Colorado Books

First off, let me praise the physical beauty of this book from the University of Colorado press. It is handsome, artful, a pleasure to navigate--a perfect container for the writing itself. Invest in this book and the people who made it. Holdsworth evokes southwestern Wyoming's wild beauty, rich history, hardscrabble present, and how living there has shaped him. As author Page Lambert put it on the book's back jacket blurb, "The only way to survive Wyoming is to simply give in to loving her." Holdsworth makes you love the place, even if you never, ever want to go there.

Big Wonderful is guaranteed to make you laugh and cry as Mr. Holdsworth shares his experiences and knowledge of both life and death in the mountains and plains of Wyoming and Utah. The writer's mastery of the English language makes for an easy read as he takes you right along with him on his journeys. Holdsworth's descriptions of flora, fauna, and landscape are very articulate. The sections on Wyoming development are current and informative of what is happening to the landscape there today, while his sections on life experiences are easy to relate to. With his roots traced to pioneers of the old west, Kevin has researched his ancestor's trials and tribulations thoroughly and shares his unbiased knowledge with you. I would highly recommend this book to all outdoor enthusiasts and armchair mountaineers, and hope to see more books in the future from this talented, relatively new, author. Thanks so much Mr. Holdsworth for sharing your life with us.

This was such a great addition to "The Best Hikes of Colorado" that I had previously purchased. These "superguides" are my favorite, by far. Everything is spelled out for you, the difficulty, the length of the ride, what you will see along the way and directions on how to get there. They even put maps of each area so you could go off on a different path and change your ride. I LOVE the removable pages and the plastic sleeve so you can take the page with you!

This is a must-have book for anyone who enjoys biking in Colorado! The maps are very well laid out, removable, with a plastic pouch included to store them in on your bike, and every great trail and road for biking is in there.

I found this book very useful when researching information on diseases and their arthropod vectors. With a chapter covering each of the disease vector groups it was easy to access the information. Sometimes I required additional information than was included within the chapter, but the references listed at the end of each chapter proved helpful.
This book also covers a range of related topics which I haven't needed as yet, e.g. physiology, control, and special methodologies for rearing, but which look interesting.

As a PhD student in vector borne infectious diseases, I have found this book incredibly helpful. The text is interesting, timely, and easy to read. It is one of the most comprehensive, insightful reference texts out today. If you are a student interested in infectious disease, entomology, parasitology, or medicine, this book is a "must have."

I read Bizarre Colorado when I was working as a guide in Rocky Mountain National Park and looking for stories with local flavor. The stories here definitely have flavor. Basically the book relates stories with odd or macabre elements which took place in Colorado. Many of them are wild westy, since Colorado started out being settled by trappers and ranchers. Cannibalism, a huge grizzly bear, vendettas, gun fights and lynchings are all included. Stories are told with detail and with photographs interspersed, and not much sensationalism.

If that sounds interesting to you then you will probably like Bizarre Colorado.

A wonderful and very entertaining book of short stories of bizarre and unusual events that have happened in the state of Colorado. You will be amused and horrified at some of the different stories. Check it out.

...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