Mountain West Books

Living in Australia, planning a road trip around the Southwest is not an easy consideration. I received this book and suddenly the Southwest was withing smelling distance. The reading is easy and expressive. I have a clear idea of where I will go and what I will do. No matter if I were travelling with children or on my own, I'd be clear about what is available to me. This will be the trip of a lifetime and this sensational book is a catalyst for my planning. Fully enjoyable, this book allows the magic of anticipation to grab me and give me colourful dreams.

This book was incredibly helpful to me. The maps are awesome. It's organized well. I hiked and did Route 66. The book was great for both. The table of contents is super accessible. Buy it and take it everywhere!

I have recently encountered poor Lonely Planet books, but this was not one of them. It is the good old LP at work.
The coverage of Las Vegas, however, was extremely poor. I spent there 24 hours and this book didn't have enough info for even that short of a trip. The rest is great.
The California LP had twice as much info on Las Vegas.

Does a very good job of covering a large area. This book exhibits the best of the Lonely Planet series: a combination of facts, interesting suggestions, opinion and background information. Good maps and graphics. I like that camping suggestions are included for many places.

I purchased this book before a recent visit to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. I lived in Albuquerque for 4 years about 6 years ago, but I hoped to find new insigts on places to eat, explore, etc. Basically the guidebook told me where not to go. It failed to mention some excellent restaurants in Albuquerque including The Dog House, Las Mananitas, Il Vicino, etc. In Santa Fe I attended a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking which was a five star class - not mentioned in the guidebook. In Taos I visited a community of alternative homes constructed of tires and cement (earthships.com will explain more) - again not mentioned in the book. I did go to look at a ruin near Espanola that was recommended, but the reservation does not allow admittance.

I absolutely adored this book. It's like a halfway-boutique history that doesn't claim to be one, and as such it can get away with the halfway part. Grant explores the dirty, the grimy, and the repulsive, as well as the beutiful and the mundane. You'll fall in love with this book because Grant's love of the road is palpable, and what he does best in this work is communicate the sense of possibility that is inherent in the road.

One thing that I found disappointing as a historian was his lack of references. I would have loved to have seen detailed footnotes/endnotes for the material that he dug up. He is, however, working with his own experiences as well as the oral histories of others, so for the most part, there is little to reference.

SPOILER ALERT BELOW!

One thing I didn't quite get was his statement at the end where he equated the founding of the major religions by desert wanderers with the focus on heaven-borne deities. I thought that link was absurdly weak, and it soured the book for me at the end. That said, I would recommend this text 1000 times over, and in fact, will be giving it as a gift to several people this holiday season.

A great first book. American Nomads is a true outsider's depiction of the idiosyncratic modern ways of America contrasted with its nomadic history.
And coming from an unknown British writer, it is refreshing not to have a high-falutin', supercilious attitude coming at you in the writing.

What you get here are historical stories about nomads such as Cabeza de Vaca, Coronado, the Apaches, the Comanches, Joseph Walker (mountain man) and Everett Ruess alternating with contemporary episodics of bullriders, truckers, senior RV'ers, and weekend mountain men.

If you need any reason to laugh uncontrollably, Grant gives it to you with his story of a psycho hitchhiker named BJ who is the definition of misanthropic (Chapter 3) and a hippie named Medicine Wing who, through his LSD-induced fireside dance-tranze, achieves nirvana at the Rainbow Gathering (Chapter 9).

Reading this book is an adventure, even if the one who reads it is but a vicarious nomad. Highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

The Cloud Reckoner

This was a fascinating, wonderful book. I learned so much about the people who live on the road, folks most of us don't know exist. Grants explores all kinds of different groups, from hippies to cowboys to rail riders to tramps. He even throws in the RV senior citizen crowd (though they don't seem to fit in, even though they fit the definition; I guess he felt he couldn't overlook them, but I would have rather he did). His history of past American nomads was fascinating. There are just so many elements he covers in this book, as well as all the issues these nomads face (e.g. how do you deal with having no woman in your life?).

