Colorado Books

...This master storyteller serves up Western Colorado in the nineteenth and early twentieth century with ink and watercolor, brush and canvas. And he does it with artistic accuracy that will leave you hungry for more...depict[ing]the rugged life lived by the pioneers who triumphed over extreme weather and nearly-impossible geography to settle the rugged San Juan Mountains.

DeJulio is a simply beautiful compilation of paintings by Bob DeJulio of historic scenes to be found throughout southwestern Colorado. A brief introduction supplements the gallery of watercolor paintings depicting people, bucking horses, lone wagons, cliff dwellings, and scenic vistas. DeJulio is a treasury of art and a beautiful souvenir book, and a welcome addition to American artbook collections.

Any reader who ever observed an institution become ridiculous, be it university, church, political party or office committee, will laugh out loud at Paul Levitt's humorous story about Bogus U. As a mafia gang member accidentally becomes president of a university and changes the policies for the better, we laugh (knowingly?) at the subterfuge involving a champion football team (if only...) and a question of tenure for an incompetent but potentially influential professor. We enjoy the intigue among administators--for power and sexual conquests. We laugh at parallels between University politics and the mafia. This book offers a bawdy, funny read about all of us who are compromised, all of us who ever served on a faculty or even a committee. It is a funny and scathing look at hypocrisies, rationalizations and absurdities. You are invited to read it--and smile.

To University of Colorado Professor Emeritus Peter Michelson's characterization of this work as 'a delightful romp through the sins of everyone's alma mater,' I wish to add that only insofar as the main institutional target of this trenchant satire is representative can it be thus generalized. The cover art, settings, and scathing indictments of the faculty and administration compel the conclusion that this work is a trenchant and effective satire on the university where its author has taught and serially chaired the English and Writing departments for the past 45 years or so, not counting sabbaticals -- namely, the Univerity of Colorado. During those years, the makeup of the student body has changed from two-thirds out-of-staters to at least 80% Colorado residents, but the nature of the school seems little changed from 1968, when it was featured as a playboy institution by the magazine of that name, which cited the Drama department's production of Shakespeare's Macbeth that featured totally nude witches. Graduating students invited to faculty parties are known to have commented on the lack of intellectual conversation. Anyone jogging at six in the morning is likely to see the adulterers returning home. Its passion but lightly disguised, this novel is a damning but highly readable and enjoyable indictment of American higher education as embodied in one thoroughly portrayed institution.

the quality of this map is amazing in that it is water proof and greatly detailed. Any one that likes the outdoors should ilnvest in such a treasure.

I have yet to see a map so well done. The fact that Mr. Schulte began drawing these maps by hand makes them even more fascinating. Great detail, enjoyable trails for the novice trail blazer and exciting trips for the hard core. Great job. Hopefully we will see more types of maps soon

This book should be read by anyone living in the Pikes Peak region. It not only shows good history of the Broadmoor hotel, but it shows good history of the entire area (including the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.)

This is a very well written book providing a wonderful history of not only the Broadmoor Hotel but the land prior to the building of the hotel. It also incorporates a great deal of the history of the city of Colorado Springs. It pays tribute to Spencer and Julie Penrose who were responsible for building the hotel and other personalities involved in the area as well. There are many photographs which bring the history alive. Absolutely worth every penny.

This book is just wonderful. I loved reading it and enjoyed the illustrations. The illustrator got the feel of Colorado just right. Younger children will love the rhyming couplets, and will try to memorize them on the spot. Middle school children will find the sidebar texts interesting and full of fun facts about Colorado. As a Colorado resident, I especially enjoyed discovering the places and people the author featured. As an educator I feel this book would be a great addition to children's non-fiction collections at home and school and will appeal to kids ages 5-14.

"C is for Centennial" by Colorado native Louise Whitney is a wonderful and informative book about the beautiful state of Colorado-written in the alphabetical letter format. This delightful book celebrates Colorado's 100 plus years of statehood with rhymes and facts about selected Coloradoans, historical landmarks, natural resources, and even the state song. The text is creatively and well written, the corresponding illustrations are well chosen, complementary, and beautifully done, and the entire book is a treasure to read. Each new alphabetical letter that is introduced is so interesting that you want to immediately turn to the next page to see what the following letter represents!

Many of the well-known sites (especially to visitors of the state) are represented, such as Mesa Verde, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, Four Corners, and the Royal Gorge. But you will be surprised by the numerous additional facts about Colorado that you didn't know about such as herbal teas, the poetess who wrote "America the Beautiful", rodeos, the Pony Express, and even bicycles! Bravo to Louise Whitney for her authorship and extensive knowledge and to Helle Urban for her lovely and life-like illustrations throughout the book and the cover. You can really see in reading Whitney's creative work that she holds Colorado close to her heart.

This book is not only for children of all ages; adults will also enjoy the illustrations and facts about Colorado. It is a real treat to sit back and read about a state well traveled and loved by many. "C is for Centennial" is a splendid book that needs to be in homes and on the shelves of school and community libraries. It will prove to be a valuable resource book for students who may be assigned the task of writing a state report in their classrooms.

On September 17, 1868, Eugene Carr's Fifth United States cavalry guided by "Buffalo Bill" Cody, surprised and attacked Tall Bull's village of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers at Summit Springs, Colorado Territory. In one of the hastily abandonded lodges, a ledger book was found which had been initially captured by the Cheyenne during their retalitory raids following the Sand Creek massacre four years earlier. In the book were drawings of events of great valor done by Cheyenne warrior/artists.

