I ended up picking this up at the coffee shop that the author runs in Winter Park. It's a good guide to use in conjunction with the Trails Illustrated mountain biking map on the area. It suggests some loops and gives some impression of what to expect in the area.

Book includes way too many ads. Only has about 15 loops/out and backs described, I'd like to see more. It also ended up falling apart after a weekend of use.

I have ridden 80% of the rides in this book and have found a good variety of trails. If you are looking for some adventure and a chance to get away from the lift-served biking at the resort, this is the book for you. Like with any guidebook you should expect trails to change over time. This one was published a few years ago, but is still quite valid. While no single guide pleases everyone, I think this is an excellent book and feel comfortable recommending it to anyone. Be sure to drop by Pepe's to meet the author and get some more local trail info.

I too picked this book up at the author's coffee shop, and was blown away by the fantastic riding I found. From simple rides in and around Winter Park to the trail which other reviewers could not find -- I did not have any trouble -- it was one of the better mountain bike guide I have found. True a few less adds would help, but not enough to lower my review.

This is the second book in the series and it is a little slow. It keeps you pulled in and wanting more, though almost not enough. The character is still finding some background and who she is. A good read though the first one and the next one were more exciting.

Overall, this is not an okay book. It pulls you in enough tht you want to keep reading, but I was distracted by the seeming copycat nature of the book. A single, female detective with a nozy older neighbor who calls her dollface,a troubled family, an inherited dog, and a prickly impatience for those who care and worry about her...where have we seen this before? Kat Colorado could be V.I. Warshawski's twin. However, her character isn't as well developed as Warshawski. Not a bad read, but I'd stick to the original.

After reading this, my first of the Kat Kolorado series, I have found a series of titles that I would love to read my way through. A few slow spots, but I loved the characters and look forward to seeing them again in later novels. Kat, the detective, is interesting and entertaining. A good read.

This is the first and last Iris Johansen I'll read. I was expecting better. The plot is just silly and the dialogue is amateurish. This book reads as if it were written by an untalented high schooler for English class. Save your money, and read something by Janet Evanovich, Dorothy Gilman, Lee Child, Nelson Demille, or Dick Francis instead.

This is an easy read as are most of Johansen's books; however, I was disappointed in the story itself. Most of the book focuses on what is considered a natural disaster with the underlying theme being "whodunit". A government conspiracy involving the FBI, CIA and a congressman from Texas as well as the vice president of the United States! You spend most of the book getting pieces of information culminating to an anti-climactic, quick resolution.

I enjoy the returning characters like Galen (and references to his now pregnant wife Elena), Logan, Sarah & Monty, Salazar and Andreas (the president). Sarah & Monty are only in for a short period of time while Galen has a more prominent role. John Logan is in and out and a powerful voice on the phone. Andreas re-appears as the president who's life is in jeopardy. This story focuses on Judd Morgan (still hiding and being tracked by a trained killer, Runne, as retribution for killing his father) and a new addition to the cast, Alex Graham, a photo journalist trying to discover what exactly happened in the mud slide that killed hundreds of people, how it happened as she witnessed an event that made her realize there was nothing "natural" about it and why all of a sudden she's being deemed public enemy #1 after trying to help in the search and rescue mission. She's also struggling with her feelings for Morgan (no surprise there) who was recruited by Galen (at Sarah's request to John Logan)to protect her.

It gets a little confusing with all the CIA, FBI and congressmen's names as they refer to Z1, Z2 & Z3 (targets) and how all these people are linked -- especially to Runne who has been recruited for Z3 and to eliminate Morgan.

Predictably, the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. If your a Johansen fan, you won't be disappointed, same-old-same-old.

I have been an avid reader of Iris Johansen for years and as the Eve Duncan series went on, it seemed the books got better. I was sadly disappointed in this book. I had hopes that is would continue along the lines with Sarah and Monty helping in rescues. My mistake was when I read an excerpt of this book and it was talking about Sarah and Monty at a rescue scene I thought that's who the book would be about. I was also hoping it would have something about Eve Duncan and Joe somewhere in the book. I lent it to a friend and she keeps asking me when its going to get good, it's a very slow read and disappointing one at best. Her previous book No One To Trust was also lacking, but that's another review. Maybe the time to wind up the Eve Duncan series is overdue.

I recently "discovered" Kat Colorado and for the first few books was impressed, but this one is sadly lacking. A little too predictable, and badly damaged by the author's misinformation about the Mormon Church. She recycles every silly myth published in the dime-novel dreadfuls of the 1880s and leaves one wondering if she's ever met any real live Latter-day Saints. Sad, considering that in plot context, she could have invented a fictional cult instead of maligning a major Christian church with 5 million members in the US and Canada alone.