I disagree with another reviewer who thought Grant was using the book as a way to brag about his own life. The bits about his own life are understated, if anything. And the research he's done, the groups of people he's hung out with, is impressive. I knew nothing about the Rainbow Gathering, so this was very interesting. And the mindset of some road tramps--where they don't want to accumulate money, so they give it away when they come upon a large amount--was very illuminating.

In all, I thought he covered this topic very well, showed nomadism from a variety of perspectives and delved deeply into many of the issues surrounding it.

The subtitle really gives you an idea about the subjects covered in this book. The author talks about all kinds of nomadic people from colonial explorers to Dead Heads, old Indian tribes to their modern descendants, Cowboys, serial hitchhikers, pioneers, and RVers. The book is basically a series of unrelated stories, tied together by the fact that they all deal with nomads.

Some sections start to drag a little bit. Even if some parts of it are a little immature, as one reviewer pointed out, (Drunken rodeo cowboys running out of a convenience store with a twelve pack, jumping through a car window and speeding off, for example), it still held my interest. I thought it was interesting that this is all non-fiction-- there actually are people who live on the road for their whole lives.

Throughout the book, there are parts that are more than just observation of how things are. The author gives background information, both historical and character. He does a little bit of analysis at times. He gives a lot of commentary, both his own and that of the people he meets, about the viewpoint nomads have.

This book can also serve as a launching point for further reading. I've read Cabeza de Vaca's book about his travels in the Southwest, and I'm planning on eventually buying the biography of Joe Walker, the unsung mountain man/fur trader/explorer extraordinaire. Point is, there's a good bibliography if you wanted to go deeper into some of the characters in this book.

If you're interested in this kind of thing (the hobo, explorer, minimalist, hit the road and don't look back kind of thing, that is), I'd really reccomend this book. I haven't even had it for a year yet, and I've read it at least four or five times (partially because I'm too cheap to buy a new book, but mostly because I just think it so dang interesting).

I picked this book up at a Waterstone's in Sheffield, under its U.K. title of Ghost Riders, and it brought me back to my hitch-hiking days in America. Grant, a Brit., gets "travel fever" and lights out on the same open road that Whitman, Twain, Jack London, Steinbeck, Kerouac, and scores of others celebrate in American lit. and popular culture. Grant gives us an up-dated version of what the American open road is all about c. 1990 to 2003, with truckers, Native Americans, Vietnam Vets, the utopian Rainbow Family, the Elephant-like migrations of the SUV crowd and all the nameless, homeless, motel drifters and doorway leaners that we usually pass by in a blaze of chrome and a tinkle of "Route 66." Grant gives these people names and shows a bit of their desperation as well as their triumph in living a life of freedom in the post-modern USA. Grant also gives us hints of his own unhappy life and how all the loose ends are finally tied together by the return of his roving lady love. For anyone who has spent a day with their thumb out and a night camped under the desert stars, this book will be a reminder, and for those who haven't, this book might tempt them to give it a shot. This was a great read. Not as light as it first appeared, especially in the section on the history of the Native Americans, America's first nomads.

Frommer's is synonymous with good guide books for whereever you want to travel, and if you are looking for a good book about the parks this is worth picking up. Replete with directions and suggestions of where to go, what to see and how to plan what you would like to see based on the length of your visit, it is pretty well covered. Some things change, particularly prices and some places mentioned, so if you have a chance to make a couple of calls ahead of time it is a good idea to double check these things and hours of operation, but still an impressive overall book.

This guide gives comprehensive information and covers all National Parks in the Western United States. Details are given on possible routes, campground locations and even their facilities. However, information is given in a rather boring way, and people searching for nice pictures should definitely look for another title. The photos on front and back cover are the only pictures found in this guide.
The parks are listed alphabetically, which helps finding your information fast.

This is a pretty hefty book! And it's a great thing to have. I've utilized the book in planning and visiting 15+ parks/sites and don't have any huge complaints about it.

