques, perhaps his greatest gift is in going farther, deeper, in expressing those concepts that can not only change a person's relationship with his/her horse, but can change his/her life as well.

In our frenetic world, with so many showy horsepeople who don't truly know horses at all, it's good to know that Mark is sharing his wisdom. He is such a gift to horses - and humans - and every person owes it to his or her horse to go out and get this book and really learn from it.

I am very pleased with this book and all the others I have read by Mark Rashid. He writes in a manner that is very easy to read. He has a lovely way of sharing information with the reader without it feeling like a text book. I would highly recommend his books to anyone who loves horses and wants to learn more about them.

I was introduced to Mark's works several years ago by a friend who said our lives were very similiar. I have read all of Mark's books and highly recommend them. As I found out, Mark's writing is simple in it's common sense approach for achievement, will more than likely stimulate your memory for pleasurable moments, and put quite a few smiles on your face as you read. You will learn a lot about horses, a lot about life and a major key ingredient for success in both: Patience. Patience breeds success and I doubt there are many, if any, horseman with more patience than Mark. I recommend Kathleen Lindley's book "In the Company of Horses" as well.

Having been a student of Natural Horsemanship, and and avid reader, few trainers have made more sense to me...and my horse...than Mark Rashid. His work is highly approachable, very no-nonsense, and very empowering.

Horsemanship Through Life provided a unique opportunity to see inside a strong transition in Mark's career which occurred when he became a student of another art. Learning how to learn is a respectible, and difficult, process. Giving yourself permission to be a 'beginner' again is not easy in our culture of instant gratification, but this book illustrates how valuable it can truly be.

Awesome book. Goes straight to the heart of Rashid's teachings. I loved it and will pass it on to someone else to share as good books don't sit on shelves!

The author does a superb job in communicating what lens he uses, the time of day to shoot and a general description of his recommended areas to photograph. The only downfall is that the photos displayed in the book are black and white rather than color and it is difficult to capture the beauty and quality of the area he is shooting.
A great book to get for descriptions but if you are looking for photos, look for another book to compliment this one.

I have been to the southwest twice in the last couple of years. The first time I didn't have this book and wished I had, the second time I had the book and was glad I did. I have both Volumes I and II and used both of them.

Martres's two books on photographing the Southwest are remarkably useful, sensible, and affordable. He keeps his directions--both geographic and photographic--brief, relevant, and precise. Even if you don't take a camera, these books can help you reach remarkable places of which may never or only vaguely have heard of. I even enjoy just "armchair travelling" with these books.

Martres throughly researched the photographic possibilities for this book, and covers virtually every photogenic spot in the region. Having used his book on four separate trips to southern Utah, I appreciate all the new places I learned about in his book, and I can vouch for the helpful descriptions and tips for finding the ideal times and locations for the best photographs.

A major shortcoming of the book, however, is the total lack of maps of any sort. Yes, there are written explanations of how to reach the discussed places, but it is hard to believe that a guidebook would not have one single map in the entire book!! The book would have been improved immensely with some basic maps showing where the various places were, so that trip planning and time on the road would go more efficiently. It was inconvenient to constantly be switching from book to a large separate map.

Another shortcoming is that the recommended shooting times usually do not consider seasons. Many locations have a much different lighting angle on a winter morning versus summer, and oftentimes the recommended times for ideal photography did not work as discussed in the book.

The other small complaint is that the photos in the book are all in black and white, making it more difficult to appreciate the grandeur of the various spots. Color photos would have been more effective.

As others have said, this is a great book, both for photographers and visitors interested in "off the beaten path" advice. Laurent really helped me to find some of the most beautiful parts of this country, particularly in the escalente area, bryce, zion, and avoid some of the more crowded and touristy places. Wether you take pictures with an SLR, disposable, or just with your eyes, you can benefit from his advice on where to start your day, and which directions to travel for the best light.
One morning, when Kathy and I woke before dawn and headed to the back of the zion museum to photograph The Towers of the Virgin at sunrise, one of the many, many tips in this book. Practially in the dark, a man walked up to me and asked "do you want me to sign your book?". Took a few minutes before I realized it was Laurent! Very nice guy -- we talked for quite a while and enjoyed the magnificent sunrise refected on the cliffs. Of the two other, more serious photographers there at dawn, one of them had his book also!
Consider it a blessing if you can spend from a few days, like me, or weeks and weeks following the magnificent paths through the southwest that Laurant suggests. And don't miss his wonderful photography at the gallery in escalante...

