Colorado Books

In all practical aspects, the Dominguez and Escalante expedition was a failure. The two Spanish fathers were unable to locate an overland route between the Spanish colonies of Santa Fe, New Mexico and Monterrey, California, and in 1776 it seemed that all the two men had done was wander aimlessly in the north for six months. The lasting impact these two men have had on history (and particularly Utah's history), however, are far greater than they could have known.

The expedition made a map, but it is basically worthless in its inaccuracy. Still, the description they left of their route, and most notably that of Utah Valley, was later a great resource for subsequent explorers of Utah, especially John C. Fremont. Their expedition, failed though it was, nevertheless is important as the first written record of the territory that would later become Utah. In addition, the journal did not outlive its usefulness in 1844, when the second of Fremont's expeditions was completed, or even later when Stansbury, Gunnison, and others surveyed the territory. This journal is important even today, because it provides us with a natural look at the Native Americans of the area, before they were disturbed and corrupted by hordes of encroaching whites. This journal is a great document in Utah's history, both as the first written account and as a fascinating look at Utah more than 75 years before it would be settled by the whites.

Even if this book sucked, I couldn't rate it lower than five stars, if for no other reason than that this book is IT.
It's the only record of this particular part part of the Southwest from before the area was overrun by Spanish and Anglo settlers. It's the book that guided decades of explorers and missionaries, and that has mercifully survived to offer us hints of what life in the West could be like BACK THEN.
It's the story of Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, two Spanish friars, who were tasked in 1776 with the goal of forging a route from a mission in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to a mission in Monterrey, California, and of locating sites for new missions along the way-to convert Indian "heathens," "barbarians," and "infidels."
Domínguez was in his mid-thirties, but Escalante was only about twenty-five years old. The two, with a small group of others, decided to avoid a northern route--out of fear of an Indian tribe rumored to eat light-skinned travelers--and as a result were among the very first to make maps and to record details of the Southwest's rivers and mesas. Their group started late in the year though, a sudden blizzard soon made progress impossible, and when they reached north-central Utah, they decided to head south and work their way back to New Mexico. They ran out of food, lived by eating their horses, and suffered unbearable cold, rebellious group members, and severe, frequent thirst. They reached the Colorado River around present-day Lees Ferry, southwest of where Glen Canyon Dam is now, and worked their way north along the river, looking for a way across.
They passed the often-photographed Castle Rock and Gunsight Butte, chipped steps into the slickrock to allow their pack animals to get down to the shore, lowered their belongings over a cliff with ropes, and after some scouting, found an ancient Ute Indian river crossing, where the water was slow and shallow enough to ride across. That place became known as the Crossing of the Fathers, and is right around where Lake Powell's Padre Bay is now.
Their trip made an approximately two thousand-mile-long circle through mostly unexplored terrain, took nearly six-and-a-half months, and explored more undocumented, unknown land than Lewis and Clark would later in their over two-year-long journey. When the fathers got back to Santa Fe, however, only their failure to reach California mattered much to anyone, along with their apparent waste of funds, horses, and supplies.
Escalante was practically exiled, and died within five years as the result of bad health obtained from his trials in the desert.
Domínguez was demoted, his possibilities of advancement destroyed, and he died anonymously as an old man, never recognized for what he'd done.
If you are interested in the West, or the Colorado Plateau, or Glen Canyon, you need to read this. There's just no way around that. It contains information you will find nowhere else, and it's actually a fairly enjoyable read. (I never would have thought Spanish priests could be so SARCASTIC....)

I love the creative table settings and the variety of menus (including vegetarian options). This book has inspired me to do more entertaining. I also enjoyed the photographs and local Colorado history.

Ricky's book is inspirational, well written, and breaks with the crowd of table setting books that teach you how the ancients think you should set a table. Ricky understands the humanistic power of thematic and meaning design concepts. Her technique is to decorate the table or pickup truck bed or whatever serving surface with items that mean something to her, Ralph, and their guests. She has drilled deep into local history and ranching to find items with meaning and to display them in creative ways that add interest and passion to her settings.

You can follow her thinking and process to design your own meaningful table settings. Ricky tells what she has done and how but this isn't a guidebook. You have to find your own local meaning and do your own designs.

Once you have dined with such table settings you will never go all the way back to the typical tedious aesthetic designs. Be creative! Start with this book.

- Jim Preston, CEO
Intiri Designs

As a young teen, this book introduced me to the world of fantasy and dragon loving.

15-year-old Alys is falsely accused of witchcraft by a greedy shop owner who wants her deceased father's property. She is left out as dragon's bait and is convinced she's going to be eaten, but then the dragon decides on a whim to help her get revenge. Selendrile, as he calls himself in human form, helps Alys ruin the lives of the people who ruined hers. But in the end, she starts wondering if revenge is all it's cracked up to be.

This book has a great message about revenge and is highly entertaining. Just watching Selendrile trying to fit in with humans is reason enough to pick up this great fantasy story. I read it when I was 11 and almost ten years later I still go back and reread it. You won't regret buying this book!

It is so psychadelic! it's like the most freakyest but still awsome book i've read. It inspired most of my stories!