The only things I can think of is that the maps are no different - except smaller and less convenient to use - than the ones they give you when you enter the parks. Maps of the surrounding areas would have been more helpful. I also find I use a lot of post-its and folding down of pages to figure out where I am in the book as it's a pretty bare-bones newsprint-type kind of a guide . There are also no pictures, but that's OK with me - not for some maybe, but like I said, it's kind of no-frills design-wise. My biggest problem is that it is not a comprehensive guide to all of the US parks . . . I'm not sure how many parks are not considered "of the West," but I don't think it's that many. Since I haven't been able to find this same guide/Frommer's for those parks considered "of the East." Also, even though the guide is about the US, a small section about traveling to Banff/Jasper in Alberta would have been appreciated as it is convenient to visit when seeing US sights like Glacier, Yellowstone, etc since it's kind of on the same route.

I like that they're pretty straight forward about what to do and how to do it if you have limited time and list the types of accommodations in the parks. Additionally, I appreciate being able to read about the history of the parks and sites. I'd say, along with a National Parks Pass ($80 from www.nps.gov), this book is the 2nd best thing to take with you on your next trip!

I bought this book in order to have an informational book about all the National Parks along my road trip from Seattle to San Diego. I have used several guide books and mostly purchase hiking, camping, climbing and fishing books. This was a guide book like those I purchase for international travel and I felt that it served it's purpose well. It gave me the basic rundown on each park, the highlights and where all the important sights were, which is perfect for roadside National Park visiting. It includes maps (although not detailed if you want to do more extensive hiking), lists of campgrounds, some highlight hikes and locations, places to stay and some extra stuff around the park (i.e. towns, eating, hotels).

It seemed to be just enough to get us by and the only time I wished there was more was when I wanted to do backcountry hiking/camping but that isn't something you get in an all around National Park book unless you want it to to be 1,000 pages long with topo maps to boot! I suggest going to the Visitor Centers for more indepth information, park maps and hiking information. The centers are always great resources, along with the roadside and trailside signs, you just have to take the time to read when you are interested.

I bought this along with some other park books for a 2 week roadtrip I recently took. It was by far the most useful of the guidebooks I bought. If you are going to one specific park buy books specific to it, but if you are roadtripping and plan on visiting a few, it is far easier to get this book and not have to hassle with a car full of books. Frommer's guidebooks are by no means the best guides every written, but they are quite adequate. The information was pertinent and useful. 3.5 stars for the quality of the content (uninspired but useful), 5 stars for convenience. 4.25 stars overall.

Good map,don't use it when you're lost and need detailed directions,but it gives good overview of the Grand Canyon and the hiking routes there.

Granted, most folks hiking in the GC will already be buying this, but I wanted to note that it's on a weird, thick, rubber-like paper that's waterproof. Very, very nice. I have no doubt that it will hold up well on the trail, which is more than I can say about some other maps I have.

This turned out to be a very useful map for planning our trip. I couldn't have asked for anything better, and so colorful and durable too.

This map is fantastic. I'm a visual person, and this map really makes Grand Canyon details clear. (I have two other top-selling Grand Canyon maps.) Only drawback: it is not like others in tough/tear-resistant aspect. I gave the map to my son for our hike to Grand Canyon, and he made a Kinko's color copy of it, then laminated the copy, thereby preserving the original. We used his copy constantly throughout our hike. Besides being a great map, this has tons of info packed into it.

I like this trail map. It's much better than National Geographic Road Guide to Grand Canyon National Park (NG Road Guides). This map is easier to read. There is a wealth of information on this map; it's almost a mini-guidebook.

What I like the best about the cartography it Kent Schulte's approach to 3D topo maps. Instead toe usual approach of using shading to light and shadow as if the sun were shining obliquely across the landscape, in this map they use shading to indicate elevation. In terrain as rugged as the Grand Canyon, this approach works better.

This book was okay, but you can pretty much find all of this info (and more) on the internet. Most of these ruins didn't really seem that "seldom seen" to me. However, if you don't want to do the research on the web, I would recommend this book as a good resource.