BTW, early october is PERFECT time to see Utah. Great weather, and much less crowded. And if you make it to Boulder, Utah, do yourself a great favor and stay at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. It's a gem we accidently found, tucked away in a garden.

This book is great. I loved how it just picked up after the 1st. It was like the first just kept going. page turner the 1st was great but this was better. Again i didn't like the religousness and enough with the flash backs.

SWEET BOUNDLESS picks up where THE ROSE LEGACY left off. With the town of Crystal now free from the evil that had held it captive, Carina DeGratia Shepard takes hold of the house that had once been promised to her. Though Quillian refuses to acknowledge their marriage, Carina refuses to let him go. With grit and determination, Carina creates for herself a small restaurant, bringing her Italian charm to a bustling town. Carina continues to learn more about Quillian's past, a past that has made him the closed-off person that he is. Carina is determined to break down those walls and love Quillian like he deserves to be loved.

At times SWEET BOUNDLESS is difficult to read because of the distance between Carina and Quillian. You want so badly for them to be together it's hard to read as they continue to go their separates ways. Knowing THE TENDER VINE will pick up where SWEET BOUNDLESS left off, I'm off to read the final book in series

This is such a great series! I was hooked from the first series and could not put them down. The second is my favorite, I love the change she shows in each of the characters because of their change of heart towards Christ. What a GREAT example of how God's love changes us and allows us to love others.

This book was just as promising as it's prequel! I couldn't put it down! The plot wasn't as thrilling, but Hietzmann did pick up on the unanswered questions that nagged at you in the first book. Well, as you know if you've read the first book(if you haven't you are VERY NAUGHTY), Quillan is having trouble allowing himself to love his wife, Carina. Meanwhile, she is suffering while he is away...heartbroken that he "doesn't" love her. Well, when a new man comes to take care of the New Boundless(the deceased Cain's mine, now left in Quillan's hands), his budding love for Carina threatens to lure her away from her love for Quillan. When disaster strikes, will Carina's husband comes home to her? Can he ever make peace with his dreadful past? The ending was wonderful, although Quillan's doubts about Carina's feelings for him were somewhat dissappointing. Anyway, I loved this and highly reccommend it!!

Carina is now married in name only. Quillan is fulfilling his duty to "take care of her material needs" but that is all. However, one real fact draws her attention to the validity of this hurried wedding...she is expecting. Problem is, she really does not have a "husband" in the truest sense of the word.

Determined to make it on her own, Carina occupies her original little house and becomes the darling of the mine and professional men by cooking her original Italian dishes and starting her own restaurant. We are introduced to Alex, the man brought in to oversee and perhaps run the mine owned now by Quillan and D.C. He plays a huge role in this book and the reader cannot quite decide if he is terribly good or terrible cunning. Obviously, Carina and Alex have mutual respect for each other, or is it more?

The cave of Quillan's parents still haunts and draws Carina and she discovers Wolf's "own diary" and now owns both his Mother's and his Dad's stories.

A horrible accident at the mine and a subsequent humanitarian act by Carina causes a major uproar, ending up with a savage beating and the reader is brought to tears.

Definitely a page turner and I am already a good ways into book three. Thanks Kristen, for a great series.

I have purchased book for a cousin as I've had tremendous success with
many recipes in this book and value it.

This cookbook is one of the best all around cookbooks ever.
I use this one for so many dinners and I love how it gives
you suggestions on what to serve with the entries.

This was the first cookbook my parents bought me when I moved out. It's the cookbook I turn to when entertaining. Favorites include the mustard chicken in phyllo and maroon bell cheese spread. Guests always ask for the recipes.

Likely you too have scanned or even invested in those recipe collections to fund a worthy effort, either not expecting to use the recipes or had to search through to find those that one even would want to attempt. Not the case with this collection of the Jr. League of Denver! And over half-a-million in print to date! You'll want one before it goes out of print!

This is large, rich colleciton that is well thought out, organized and bursts forth with uniqueness, creativity and breadth.

Some unique features are its individual sections on Colorado Wild, Mexican and HealthMark Modifications. For example, the game section using Colorado abundance of wildlife is buy a doctor who is in to this, who gives recommendations on preparing to remove gaminess and to improve flavor and maintain health.
How about Wild Pheasant Stroganoff! Indicative of the stuff you'll love finding here and trying.

Also a plus to this delight is notes which accompany most all of the recipes that tell about alternatives, serving suggestions, history where the dish came from, etc. Adds zest for us foodphiles!

One can easily see why so many other reviewers have raved about this -- it enticed me to try it. I think you will enjoy using this collection too!