The authors have reproduced the pages of the original ledgerbook in their original size and have added very detailed explainations of the drawings.

This book is very well researched and produced. David F. Halaas is the Colorado State Historian and Andrew Masich is a past president of that organization.

A GREAT BOOK ON A GREAT PART OF NA HISTORY OF A PROUD NATION

First published in 1960, Neil R. Johnson's The Chickasaw Rancher, Revised Edtion, tells the story of Montford T. Johnson and the mixed and intermarried Chickasaw settlements of Oklahoma (and Indian Territories). Abandoned by his father after his mother's death and then left on his own following his grandmother's passing in 1858, Johnson had control of a piece of land in the northern part of the Chickasaw Nation (and some in the Oklahoma Territory that was often occupied by the Boomers) in what is now Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw Rancher follows Montford's family and friends for the next fifty years. Neil R. Johnson (Montford's grandson) describes the work, the ranch parties, cattle rustling, gun fights, tornadoes, (the unexpected return of Montford's father after a thirty-three year absence, trips to Florida and New York City), encroachment of white settlers, the run of 1889, the hard deaths of many along the way, and the rise, the fall, and the revival of the Chickasaw Nation. (The original edition ends with Montford's death in 1896. The revised edition covers the next generation's continued expansion of the family's business ventures ending with E. B. Johnson's death in 1935).
Including more than fifty previously unavailable photographs, illustrations, and maps, (and more than 20% new material) this revised edition of The Chickasaw Rancher, edited by C. Neil Kingsley-grandson of Neil R. Johnson-is the perfect addition to any reader's collection of the history of the American West. Cover illustration based on painting done by Oklahoma City artist, Greg Burns.

This book is a most unusual account of life on the range. It describes the life of Montford Johnson, a friend of Jesse Chisholm, from around the time of the Civil War until after the land runs in Oklahoma prior to 1900.
The unique value lies in the specifics of living on the range, the daily routine of the cattle drive, and the reality of cowboy life.
Taken largely from the journal of his son, it's a story that Hollywood could use.

A wonderfully distressful novel! Mary takes you to many complex levels that are part of the experience of being human. This book will not only force you to look at the complex prejudice and discrimination issues in our culture, but will expose parts of your own heart you may not want to see. The characters become vivid and alive and you will miss them for days after the last page has been turned. Kudos! to Mary Anderson Parks. Please don't make us wait to long for your next book. Yes, please do write a sequel and let us know about Sky and Katherine.

Mary Parks has created a character who is believable and real. She makes choices by intuition to preserve her family and herself by returning to her home on the reservation. After making the choice to be there, she makes the best of her difficult relationship with her mother and the man she gets too involved with. This character stayed with me for days as I read her search for herself and her ability to make wrong choice yet not be devastated by these mistakes. I liked her courage and her inner solidity as she makes her way into a new life. The themes of interracial marriage and raising children in a sometimes hostile world are intriguing and touch us as the sturggles of many women in the 90s.

We bought this book for our seven-year-old son who is interested in foxes. He loves it! And what a surprise, when we read this sweet story of a fox family who makes their home on the outskirts of a city cemetery, that we love this book just as much as he does. We were pleased that it tells of the roles of both the mother fox and the father fox in caring for the kits.
The many photos are excellent and there is even a useful two-page section of "Red Fox Facts" in the back.
This book also rates high with us for overall quality: thick glossy pages, tightly-bound and printed on acid-free paper in Canada.
We highly recommend this wonderful story. It would be a welcome addition to any home library or a perfect gift for any young (or slightly older) animal lover.

This book absolutely touched my heart and soul. The true story of foxes living in a cemetary will touch all your emotions. If you love wild life, buy this one.

Dan Whipple's Click incorporates all the elements of a well-written mystery-suspense novel with a subtle underlying humor that will keep you smiling.
A murder investigation in small town Wyoming induces free-lance photographer/protagonist McClary to raise a skeptical eyebrow at investigator Lt. Oldman. When McClary's best friend joins the growing list of victims, the stakes are raised for this artist/observer.
Along the trail to the solution of these seemingly small town, small time murders, McClary hooks up with a New Jersey redhead currently working as a reporter for the only in-state newspaper enjoying statewide circulation. When the two witness the assassination of a national political figure (from Wyoming, of course), the ante ratchets up and then Reporter Nadia Bzdak is kidnapped by the conspirators.
The tension is appropriately and skillfully balanced by an underlying tone of light amusement which seems to pose the question: "how imporant can anything in Wyoming really be?"
(Mr. Whipple needn't have left the state before publishing this gem- many of us here share the same view.)
The perfect book with which to spend a winter evening by the fireside forgetting-- for a few hours-- the world's tensions.

Finally, a book Wyoming can be proud of. Dan Whipple pays attention and gives us book with the people we know and love in Wyoming. Who would have ever thought Wyoming had personalities and politics worthy of detective novel status?

Better than watching reruns of Northern Exposure, "Click" is full real people and politics revealed to us one snapshot at a time. I loved our sloppy but savvy,loner/photographer/amature detective, he made me laugh out loud and I felt a page turning obiligation to help him get to the bottom of things.

Somehow Dan manages to get every Wyoming joke I ever heard into the book without portraying all of us as undereducated bumpkins. Well, he does work in the famous cookie episode.

And the best part is, he gives us a heroine of magnificent quality. Not easy for a guy. Although Dan says characters in the book are fictional, I like thinking these folks are my neighbors. Thank you Dan. Read this book.