Colorado Books

What a wonderful book! The authors begin with two stories of two bees they were personally fond of then go on to give a very good outline bumblebee behavior and biology. This is followed by advice on how to collect and study these bees, if you should wish to (a few years ago I tried to rescue a nest mowed up: failed, but with this book I would have succeeded and learned a lot - not to mention the kids). This information is not readily available in accessable format elsewhere. But the most wonderful feature is the photographic field guide to the American species in the back. I've been waiting for a field guide to North American bumblebees for forty years, I don't think there's another. Other books are more exhaustive on the general biology and ecology of bumblebees and these are all described by the authors in the text but backyard naturalist, country gentleman or beekeeper (like me)...you gotta have this book.

When I was eighteen, I volunteered at a battered women's shelter, aptly named A Woman's Place. I worked in a poetry group comprised of the shelter's residents, staff members and other volunteers, headed by Rita Brady Kiefer, professor of women's studies and creative writing at the University of Northern Colorado. We met every Sunday for six weeks, workshopping each other's writing in preparation for a series of four readings to be given at the six weeks' finish. Under Kiefer's motherly tutelage, we crafted gorgeous poetry and presented probably the most heartrending four literary shows ever seen by the small cow-town of Greeley, Colorado. The residents, these women hiding from abusive men, rebuilding their lives, rediscovering themselves, wrote with raw, agonizing emotion which Kiefer harnessed, helping them produce masterpieces.

Kiefer, a former nun whose departure from the church is documented in Nesting Doll's first poem "Ex-Nun in a Red Mercedes," seems predestined for a life of compassion and altruism. Yet, in her selflessness, she is independent, fierce, poised, and determined to help those who don't possess these qualities, discover them. Nesting Doll is a search of courage and justice for the voiceless, oppressed minions-and Kiefer herself.

The writing is lyrical, and the language and subject matter are always powerful. In "Last Song," the torture of a woman shocks the reader: "Just before they cut out her tongue/she cried I will learn to sign, her/fingers lacing the air he commanded/those hands silent they brought cleavers" (Kiefer, 6) Kiefer's outrage is evident, invoking the reader's own outrage and sympathy. We wonder at the woman's bravery and the torturer's madness, his command to silence the hands after she promises to learn sign language. The poem is chilling and provocative.

Kiefer is also capable of sensuality. Inspired by Rumi's passionate ghazaals, Kiefer penned "Like This": "Not the way father kissed mother/on the cheek, not in the front of the house,/no, in the bedroom, basement, in/those dark places, those under the earth/places no one can see, kiss me/across mountains when we are apart . . ." (Kiefer, 14) A shame we don't see many romantic poems in Nesting Doll, for the beauty of "Like This" positions Kiefer in league with icons like Rumi or even Pablo Neruda.

I read the first edition of this book so I wanted the second. Dr. Filley writes in very clear terms. I wished I had read this book a few years ago when I was just learning neuroanatomy. It's a great book for neuropsychology students.

North Star is truly one of the all time unsung great dog hero portraits - that it's dedicated to Balto is very significant - there's no doubt in my mind that the author wrote this from his heart with a profound knowledge of dogs - very satisfying.....

After reading this wonderful little book, my husband and I have started using this book for suggestions on day trips from the Teller County area. We have enjoyed some great beers and good food as well as atmosphere.

This is a great little muffin book! It contains 89 muffin recipes using common, everday ingredients. The format is straight-forward and easy-to-follow. An added plus---muffin baking tips are included to help you make the perfect muffins! One of the best things about this recipe book is the many variations offered. There are 8 different recipes for blueberry muffins including the State Fair Blueberry Muffins and Blueberry Lemon Muffins. They also include interesting combinations such as Cranberry Maple Muffins and Raspberry Wine Muffins. This book is a great buy if you have muffin-munchers at your house!

Jean Watson's theory and philosophy of nursing care provides evident based practice for the framework of nursing in the health care arena. Watson's theory provides the tools for connections between the patient and the healthcare providers involving the entire being including the spiritual aspect. I give this book's contents five stars. I recommend all healthcare providers read and study Watson's theory on caring. The information will change the approach to caring for their patients

On The Wings Of Modernism: The United States Air Force Academy is the unique architectural study of the 50-year-old U.S. Air Force Academy, examining both its history and the forces both artistic and practical that permanently shaped this long standing edifice. Black-and-white photographs enhance this tasteful and commemorative discussion that reveals a modernistic institution with deep roots in bureaucratic and political processes.

Robert Adams is well known and respected for his landscape work, but this book is of something like street photography--pictures of ordinary people in public places, doing mostly ordinary things--shopping, carrying kids, greeting each other... Many pictures are so ordinary that it is not clear why anyone would choose to make a photograph of the scene.

The ordinariness of the photographs is tensioned by the essay, a short, two page, six paragraph description of living near the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons facility. Adams describes some of the events he saw, including fires in plutonium facilities that may have resulted in the release of the highly toxic material into the air. He also describes the knowledge that the weapons being assembled may one day cause the complete destruction of humanity.

Returning to the pictures after digesting the essay, a different vision emerges. While it is both possible and defensible to see the people in the photographs as the victims of a nuclear holocaust--the scenario Adams describes--a darker reading is also evident. It is possible, even likely, that at least some of these people work in, (or are supported by others who work in) the weapons assembly plants. We may be viewing the individuals responsible for assembling the worst weapons of mass destruction that humanity has every created. And they look just like us.

Adams never accuses, never explicitly states the ideas stated above. He ends the essay with a statement of hope so simple and profound that it brings comfort even in the context of the worst that mankind can do.

This book reminds me of a statement that Hemingway made about Dostoevsky, how he could not understand how someone could write so badly and make one feel so deeply. Adams proves with this book that he is not a street photographer of the caliber of Winogrand, but he also shows himself to be a far better man.

This book is an excellent source of all things outdoorsy in the Denver/Boulder area. I'm a native, and some of the activities in the book are new to me (namely scuba diving in Colorado lakes). This would be especially good for someone new to the Denver area looking for places to run, bike, hike, etc. Also provides contact information for various organizations if you want more information on a particular activity.