Having grown up in the Southwest, I sometimes get a bit weary of all the newcomers who think they have to write a book about their "discovery" of this region. This book stands in contrast to many of those books in that it invites the reader to come along on the path of discovery.
The text is written clearly and competently edited. Directions to the sites are easy to follow, and the difficulty level of each hike is realistic if the adventurer is healthy and in good shape.
The information the author gives about the sites is fairly accurate, considering he is not a trained anthropologist. In fact, that may be an advantage in that the text is not cluttered up with a bunch of incomprehensible jargon; however, the author's explicit demand that those wishing to visit these sites show them complete respect should satisfy any professional in the field since they are notoriously picky about laymen visiting sites without the company of an expert.
In all, it's an enjoyable read that gets me excited about taking a hike.

The ruins are mostly in Arizona which really doesn't have the best ones.

Let's face it, when it comes to hiking books, by-and-large they're not the most researched publications in the world. They tell you where to begin a hike, where to end, and a bit about what you'll see along the way, but almost nothing beyond the author's own observations.

Ruins Seldom Seen is the first hiking guide I've seen that is truly different. In addition to the usual practical information, the book provides information on the history of ancient Native American pueblos, cliff dwellings and rock arts sites. You learn which Indians occupied specific archaeological sites, when they were occupied, and what purpose the sites served (not all ruins were used for habitation). Clearly, the author has done his homework. If you don't believe it, just check the bibliography, which contains page after page of research papers written by professional archaeologists.

It's also refreshing to read a book about Indian ruins that isn't obsessed with "glamour" sites in the Four Corners area. Actually, the book does contain quite a few chapters on Anasazi cliff dwellings and rock art sites in New Mexico and southern Utah, but the emphasis is on ruins in Arizona that you've probably never even heard of let alone seen. I was amazed to learn there are cliff dwellings in the Sierra Ancha Mts., Superstition Mts. and other places in central Arizona that are every bit as fascinating as those further north. As for the many "hilltop pueblos" covered in the book, I was equally amazed to learn that so many of them even exist in the Grand Canyon state. Anyone who is not aware of such places has clearly not done THEIR homework.

Because of its originality wealth of historical information, I give the book Ruins Seldom Seen and enthusiastic "thumbs up."

I've hiked almost all of these hikes using this book. About half are accurate, the other half, forget it. You cannot find the trailhead. I was pissed off alot of the time because I drove miles out of my way and couldn't find the trail. Also, this book is old and the topography has changed quite a bit. SOme of his strenous hikes are not, but usually it is the other way around. He needs to drive these roads again, some of the "well graded" dirt roads are horrible, rough and rocky. Don't even think of going to White Mountain Tanks near Phoenix, it is a zoo. The Picacho Peak site was great, though.

might be an ok book if you lived in the area
not useful for out of towners - hikes not too interesting
more popular and too spread out to be useful.

I purchased this book for a recent trip to Los Angeles, and found it to be a valuable resource for finding interesting hiking spots. Some photos from that trip and others can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pstao/

I would definately recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the outdoors, and exploring the natural beauty that persists throughout Southern California.

Jerry has explicit knowledge which he chronicles in this book. Each trail is well described and you are told what to bring in order to be prepared. The classification system used to classify each trail is simple to use and understand. This book is great!!!

Received book on time for Christmas was neatly packaged and I was pleased.

A bunch of great hikes for ALL fitness/experience levels. If you are 100 pounds over weight and want to start hiking there are plenty of hikes you can do!! don't let being out of shape scare you away from some of southern california's most beautiful scenery!

I bought this book to give to a friend who loves the Southwest and its history. I opened it one night just to get a taste of the story because Preston is one of my favorite fiction writers.

I was hooked and I haven't put the book down since. It is a story full of adventure and mystery and it is teeming with history. But there is humor and honesty too as the men travel in unfamiliar territory on horses they are not used to riding.

This gets my highest rating. If you like adventure, if you love the southwest, if you love the early history of the west, this is a book you will love!

Mount Dragon
Thunderhead
Tyrannosaur Canyon

If you have read any of these Preston/Child books (Tyrannosaur was a Preston solo effort) you have enjoyed the spectacular word pictures that brought the landscape of the American Southwest to life in your mind's eye. If you ever wondered why it seemed so real, so vivid, you need to read Cities of Gold. In it, Preston documents his 1989 retracing of the original journey of Coronado, weaving back and forth between the two epic expeditions. It is a tale of majesty and awe and wonder, and it is a warning to those who would dare to venture into uncharted territory: This way lies madness!

