Mountain West Books

A superbly organized and profusely illustrated to Alpine, Nordic, and Telemark skiing, along with several other increasingly winter sports such as snowboarding, "Utah: The Complete Ski & Snowboard Guide" by skiing and winter sports enthusiast Michael Fine provides the reader with all the information necessary to enjoy memorable winter athletic activities whether as a recreational weekend or part of an extended winter vacation in the mountains and high valleys of Utah. Accessible organized to be thoroughly 'user friendly', aspiring skiers and winter sports recreationists will learn of each major Utah resorts' terrain type, as well as such amenities as restaurants, rentals, transport, and more. Thirteen Utah destination resorts are showcased and range from the Alta Mountain Resort to the Wolf Mountain Resort. "Utah: The Complete Ski & Snowboard Guide" will prove an invaluable, essential itinerary planning resource for enjoying Utah's winter sports resources and opportunities.

The author actually went to every single resort in Utah last year and wrote about his experiences. Mike Fine is a long-time Utah resident and an avid skier. The book is very helpful for non-Utah resident skiers at any level to find a resort that will give them the most of what they want out of a skiing vacation. It's even helpful to a local seeking a day trip to a ski resort he either hasn't tried, or has not been to for a long time. It's an absolute must for anyone looking to ski in Utah.

Santa Fe is home to an amazing abundance of well-known and talented authors--literally dozens of them--and this little book is an amazing guide to the city's incredible literary history.

The book is divided into two easy walking tours--one in the plaza area and one around Canyon Road--and using those two tours to give the book a structure, this very readable little volume gives a concise and clearly written crash course in the city's literary past. What's even cooler is that you can't really tell such a history without incorporating facts from the city's broader history, so by the time you reach the last page, you're guaranteed to know the City Different much better than you ever did. It'll make you see the place differently, for sure.

This is one of three great books about literary Santa Fe (that I know of), and certainly the fastest read of the bunch. For anyone who lives in New Mexico, and especially for anyone who lives in or visits Santa Fe, I couldn't recommend it more highly.

The author also gives actual walking tours of the city (which inspired this book), and if you ever get a chance to take one, you really should. They're as good as the book--except you'll need to find a place to park.

Barbara Harrelson has put together a wonderful way to explore the very interesting city of Santa Fe. More than just a guide book to Santa Fe, it is more like a knowledgible friend taking you by the hand and leading you on adventures both historical and modern.

For example. How many of us know that the English writer D. H. Lawrence owned a ranch a few miles from Taos, New Mexico, and his wife Frieda lived out the rest of her life there after D. H. died. They are both buried on the ranch.

Have this book in hand when you explore Santa Fe and the surrouning area, or when you just want to curl up in a comfortable chair in your home to learn something about the history of the Southwest.

This natural history guide is the first to be published in 50 years. A beautiful blend of science and art!

This is a must read for anyone interested in the region!

Of the hosts of other books and materials that are out there on this subject, this book is the best of its kind that I have ever come across: And as an adoptive parent who adopted through the foster care system, and now as the president of our local foster parent association, I can tell you that I have read a lot of this type of material. To me, this book excels in its wide-ranging presentation of the many issues one might encounter (the children, the "system", court, social workers, child behaviors, attachment, extended family, therapy, etc...) when fostering or seeking to adopt.

There are other fine works out there on specific issues or aspects of the sytem, and to his credit Dr. Alexander cites many of them. But when looking for a book which touches on the many different aspects of the system in such a comprehensive and insightful way -- and especially for those who do not have previous experience with the system -- this book simply has no peer in my opinion. It was my intention to have our foster parent association purchase this book and provide it to ALL newly trained foster parents as they completed their classes. To my dismay, I learned that this book was no longer going to be available. Even in light of that disappointing news, I felt the book to be such a valuable resource that we purchased every remaining copy we could find. Now we give it out selectively to those whom we feel will benefit from it the most.

I implore Dr. Alexander and his publishers... PLEASE MAKE THIS BOOK AVAILABLE AGAIN! A newly updated edition perhaps? You will have one guaranteed, though admittedly small, market for it within our county and association. But I have quite a few contacts with other associations and agencies -- some nationwide -- and if I learned that this book were possibly going to become available again, I would do my part to make sure that all of those contacts were informed as to the quality and availability of this very fine book.

This is truly a unique book in the adoption category. While most books on the subject offer good advice, much of what they share falls in the area of common sense. This book, on the other hand, takes us into the real world experience of adopted kids and their parents. The chapter on attachment is the best I've come across, and the author tackles those hard-to-deal with topics (sexual behavior in children; children and psychiatric medications; sibling relationships; talking with kids about being adopted; choosing the right therapist for your child) in a sensitive and direct manner. Even though the book is geared to parents, I really believe teachers and counselors who work with adopted children need to read this also.

