Colorado Books

From back cover:

"How many times have you seen tracks ahead of you on a beach, muddy forest trail or across a blanket of snow, and wondered what creature made them? This handy, pocket-sized guide helps you name the track maker, with life-size drawings of the animal's or bird's characteristic footprints. Just check for size with the ruler (left), then hold the book beside the mystery imprint and fine the drawing that looks most like it, for a quick identification. Includes 40 to 50 different animals and many birds most common the Rocky Mountains, with information on size, sounds, habitat, diet and patterns of movement."

[Includes Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks]

"At home in either the latest fashions of the day or the greasy buckskins of a mountain trapper...within four years of first entering Santa Fe he had become a Mexican citizen, married the governor's daughter and been granted the right to control trade in what would someday become western Colorado and eastern Utah." "...the original which was a collection of log buildings with dirt roofs surrounded by a flimsy perimeter fence of wooded pickets." With these descriptions of Antoine Robidoux and Fort Uncompahgre historian and author Ken Reyher sets the stage for a remarkable journey in the history of the pioneer fur trapper Antoine Roibidoux. This is a remarkable book. While the literature is replete with stories of miners and settlers of western Colorado there is scant information on the life and times of a fur trapper that inhabited the area before the moners, ranchers, and settlers. Reyher has corrected this oversight in a historically factual manner that is a delight to read. Robidoux was a most remarkable man. He was a charmer, visionary astute businessman, politician, and accomplished mountain man. He is described as a paradox in that he could mingle with the high society,French or Mexican, of Santa Fe but was equally at home in a pair of greasy buckskings leading a trapping party or playing cards with Ute Indians. He was the first white man to expand trade routes north from Santa Fe, ultimately establishing three commercial trading posts in what is now western Colorado and eastern Utah. Fort Uncompahgre was the first such post established, in 1828. Reyher not only has written an excellent history of Robidoux and his forts be he includes a section on the present day Fort Uncompahgre. The city of Delta, CO, has reconstructed the fort into a living history museum open to the public. This is the only one of Robidoux's three forts to receive such treatment. It is quite a feat considering the exact location of the fort is unknown. It is generally believed by historians that the original fort was located some two miles below the confluence of what is now the Uncompahgre and Gunnison rivers. Even late 20th century excavation work has failed to conslusively locate the site. Many of the artifacts located in such searches could have belonged to mountain men, fur trappers, and indians and discarded at camp sites. Any one could have been part of the original Fort. The book is a must read for those interested in the history of the opening of trade routes in present day western Colorado and eastern Utah and the development of such trade by those true pioneers, mountain men and trappers. The descriptions of daily life in the early 1800's and the impact of the declinging beaver trade are historically factual and, combined withe the fascinating history of Robidoux and his trading posts, make the book required reading and a welcome, and necessary, addition to any well stocked library.

A great book! This has a little of everything: warfare, Mesoamerican interaction, networks and exchange, Fremont and Virgin Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan), Hohokam, Mogollon, Pacquime; not to mention textiles and flower images, modern material cultural studies and language interaction. A first rate publication that helps in clarifying current issues and ideas about regional interaction in the Southwest. I think serious scholars will refer to this time and again!

A good portion of my younger years were spent with an occasional interaction with Ed Marecak and his wife, Donna. Ed's art is very subtle yet very expressive. His approach to his art -- from where I stand -- was always very unique. My best memory was a pair of my gym shoes "donated" to his high school art class. They were horrible, just threads, and hardly wearable. Ed kept the shoes for his students to draw when they acted up in class...

If you appreciate fine art, and if you want to read about a man who took it to... well, his own level of understanding, get this book. It's a wonderful book about a wonderful man.

Cheers.

One of the best Aspen hiking guides out there for day hikes. We have used it many times, and hope to use it again in the future.

Ms. Frey does a wonderful job of combining short hikes with history, natures curiosities, fishing and general notes of interest in the small Rocky Mountain town of Aspen, Colorado. Visitors and locals alike enjoy this delightful hiking guide. We've made it a gift to our many friends who come to visit in Aspen. It's a great way to share the beauty and magic of the mountains

This book is great if you are looking for basic information on any ghost town or "live" town in Colorado. With it's county-by-county format, it is always easy to find the information that you might be looking for, and it offers great little pieces of information for every imaginable location that has existed or still does in Colorado.

You've seen the thunderstorm; now read the Master's thesis. This work was so great, I married the author. Admittedly, I'm a little disappointed not to be the first Kankiewicz with a title on Amazon, but I'll still give Adam five stars.

"The Autobiography of Mayo W. Lanning" is mostly devoted to Mr. Lanning's experiences in the New Jersey Zinc Company's Franklin Mine and Sterling Hill Mine in Franklin and Ogdensburg, New Jersey, ca 1941-1943; the NJZ Eagle Mine in Gilman, Colorado ca 1943-1950; and the NJZ Friedensville Mine ca 1950-1966. NJZ's training policies are indirectly documented. Competent men were moved from job to job (regardless of prior or formal training) to learn the full process of mining and processing the ore. A great deal of time (and therefore company resources) was spent on training men this way. After being moved around to learn the basic "labor" of mining in Franklin, NJ, Lanning was trained as a safety engineer (taken very seriously by the New Jersey Zinc Company), and from there moved to various engineering and supervisory positions. He was NJZ's shaft engineer for the sinking of the Friedensville Shaft (although the sinking was done by a contractor).
Mr. Lanning goes into detail on topics such as the spontaneous combustion in portions of the Eagle Mine and shaft sinking at the Friedensville Mine. At least equally fascinating are the insights he provides into the dynamics of management--that is, the interactions among individuals.
Although highly readable, the book suffers from a lack of even basic copy editing. There are numerous non-sequiturs, misspellings, and numerous highly visible typographical errors (such as double periods).

I was lucky to find this nice pamphlet on a recent road trip. Even thought I am interested in bank histories on banks like this one that issued national bank notes, I would like this book even if I were not so interested in the subject. Certainly I would be interested is I were interested in Colorado or American west history (I am somewhat interested in these subjects). The book quotes much 19th century correspondence about the founding and early operatoins of the bank. One particularly interesting discussion describes the transport of a 9000 pound safe to Durango. Later having the safe was something worth advertising. Photographs of Durango and the bank iin the 1880s are also highlights.
A pencil notation in my mocpy indicates that 500 copies were printed and the book seems to have been unavailable for a long time.