Dream Homes of Colorado is a "Must Have" Coffee Table Book.
It is truly one of the finest compilations of magnificent photography of the finest examples of the achitectural, design, and building talents used to produce the most outstanding homes in the State of Colorado. It showcases where almost everyone would live, if only they could.

With a plethora of building sites offering truly spectacular settings, as well as a busy metropolitian area, relatively low building costs, and resort areas to attract the rich and famous, Colorado offers a collection of 'Dream Homes' unlikely to be found anywhere else in the world. In putting this book the authors could choose from the best of the best and they did. Both the houses and the background settings are spectacular. There's something about a huge mansion, sitting by a lake, with snow capped mountains in the background that creates a picture worth remembering.

Of course the houses are outstanding in their own right. Most of the houses, especially those remote from the city of Denver, carry a western motif, there's something about being in the west that calls for big wooden beams, log cabin construction, and wrought iron inside. Still, as you would expect, there is room for other architectural style, whatever the customer wants: tudor, French, modern - anything goes. The one common characteristic is that these homes all fill every aspect of being a dream home.

I was given this book by my in-laws and at first thought I would never read it. They have a cabin in the Estes Park area, and I had driven past the Enos Mills cabin 100s of times without ever stopping.

But I picked it up and once I started reading could hardly put it down. Drummond did an excellent job of capturing the era, the man and the story all at the same time. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the outdoors, nature, Colorado or RMNP. It really was a great story that was very well researched and really captured the spirit of the man.

This ranks among the best biographies I have read. Drummond's research is expansive and he synthesizes it all into a very readable, interesting book. He chronicles politics surrounding the formation of the Park Servie and the Forest Service, paints a fascinating picture of early day tourism, and tells the gripping story of an ardent, if sometimes misguided, naturalist. My interest is spurred---I'm going to read some of the books Drummond lists in his extensive biography.

ETERNAL PEOPLE is a wonderful book that touches the heart and mind. It tells the story of Joseph Abrams, a Ukranian Jew who comes to America in the early 1900s. The book beautifully depicts Jews in America and their adjustments to a new life. The characters leap off the pages. Joseph becomes a correspondent for the Jewish Daily Forward, then moves to a small commune in Wisconsin where he's introduced to the Utopian philosophy of the Am Olam movement. He falls in love with two women there, and is reunited with his only living relative. Joseph is sweet and tough, smart and sympathetic, and the two women are vividly described. We see Joseph's growth and change, his tenderness and determination. We watch as a threat to the commune's existence becomes real. The novel's last sections depict the powerful and gripping conclusion. The book moves from intellectual debate to drama to poignant love scenes and lyrical memories. ETERNAL PEOPLE is beautifully written, and Joseph's story lingers long after a reader has left his world.

I started reading this book more because of interest in a historical subject I knew nothing about than because I was looking for a good read. How nice to have found both. After just a couple of chapters, the characters draw you in. Joesph is my idea of a hero, intense and with good instincts and intentions, but still flawed, complex and most important, real. Milofsky writes sharply and simply, but every now and then, he describes something with such tenderness and truth that you find the phrase popping back into your head, even when you aren't reading. Eternal People passed my most important test for a great read. After I turned the last page, I wished there were more.

This is simply a great book. The photographs make it worth the money alone. If you ever are travelling to Ontario for whatever reason, make sure you bring your fly rod and a copy of this book. There is good fishing to be had everywhere, from Kenora to Ottawa and everywhere in between.

Congratulations dad on your book.

I loved reading the stories.

Your son

In my opinion (and possibly in fact), this is the only field guide worth using. Ms. Komarek pays explicit attention to detail, and has created wonderful keys to quickly and reliably identify whatever plant you may be viewing.

The book also lists many plants found in the lower elevations surrounding the San Juans, such as Durango, Bayfield, Pagosa, Mancos, and Cortez. If you are serious about plants in this area, or if you would simply like to identify them, this is the book that you need.

I take this book everywhere I go when exploring in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. It is well organized and comprehensive, with excellent illustrations.

Fragile Treaties is a great read. Seeing ranching, poverty, the Utes, and western Colorado through the eyes of Lily Bodeen is a treat. There's a lot of history here--the author obviously did her homework--but the writing is lively and engaging.

The history of the Ute in southwest Colorado comes to life in Fragile Treaties. The author provides useful facts mingled in a captivating style to tell the story of the friendship between a wife of a Ute chief, and the wife of a calvary officer, and the conflict that threatens to destroy all they hold dear to them. Very impressive book. Well thought out, well researched, and well written.

I find it striking that there are so many dumb people in the world. Like the person who wrote the review of this book and said "it's better than The Godfather...Mario Puzzo does an excellent job"! First, Editors Nick Browne & Horton Andrew wrote this book -- NOT MARIO PUZZO! Secondly, it analyzes the trilogy -- it's not an addition to the trilogy -- and thirdly, quit writing reviews about stuff you don't know. That's something I cannot understand, you write about something you know nothing about!

I could not stop turning the pages! I read & re-read the book, and I am still completly compelled with the Godfather! Much better than the movies! This is simply one of the best novels that has ever been written. It can hold its own among some of the greatest writers in history. Truly the defining novel of its genre. Mario Puzo has written the perfect novel and I for one will never forget his work.