A great read!
I would add to the above "for a man" but was lent my first copy by a woman friend. She loved it also.
It is much more than the History of the 1540 expedition into north America by Coronado, although that is very interesting, it is a trip by three guys who don't have the slightest idea what the hell they are getting into, and we get to live right there with them every step of the way.
This book really demonstrates the abilities of someone who uses stubbornness to their advantage. Great writing.
My only problem with it: Not enough Photos...

This was a truly fascinating book- a description of the trials and dangers of traveling cross-country on horseback, and how strained relationships with close traveling partners can become. But the best of the book was the detailed history of the areas traveled, including journals of the early Spaniards, priests, and legends and history of the various tribes of the area. A true-life adventure story with (painless) history lessons.

I thought this was an outstanding book, so well researched before their trip and so well written describing the areas, the problems encountered and their combined solutions to those situations. I've met Walter Nelson, Mr. Preston's partner on the trip, and that made me understand their friendship and their determination to make it happen even more. It was a great book and I highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of the Western United States.

When my Colorado friends first showed me this book, I sat down and went through every page just admiring the color photography. If this wasn't a guidebook, it could make a great coffee table book! Not only are the photos exceptional, but they also help you visualize the difficulty level of many of the crux portions of each route.

After my first pass through, I was also drooling about trying many of the routes described. There are some classic routes such as Sawtooth Ridge (between Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt) and the Little Bear/Blanca traverse. Even these well-known routes came to life for me much better in this guidebook than any other I've seen.

Many of the 50 climbs in this book are ones I'm not familiar with. (note: although I live in New Mexico, I do a fair amount of climbing in Colorado as well) I've climbed 2 of the routes in the book so far, and found the maps and descriptions to be right on the money. My climbing partners have climbed about a dozen of the climbs, and agree that this is an excellent guide to all of them. They especially liked the inclusion of GPS waypoints for some of the routes where route finding is a particular problem.

If you have solid experience with moderate climbing and are ready for some wonderful new challenges, I highly recommend this book.

This is a good book, particularly for those people who are experienced climbers and interested in many of Colorado's lesser known peaks. For these people, they will love this book and look beyond the book's faults. When I first inspected this book, I didn't hesitate to buy it.

Now, you will note many reviews on May 11 and May 12, 2006, some of whom criticize Martian Bachelor's review. These reviewers, as it turns out, were encouraged by one of the author's friends to submit reviews. Take their reviews in the vain of "a friend of the author."

As for Martian Bachelor's review, some of his points are not without merit. His point about the title and the treatment of the classification of the routes is reasonable. Gerry Roach has set the standard for rating climbs within Colorado through his very popular guide books. In Roach's first 14er book, Roach states, "Class 3 is the easiest climbing category, and people usually call it scrambling," and "Class 4 and Class 5 are in the realm of technical climbing." As such, a more appropriate title for the book would have been, "Colorado Scrambles and Climbs: A Guide to 50 Select Routes in Colorado's Mountains." Not much doubt about what this book entails with that title in view of Roach's well-read books.

Given "most" people who climb own at least one copy of a Roach book, it would have been nice, if not appropriate, if the author would have recognized the classification standards adopted by Roach, if for no other reason people have become familiar with these "YDS" standards. Class 3, 4, and 5 mean something to people in Colorado.

To be fair to the author, though, rating peaks is tough, and it is often difficult to distinguish between a class 3 and class 4 route. Perhaps this is why the author rated climbing routes as 1, 2, and 3, and did not faithfully rate routes to the degree Roach rates his routes. On occasion the author rates routes as class 3 or 4, but many route descriptions lack a class 3 or 4 rating altogether.

However, this book will be greatly appreciated by the experienced climber who perhaps doesn't need or even desire the breath-by-breath route rating that a Roach guidebook provides.

This a good work and it fills a niche in Colorado mountaineering. Nonetheless, you can notice a difference between this work and a Roach work. Those interested in climbing, however, will easily look beyond the book's faults and be excited by the routes reviewed.