Written by the son of one of the leaders of the Battle of Blair Mountain, this book is the REAL story of one of the nation's historic moments. The story follows the United Mine Workers from its birth to the fights to unionize mines in Mingo County, then to the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, the treason trial of battle leaders, their acquittal, the near death of the UMW, and finally to the rebirth of the labor unions under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
William C. Blizzard wrote the articles that make up the book in the 1940s and early 1950s, while many who figured prominently were still alive. Such a treasure of "real" history about such historic events.

A simply incredible book. The Columbia educated son of Blair Mountain hero Bill Blizzard wrote this in the early 1950s. It sat unpublished for over half a century while professional scholars wrote about the mine war and lamented the supposed lack of material on Blair Mountain(Shogan, Savage, Corbin...). This is the real deal written while Bill Blizzard was still alive. The appendix contains pictures and copies of documents that have never been seen by the public. The author is still alive(91) and can be seen on the History Channel special: Hillbilly The Real Story

A series of short stories linked chronologically about a modern day lady prospector and her donkeys, mining and treasure hunting from Alaska to the Mexico border. Misadventures with characters like Soapy the mine dog, Klondike Mike, Texas Jack, and Sandilee the biologist. Great reading material for bathroom or outhouse.

A delightful read introducing elements of geology, mining, animal husbandry and especially high adventure and humor in the hard scrabble life of a female prospector.

Wild weekends in Utah is the best guide I have found for short weekend trips. This book provides excellent reviews of each possible excursion and great safety tips and difficulty ratings to help determine who may or may not be appropriate to bring along with you. Excursion time frames are useful and help know which trips can be hit in one, two or three days.

I have lived in Utah for over 20 years. During that time I have hiked, backpacked, paddled, skied, biked, swam, and crawled through much of the incredible backcountry this state has to offer. I have done these adventures with skilled outdoor enthusiasts as well as young children. I have never seen a book that covers a wider variety of trips and it happens to contain many of my favorites. Use this book to plan your vacation or if you live in Utah make a goal to complete each trip in the book over the next five years and you are guaranteed to have some of the greatest experiences of your life. The book is an amazingly complete guidebook as well as an informative natural history guide. It is obvious that Lori has a love for outdoor adventure as well as a strong commitment to conservation. Enjoy the book but more importantly use the book to help you enjoy Utah.

In arid west, water is a scarce resource that has been taken for granted. This book provides many good ideas on how to have beautiful yard while using less water. One of the best parts of the book is the summary on different plants and their water requirements. Many in the west don't realize how much beauty they can bring into their landscapes by adding xeric natives such as penstemons, agastaches and the like.

One of the best guides to xeriscape plants to experiment with, I recommend this book to all western gardeners who would like to use less water and provide more cover and nectar for wildlife.

This book was written for those of us who live in the arid west, love to garden and desire an attractive landscape, but who are faced with an uncertain water supply. As water resources are becoming more expensive, and in some cases rationed, we all need to consider how to garden appropriately for the climate zone in which we live. This book begins with the rationale for water-wise gardening, takes the reader through an easy to understand planning and design phase, and finishes up with excellent photographs and plant descriptions. Xeriscaping is definitely the wave of the future, no matter where you live!

I bought this at Yellowstone in the summer of 2005, in the opening legs of a vacation trip from Grand Teton to Banff. After reading the book, I already have ideas for a trip to northern British Columbia and the Yukon. The only thing that could top this would be a nice two-hour video.

But the book is about more than nature travel, although that alone would be a five-star effort. It's also about the preservation of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on the U.S. side of the border, and similar land on the Canadian side. Chadwick details how the consciousness of ecosystems, especially for large animals such as grizzlies, has grown in recent years as we try to improve wildlife protection in the 21st century.

A must read to understand what natural history in this portion of the Rockies is all about.

Rediscover what makes North America such a beautiful continent. The photographs are in typical National Geographic excellence, as is the writing. I had the pleasure of meeting Douglas Chadwick in person and having dinner with him one day. This is not just someone doing a writing assignment, but someone who is very passionate about nature and its beauty. A wonderful gift for anyone you know who hikes or even drives around the country. Explore the splendors that Mother Nature has created.

This is the absolutly best book I have ever read on Wolves! I could not put it down. I would say it read like a great novel, except it's all true. I sat and cried when the lone wolf was shot. Everyone should read this book before they go to Yellowstone!

Gary Ferguson's story of the first year after reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone captures both the human and animal drama of this important ecological event. It's also the most evenhanded of the books on wolves: although Ferguson is obviously a fan of the critters, he gives fair play to the very real concerns of opponents. His comprehensive knowledge -- the author lives near Yellowstone and has written a previous book, "Walking Down the Wild" about the area -- make this an informative as well as enjoyable read.