Colorado Books

When one thinks of the old west, they think of cowboys, Indians, gold rushes, and... candy? Published by the Denver Art Museum with the support of The Institute of Western American Art, "Sweet on the West: How Candy Built a Colorado Treasure" is the story of one of the most famous candies of the modern world, the Jolly Rancher. Although modernly known for fruit based hard candies, the Jolly Rancher company started with chocolates and being a soda tap product. Its history over the past century is showcased through photographs, drawings, and old advertisements. "Sweet on the West" is an entertaining and informative story about how one company in Colorado became synonymous with a popular delicacy in the modern era.

In 1949, William and Dorthy Harmsen started an ice cream shop in Golden, Colorado that would soon grow to become the Jolly Rancher Candy Company. By 1967, they were able to sell their company to a large food processing company. That same year, the Harmsens began to seriously collect western and Native American art. Over the next quarter century, the Harmsens put together a very fine collection. In 2001, the collection was transferred to the Denver Art Museum.

"Sweet on the West" was published by the Denver Art Museum and is an appreciation of some of the best works in the collection. Of special note, are their paintings by members of the Taos Society of Artists. "The Game Hunter (Snow)" by Victor Higgins is an especially beautiful painting. This high quality book shows the life work of two collectors who had a keen eye for fine paintings. This book is a nice purchase for all those who love western and Native American Art.

I lived in the Grand Canyon Area [near Ash Fork, AZ] for about 8 years and visited the canyon on a fairly regular basis. I have looked at many souvineer books and post cards and screen savers of the Canyon. But this is by far the best there is. There are nearly ninty 360 degree panoramas that cover Grand Canyon from Glen Canyon Dam to Diamond Creek, from top to bottom. Most of them are from places where most visitors only dream about going to.

The panoramas are linked by "hot spots". When you click on a 'hot spot' you move to another panorama somwhere along or in the canyon. They are all labeled so that you can easily find where you are on a map.

And speaking of map, the CD comes with 9 high quality topographical maps that show where each panorama was taken from. Look for the yellow stars. Also, look for the panoramas which are not linked, hidden like jewels on the maps. The maps can be printed.

Besides all the panoramas there are several illustrated side trips, a file of individual photos and 4 complete books about the Canyon, including General Wesleys Powell's book, "Exploration of the Colorado River..."

This is a must have!!!

Diane and Allen Roy

Lots of good stories and lots of information on the first 15 years of the team.

This book is not out of print. It's available in paperback from the University Press of Colorado.

Eileen Benjamin's "Telluride: Landscapes and Dreams" is a rare achievement: a coffee table book of black-and-white photography that is built to last. Benjamin, who, as her friend and fellow photographer Jay Dusard ("The North American Cowboy"), writes in an introduction, "deserves her position in the top rank of black-and-white nature photographers," has lived for many years above Telluride, which is quite an "above," since the town sits at almost 9,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains, in southwestern Colorado. She knows the terrain and the people, and those of us who pay attention to her book will begin to know it, and them, too. "The scenery is so spectacular, of course," Benjamin said, in an interview. "But what I wanted to do with this book was to introduce the people who live here, who are every bit as spectacular as the place wherein they live. In the end, after we've hiked so many trails and skied so many runs, it is the people, so unique and involved, that keep us all in Telluride." The photographs, shot with a 4X5 field camera, are as outstanding as they are outrageous. The expected shots of soaring mountain ranges and beaver ponds and aspen groves play their customary roles in winning form. But included, too, are unexpected portraits of various Telluride citizens, people who, according to Benjamin's wonderful and enlightening vignettes at the end of the book, have made and are making a difference in a town and a region under constant pressure to change, to grow, to build, to BOOM. My own favorite picture, though, is titled "Still Life 2000." It is a typical "still life" formation of several different, yet related items, all gathered around and stacked upon a computer. It is typical only in type, in being representative of the category. It is untypical, and entirely so, for the rest of the book's collection; a very pleasant surprise. Benjamin formed her own publishing company for this venture. She has another book, with Telluride poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, called "if you listen," yet wanted to publish this one herself so that, as she told me, "I could control the finished product." "It is already into its second printing," Benjamin said, in mid-December. "I learned so much by taking it through the entire process, and I plan to do more." Among the "more" being planned, is a book about the Schmid Ranch (a photo of which can be seen in "Telluride: Landscapes and Dreams"), located on Wilson Mesa near Telluride, and another, which Benjamin describes as being "a total departure." "It will be called `The Fabric of A Woman,' she said. "Rosemerry (Wahtola Trommer) and I are already working on it. It will be all still life, all linen and fabric, beginning with the birthing sheet and running, like a quilt, all through all the fabrics, the material that make up a woman's life - combined with Rosemerry's poetry." Telluride, Benjamin's home and workplace, and poetry are made for each other. In the volume under review here, Janet Steinberg, a Telluride writer who now lives near Santa Fe, has provided the verse. I found Steinberg's contributions moving, fully capable of standing alone; the slight poems are every bit as grand as the enormous scenery which surrounds them. Benjamin's publishing company, Montoya Publishing, got its name from her husband Norm's horse, dead now. A horse, Benjamin said, "that took such good care of Norm and all of us, a wonderful horse. By naming the company after him, it just made the whole enterprise that much more personal, added that much more passion to it." "Personal" and "passionate" are words that well describe "Telluride: Landscapes and Dreams." Benjamin hung from open helicopter doorways, snowshoed deep into high backcountry, waited patiently for shadows to fall just so... "That is why I work in black and white," she said. "Snow is the most difficult thing to capture photographically, to make it white and yet give it texture without turning it gray. There is composition, lighting, and the magic of obtaining a good print. I work in black and white, too, because I love the idea of the darkroom, of being in control of my work's destiny, of working without the help of color. It is a much more challenging medium, and justifiably more expressive, filled with drama." And this book is filled with excellent results. I know Telluride. I know it well enough to know that Benjamin knows Telluride, too, and is, with this book, offering everyone else the opportunity to get acquainted with what Steinberg calls "a magical place." Those who do read the book, who do get acquainted with Telluride, and with Eileen Benjamin's work, will find themselves involved in special relationships, relationships that, like the book itself, will be built to last. - Mike Ritchey