I have over 200 cookbooks, I often times go to sleep reading cookbooks and I relate to the world in many aspects through my stomach. I love food and cooking. This is definitely my most-used cookbook, I don't know how many times I've looked for a recipe, finally gotten this book out and there it was all the time. I consult this book first. I have several Junior League cookbooks, this is my favorite. Everything I have cooked out of this book has been good. Don't even think about it, just buy this book. You won't be diappointed.

This book is great! Jack is so creative and gifted with words. I bought this book for my 4 year old daughter, and she loved every bit of it, except for the Mangorilla and Orangatangerine. She made me skip that part, because she said the picture gave her the creeps!
This book takes you on a bizarre journey through an amazingly creative place with a clever play on words, and wonderful poetic content. My daughter spent hours looking at this book and had fun figuring out the animal combinations that created each character. I was particularly grateful for the pronunciation guide for the animals!

I was intrigued and amused to see another reviewer say her children were obsessed with "Scranimals" -- because that's the same reaction we got with our kid!

Jack Prelutsky evidently knows the secret of how to captivate children, especially when teamed up with illustrators like Peter Sis. Nearly every Prelutsky book that enters our home gets the same treatment: fascination, amusement, and above all, lots of reading and re-reading.

One might say that this is not Prelutsky's most ingenious work, since it's basically a single concept stretched out into a series of variations, not all of which are equally clever. But there's more to it than that. The illustrations are compelling and fun. And much of the poetry is more highly-crafted than one might expect, given the silly first impression the book makes.

A great example is the description of the "Bananaconda" (that word alone always makes ME laugh!) in which the author slathers syballant syllables in silly sequences. I took the opportunity to point out to our first-grader how a poet describes things differently than other kinds of writers.

I then read it aloud to demonstrate that point, sssimply by exsstending each of the esses on the page. At that point, most kids can make the connection between the sound of the words, and their understanding of "S" as the sound made by a snake -- something many of them learn in preschool, if not earlier.

And of course those words were written ABOUT a snake. For a kid to learn that words can have multiple layers of meaning, and to learn that concept at such an early age... well, that's really something. And Prelutsky is one of the best at delivering that kind of depth, even when combined with utter silliness.

In short, Scranimals is definitely a worthy addition to any child's collection, at nearly any age.

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.

My daughter says: "This book is lovely and funny" ... "it makes me smile because it is fun. I love reading this book with my mum."

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.

Gary Larson has a macabre and twisted sense of humor and I commend him for it. His "The Far Side" comic strip was one of my favorites from the first time I read it until he retired the strip. This book contains the cartoons of the last six months of the strip as well as 13 additional cartoons drawn by Larson after he retired. They all have the twisted look at life that was Larson's trademark. If your funnybone is twisted into a similar contortion, then this is a book that you must read.

This book is the last six months of Far Side cartoons. Plus 13 new cartoons. They are phenomenal. And now, a moment of silence for The Far Side...

its like a drug. once you read 1 you cant stop. you got to read more and more AND MORE. till you read them all,then it starts slowly you feel unforfilled then you go in to denile"thair has to be more!!!!!!!!!!!" then anger"i need a (...) FAR SIDE BOOK!!!. then you find more and joy is restored. i just finished Winer Dog Art. now,i am in a state of peril. I NEED A (...)Far Side book. Larson RUN FOR PRESIDENT,you my not no this but you thousands of bystanderdeds who are willing to rise up and carry you to power.i know i would

This isn't Larson's best book but being his last Farside cartoon collection before retirement is a collectors piece. The 140 cartoons in the bulk part of the book contain some classics such as the Inferiority Complex Sufferers cartoon and the ACME Wingbaby cartoon. The majority are good but there are some that you can tell were being left out of earlier books due to their standard. I love the two cartoons on page 80 (the end of the general cartoon section) that tell us The Far Side cartoons were all a dream of a man and the cavemen, cows, nerdy kids all looked like members of his family. The 13 full page cartoons at the back of the book are drawn after retirement and in most cases I would say aren't up to Larson's usual brilliant standard.

There is also an Afterword by Gary Larson that tells a tale his father drew on his kitchen table about a kid in school, drawing a box that becomes a lightbulb then becomes his mum bending over. Interesting story but I would have preferred a few more cartoons.

There are better Far Side collections than this one but if you own the rest you need this to complete your collection. There are plenty of good cartoons here.

For those of you Larson~FarSiders like me, this is a must have. You need to love and see FarSide on your daily life to understand and enjoy Larson's humor. This last book has more of what we all wished he could and would continue giving us. On a scale of one to ten farsides, and compared to previous FarSide books, this one is an "8". Buy it!