One of the things that drew me to Kat was her sense of ethics. Many Mormons might agree with this and like the character, until this book, where her anti-religious bigotry shows in unfounded accusations of bigotry against religion (she continues this unfortunate development in "Stray Kat Waltz").

Too bad. A major loss to the underpopulated woman detective genre.

This is the first Kijewski book I've read and probably the last. The characters had no depth and were relentlessly one dimensional. The plot was totally predictable - within three paragraphs of the introduction of the killer, I knew he had done it! I was intrigued that several of the readers were offended by her portrayal of the mormon church, in particular its treatment of women. This was the one aspect of her plot and characterizations that I found to be interesting and believable.

This was a hard-to-put-down book, exploring both the professional and personal sides of Kat's life. She must solve a heinous murder and resolve a roadblock in her relationship with her cop lover, Hank. Great characters in a compelling story. From other reviews that seemed to concentrate on the Mormon aspects of the plot, it appears that the word went out to Mormons to disparage the book, unfairly so, I believe. "Alley Kat Blues" is a fine addition to a series that gets better with every book. If you like gutsy female PIs and a gripping read, this book's for you.

This book is simply out of date. Horan's guide has descriptions like "I did some problem on this face in 1986". Wow, what research. His 'Best of Boulder Bouldering' is a dramatic improvement. Benningfield's 'Colorado Bouldering' guide is better with some photos of boulders and more problems. But even that guide is quickly becoming out of date.

Bob Horan's guide books are funky and original. He has been a dedicated Front Range boulderer for many years and he's taken the time to visit these areas repeatedly with different partners to insure accuracy of grading, problem description, etc. I'd like to see him change what he calls "Meditation Boulder" at Rotary Park back to its original name (Biscuit Rock) but other than that, he's done a fine job.

The Colorado Front Range Bouldering Series is the first of its kind in the world, maps are hand drawn and incredibly entertaining unlike the simple processed digitized guides seen today. The book has accurracy and overviews of all areas involved unlike the Copy Cat book Colorado Bouldering. This book is the best value on the market for bouldering within the Fort Collins Area. I truely enjoy having it in my almost 500 climbing guide collection. In years to come these hand drawn books will be of more value than the others that follow.

As in Seasonal Affect Disorder. This book made me sad. Sad that Fielder has his own press and can publish anything HE feels is artistically passable and commercially viable. The best way to experience a colorado winter is to put this book down and get into the mountains. Fielder's colors can be beautiful, but he has little to no sense of composition. If you want a book for your coffee table, try Muench, or Goldsworthy, or Shinzo Maeda.

For those of us who spend most of our time in this beautiful state cooped up in an office, Fielder takes us on yet another journey through the magnificent backcountry--this time in the dead of winter. But John's photos--as in all of his pieces--reflect more than what mother nature has to offer. They are equally as much a relection of his experience in capturing an essence lacking in so many expensive "coffee" table books. It is apparent that the photos were miticulously chosen and are a labor of love. If you, like myself, don't get "out there" as much as you would like, A Colorado Winter is a spectucular way to immerse yourself in another world. You will not be disappointed.

Beautiful photographs and wonderful passages

The information printed by Amazon.com in their description of this book bears little relationship to the new Pelican paperback. The paperback is a facsimile of the 1911 edition. I myself wrote the description used here by Amazon to describe the Pelican book. What I wrote refers to the Quellen Company's enlarged and annotated edition, which has foreword and introduction, and six appendices telling about the publication of the original book, the two plays produced from the book, and the silent movie made from it. Also, many illustrations not in the original book, or the Pelican paperback. A lot of original research went into gathering and putting together this material. I believe the description may convey an erroneous impression to prospective purchasers of the Pelican book. I did not authorize the use of this material to describe any other book than my own, because, oviously, it does not describe any other book! Signed: Quentin Burke, editor of the enlarged, interpretive edition of "Barbara" and of the commemorative edition of "Barbara." Both are hard cover and both are obtainable from Amazon.com.

Reclamation, engineering, and irrigation are topics that do strike me as terribly piquant. I wouldn't have believed that a novel devoted to such subject matter could be so interesting, but Harold Bell Wright can manipulate the English language in a way equaled by very few other authors. As the desert becomes a thriving community, the reader is right there actually taking part in all the transmutations.

With his usual multi-dimensional characters and the plot's rococo developments, the story thoroughly captivates as it moves quickly through its exciting labyrinth.

Those familiar with Wright's earlier books (Shepherd of the Hills, The Calling of Dan Matthews, and That Printer of Udells) will be in for a surprise. While they all prominently featured ministers, this book is clergyman-free and makes only minor references to religion. Still this equally wholesome read is subtitled as "the Ministry of Capitalism," and its portrayal of ethical business dealings, employer-employee loyalties, and the costs of progress make this work from the early twentieth century vitally relevant to the early twenty-first century.