It is refreshing to read a quality guide book that goes beyond the typical 14,000 ft. peak list. While they are useful many of us want new ideas on lesser known peaks and routes. It was interesting to read the exchange about the definition of a scramble. I started climbing in 1974 and I understand and agree with David's assessment. More importantly the book is well organized and the ratings are consistent. The photographs are good, some of them excellent and exceed the typical route photo in other books by far.

Looks like a great deal of time and effort went into presenting the book. Perfect, no. Are there any books without some errors?

Thanks David

John

Mars-man needs to get out of Colorado more. "Scrambling" in the world at large does indeed have a specific meaning that includes 4th and lower 5th class climbing (probably more than it does just Class 3 climbing). I've climbed more than a dozen of the routes in the book including at least one that is not documented elsewhere and one using only this book as a guide and find the book to be a great guide to "interesting" routes throughout the state.

It has a nice balance of well-known classics and hidden gems and provides important information (like GPS coordinates for critical junctures) not available elsewhere. As far as the pictures go, well they are worth a thousand words especially when it comes to routefinding.

I kind of like the 1, 2, 3 general ratings for length and difficulty too (you know, "easy", "medium", "hard"?). It captures more than the technical difficulty of a route's hardest move. The traditional NCCS I-VI commitment grades could also have been used more widely, but I think 1,2,3 is more intuitive for the average person.

There is no expressed or implied correlation between the 1,2,3 length/difficulty ratings and the traditional Yosemite grade. E.g. nothing in the write-up of Kelso Ridge implies that it is any harder than Class 3 (which I find to be accurate).

To be sure, the climbs in this book are not for the beginner or inexperienced climber, but for the intermediate seeking to stretch their limits or the experienced climber looking to ply their craft, this is an outstanding compilation of climbs.

I purchased Colorado Scrambles in summer of 2005. Having moved from Colorado the previous summer, I came out on vacation in September 2005 for mountain climbing and used the book extensively. It is a good mix of route descriptions with pictures. I climbed Lookout Peak, Arrow, Engineer, Vermilion, SW ridge of Sneffels and the Citadel with the excellent info provided by Colorado Scrambles. The book is very good for someone wanting a challenge but not looking for multi-pitch technical climbs. I really enjoyed reading about the obscure summits especially in the Gore Range where there is not much written about the magnificent range.

I have to concur with most of my fellow reviewers, this is a great read and not only for the adventure.

The detail of life and events in the early 1830s is remarkable. There have been other authors who have
described rendezvous as part of their story line, but Johnston goes to such detail that he makes a reader
feel that he is actually there. The word pictures are absolutely fantastic!

A few points of contention with the other reviewers: This book is not the first Titus Bass novel, and it fits very
well with the beginning story of Titus where he runs away from home, becomes a blacksmith and eventually gets to the mountains of the West. Then, he continues in his adventures following recovery from a scalping and matures in his trade, beaver trapping, in the second book.

Josiah Paddock does not run away in the usual sense, but rather flees his eastern home after killing a man who had challenged him to a duel. He is a man, although young, and his skills in certain areas, namely kickfighting and throwing a knife accurately will be very useful as the story unfolds.

The latter part of this book is one of constant wondering - one is tempted to read ahead to find out how it turns out.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves great western fiction, especially of the pre-Civil War time in our nation.


Until reading the reviews, however, I was unaware that there are actually 9 books in this series.

The dialogue used by the characters in this novel was difficult to read. I got 1/3 of the way through and had to stop. It was almost incomprehensible. I am sure it is historically accurate but when I constantly have to stop and translate, it takes the fun out of the story. I also felt that there were too many mentions of urination and defecation by the characters. It is not entertaining to constantly be told about the urinary and bowel habits of the characters.

Reading "Carry the Wind", as with any Terry C. Johnston book, takes the reader on an adventurous journey to a time and place in which men battle nature, the great predators of the wilderness, and each other. "Carry the Wind" is the first of a nine book series about mountain man Titus Bass. Bass, also known as "Scratch" in the books, comes upon young Josiah Paddock who has fled St. Louis and a charge of murder for the Rocky Mountains and the chance at becoming a mountain man. Bass soon mentors Paddock and the two set out for rendezvous and a wealth of other adventures.