The book has wonderful illustrations and every month has its own chapter. This book is a great "map" for the area of Telluride, highlighting interesting things that can be found in each season. The chapter for June illustrates how to make dandelion wreaths, as dandelions are abundant during that time of year. There are also old recipes for mountain remedies, historical facts, ecological insights, and mentions of local festivals. This is a must have guide for newcomers and visitors to the Telluride region.

If it's as good as "Refugio, they named you wrong", then it must be damn good.

Richard has really outdone himself this time! The guide the the Colorado Springs Notes is a compehensive explanation of the day-to-day happenings is Nikola Tesla's Colorado Springs Laboratory. This book cuts through all the hype and myth and takes a more objective and scientific look. Unlike other books, that claim terrifying lightning discharges along with wireless power and spaceships, Hull's book conveyes the truth. It is all very down to earth and believable, all of the author's statements are based on fact, not wild-eyed speculation. The guide contains a wealth of invaluable information on synergistic coil building techniques which are so many times overlooked or neglected by the hobbyist who wants a fool proof "recipe". This guide is written with a very human touch, so don't about being bored by too much dry, raw data. Even if you don't own the notes, this book is a must have for any coiler or Teslaphile alike. This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Adam Parker

Edward Bugbee (deceased) was a former professor of Mining Engineering and Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and wrote several editions of the book between 1922 and 1940. Surprisingly his book continues to be published through the early 1950's up to now, long after his passing. His book is the outgrowth of a set of mimeographed class notes prepared in 1911 for lectures in a college course on fire assaying.

The book itself is interesting history that describes the methods of his era, with chapters in the book covering assay chemicals, furnaces, ore sampling, using lab balances, cupellation, parting, scorification assays, crucible assays, complex ores and special methods, bullion assays, assay of liquids, lead and copper ores, and practical aspects of fire assay methodology.

Bugbee's book is clear, concise, well written - somewhat dated but still an excellent reference. The flux used - Lead (PbO.) oxide - was considered relatively safe to use as recently as 50 years ago. Modern medical research done after the book was written indicate Lead compounds to be much more dangerous than earlier thought, hence the original Bugbee text contained no detailed warnings about lead toxicity. Today, the same assay methods can be used with Bismuth Oxide or other metal oxides which are much safer to use. Cupellation may even be completely eliminated using Silver Oxide as a direct collector for precious metals. Before Bugbee's text, there was Sheppard and Dietrich, and Fulton's text on the same subject. Bugbee's text is the most recent of a group of very old books on the subject. Modern technology offers better, safer methods for fire assaying using modern flux mixtures, but the basic process remains the same and Bugbee remains a very good book for learning the basic principles.