I do agree with the bottom reviewer who pointed out that this page's book description boasting illustrations, an introduction and a preface (none of which exist in this version) does not apply.

An epic, fictional, western story of the settling of the desert in the Imperial Valley, CA. Two rich capitalists, Jefferson Worth, and a New York company decide to channel water and help irrigate the barren land.

The two forces, work together but soon the NY Company realizes it needs money to satisfy the stock holders, so they resort to "Capitalist" tricks against Worth and using cost saving techniques at the expense of safety.

There are many characters, but Worth has an adopted daughter, named Barbara. The company has a lead engineer named Willard Holmes who does what the company wants regardless of the moral implications. He likes Barbara, but she shuns him saying he lacks conviction and is a mere puppet.

There is significantly more to do this book than what I have mentioned. I found it fairly deep for a Western book. At the time of the writing, the Socialist / Communist movement was very strong and people questioned the moral values of Capitalism. Wright successfully demonstrates that Capitalism for money sake is wrong where as Capitalism for the benefit of helping / growing people is right. Worth is the shrewd business man who wants to make money but at the same time help the people that are making him rich by allowing them to earn money as well. This book could almost be a primer for business ethics. I'll be looking forward to reading more of Wright's books as they are well thought out and are always engaging.

I'm reluctant to give any photographer a bad review, as I'm sure they put a lot of effort into their work. However, when you publish a book and ask people to buy it, you open yourself up to criticism. And since there are so many other Colorado picture books out there, I don't think that people should spend their money on this one. Most of the photographs in this book have the look and feel of images taken by an amateur photographer. The cover photo is pretty much representative of the entire book. It's a fairly boring, trite photograph with flowers in the foreground and mountains off in the distance. There is nothing interesting about this image, and there is almost nothing interesting about this book. If you are looking for a good Colorado picture book, I recommend taking a look at my list-mania list called Best Colorado Picture Books (by clicking on my name). I hope that this list is a good resource for anyone looking to buy a Colorado photography book.

I found a copy of "Always Colorado" in my father's cabin. I fell in love, instantly. It was so refreshing, so simple, so natural. Not manufactured. Just breathtaking beauty. I have never been to Colorado but I feel that I could describe the landscape as if I had lived there all my life. I have seen several books on Colorado but "Always Colorado" was so innocent and pure. I felt cheated when I turned the last page. I left knowing that Colorado is the place I want to take my husband and children on our next vacation. The world needs to get back to the basics and teach our children about the real beauty in life, the things we usually take for granted; pure, honest, nature.
Thank you, Jon, I look at this book a lot and I see my daddy on every page.

This 1998 version is outdated. Colorado still requires a PLACE exam, but the structure is very different and focuses on single subject proficiency--not what this book has to offer.

An absolutely essential resource for someone preparing to take the PLACE exams. Full-length sample exams with detailed explanations of the answers as well as very helpful testing tips. It is very thorough, comprehensive, and valuable. I highly recommend this book.

So, this is supposed to be a guide book? After seeing a "complete" guidebook of colorado mountains on the market, I jumped at the chance to buy it. I received it in the mail today, and after a quick run-through of the book, I can conclude that this text is worthless. The average climbing description on any mountain in the book goes something like this:
"Peak X lies to the south. Climb up its ridge."
You may find a bit more information on the more popular 14ers, but not much. Even Longs Peak, possibly the most versatile, well-rounded mountain in colorado with options from 3rd class hikes to highly technical climbs, gets no more than half a page of description. This book is by no means a "climbing" guide as it so proudly boasts either. While looking up climbs in the Sangre de Cristo range, I hoped to find some info on some of the classic climbs of Crestone Needle, but not ONE thing was mentioned about ANY climbs on the peak.
What more can I say. Don't buy this... attempt of a guidebook, unless you are happy with simple one-sentence descriptions of easy hikes.

Not for novice climbers who need more detailed descriptions or are looking only for the same crowded peaks covered in the other Colorado guidebooks. But a unique resource for more experienced climbers/hikers/backpackers with hundreds (thousands?)of peaks and other destinations to explore. No other book I've found covers ALL of Colorado's mountains - with enough info to get you going on the right ridge or around the odd obstacle. I've climbed nearly 1000 peaks in Colorado and never needed another guide, although others may find the descriptions too short.

this book is not for novices looking for a tour guide or sightseeing guide to the mountains in colorado. it is, however, one of, if not the best, summary of climbing & mountaineering in colorado's mountains. it's best for those already familiar with climbing and packing as it doesn't cover any basics, really. good information for those looking for someplace to go.