Other reviewers have listed Johnston's writing as "long-winded" and I will agree that he goes into detail not only about his characters but also about the weapons they use, the geography of the land, and the history that they became a part of. For me, it was not tedious writing. Instead, I soon became aware of the significance all of the information presented and how it related to establishing a strong sense of time and place. I savor each of Johnston's books, but especially the nine-book Titus Bass series because I can easily imagine sitting next to a warm, crackling fire on a cold winter night and having old Scratch himself come in and recount the adventures he has been through.

Johnston's narrative moves quickly and the characters seem real. Titus Bass is a character of mythical proportion yet has his faults and his sensitivities as we all do. Johnston truly is the master story teller and you simply can't go wrong with "Carry the Wind", the book has it all-history, action, violence, geography, and a damn good story that will leave you wanting more.

I wish the author put some more emphasis on Josiah Paddock and the Flathead Indian girl he slept with. She would've made a good wife for him and it was obvious he was interested in her, not just a one night stand.

I have purchased the complete Plainsmen Series Books by Terry C Johnston. And I have never more enjoyed these Historical/Novels and I'm 70 years old. I can completely and wholeheartedly recommend the reading of Mr. Johnston.s Books, not only "Carry the Wind".
I'm truly sorry that he passed away in 2001 and that was the end of a wonderful author.
Richard Reupert, Snohomish WA

I ordered this book in a fit of enthusiasm after my first return visit to Disneyland as an adult (the enthusiasm persists, incidentally.) I was looking for something to fill me in on the history of the Magic Kingdom and satisfy grown-up curiosity about things I didn't think all that much about when I was a kid. This book was exactly what I was looking for: there's a wonderful lot of information, delivered in a manner which is to-the-point but not at all dry. I enjoyed both looking up individual entries, and then reading through the book straight through. Best of all, while the book has a lot for the grown-up visitor to Disneyland, it almost never interferes with the magic of the place. The book will tell you all about Disneyland, without spoiling it all and telling you how it works.

If you love Disneyland then you will love this book. It covers just about every shop, ride and exhibit that ever occupied the park. The only real problem is that everything is listed out by location and the land it is in, but there is no real chronological listing and you have to look up the dates in each description, listed alphabetically. Although, I enjoyed the book there are several glaring omissions. The author includes a website to point these out but don't bother, you will get back a nicely worded letter about editors and space.

I am a lifelong Disneyland freak. On my first visit, 10 months after it first opened, I saw Walt from a keelboat on the Frontierland river. I grew up living close enough to see the fireworks, and used to ride my bike there and home again back before you needed to take out a home loan to get in.

This book passed my major test, within 5 pages, it told me something I did not already know. I soon found that, instead of just looking stuff up and consulting it, I was reading it cover-to-cover. An excellent, informative, exhaustive catalogue of all things and people Disneylandish.

Oh my God! i cant believe i just found this amazing book, tells me everyhting i want to know about the park...you need this right away...you wont get bored, its interesting,fresh and very very complete...just what fans and non fans need!!!

From A to Z, this book accomplishes what I have been searching for for years! A guide/history/trivia book describing every land, attraction, shop, show, and restaurant in Disneyland. Not just the current ones mind you, but EVERY SINGLE ONE that the author could find to have existed in the parks 50+ year history. As a Disneyland fan since I was a kid it was a fond look back at some of the attractions I grew up with, and a good history lesson on all the rides that came before I first visited "The Happiest Place On Earth". Each item is listed alphabetically, with the biggest attractions and lands getting the most coverage. While most of the trivia and information has been written elsewhere before, it is nice to find it all in one place wrapped up with a bow! Some exciting extras include bonus lists and pictures, such as a list of every attraction to have a poster in the entrance tunnel. Its the extra touches like this that make me love this one more than other Disneyland guides I have read. While it CAN become tedious at times reading about every fruit cart, special event and other small details, it just goes to show how thorough and well done this "Encyclopedia" truly is! I doubt there is another park book out there for DL fans as satisfying a read as "The Disneyland Encyclopedia". I don't think it is possible to top this one!