Although a captivating, intriguing and fascinating account of life on the western frontier from the 1830's through 1870's, one has to question how much of this is fabrication for his own self esteem. While describing his life as a trapper, trader, Indian fighter, scout, guide, freighter, road builder, stagestop operator, etc., Wootton portrays himself somewhat as a braggart and egotistical individual. He does not hesitate to tell his readers how he "could find water better than anyone else"; "shoot better than anyone else"; one of the first to take sheep from New Mexico to California; first to put through a toll road in Colorado; had the first two story building in Denver; the list goes on. If half of what he said is true, so be it. Wootton's book is very good reading and it does depict life extremely well for those days, but at the same time, he seems to be desirous of being the main, most important character for the times represented.

BIG MAX HIGGINS DIDNT THINK WHEN HE HAD SMOKES WIFE KIDNAPPED!!! SMOKE HAS TO USE EVERYTHING HE HAS LEARNED TO GET HER BACK. VERY EXCITING BOOK.

This autobiography, supported by extensive documentation, depicts the Wetherill brothers as men who became totally committed to the scientific study of the Anasazi culture of Mesa Verde.Unlike the portrayal of early 20th century histotians, who accused the brothers of plundering the dwellings and felt the Wetherills were mere pot hunters, Al sets the record straight, and supports it with factual materials. Another interesting volume (not in the Amazon inventory) is "Anasazi, the Biography of Richard Wetherill." As a distant relative of the men, I found both works to accurately depict life in the Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon areas in the 1890'

I strongly recommend this book. It is about time that someone wrote a book about the virtues of the Chinese people living in the western U.S. during the 19th century. Most similar books concentrate on the discrimination and other injustices done to the Chinese workers who worked on the railroads, for example.

"A Chinaman's Chance," however, focuses on the positive Chinese experiences. Did you know that the Chinese had superior eating habits and work ethics? Hidong Sidong was the first Chinese man to lead an asian hiking expedition in the 19th century. Did you know that? Do you know who invented Rocky Mountain oyster stew?

I strongly recommend this book.

Recent scholars have begun to examine the impact of the ethnic experience in the American West unlike ever before. Most have concluded that ethnic immigrants have had little opportunity for advancement in the United States. Professor Zhu counters this arguement with his pathbreaking work, A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE, THE CHINESE ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINING FRONTIER. Rather than depicting the Chinese as helpless victims, unable to fend for themselves in a new land, the author demonstrates that not all immigrants allowed themselves to be victims. Using the American legal system, armed opposition, frugal economy, a superior diet, and adaptation to the environment, the Chinese of the Boise Basin, Idaho displayed a resilency hardly matched by European immigrants and even American migrants to the Rocky Mountain West.

This study is a must-read for students of the American West and Frontier and those interested in ethnic history in Victorian American. His research is impeccable, his writing witty, and his commitment to telling a real, even compelling story is unprecedented in ethnic history.

A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE is outstanding history!

A well researched and written book. I used to live in Idaho and heard of a lot of stories about the Chinese experience in the area. But this book gives me new imformation. We do have to pay more attention to positive aspects of ethnic minorities. I enjoy reading this book.

This is a great book if your really into the history of mountaineering. It gives detailed information on the trails of all the Colorado fourteeners and how they have been climbed in the past. The description of the climbs are interesting when reading it from the view of the first climbers of the mountains. A Good Buy For All Peak-Baggers!

A thorough survey of the exploration and first ascents of Colorado's diverse mountainscape. If you want a history of how Colorado's key ranges and the mountains within them were "conquered" by miners, Indians, surveyers, hikers, and gutty climbers then this is the book for you. It gives a great feel for the challenges faced by early climbers and the wonder of adventure in the Colorado high country. Highly recommended for climbing buffs. Not a technical or "beta" book -- this is a very readable survey of a wonderful state.

Some truly fascinating stories here of climbing in the Colorado Rockies with a lot of historical photos. You'll come away with appreciation of the achievements of the old timers. With footnotes, sometimes it seems a little too dry but overall I enjoyed the tales of first ascents, tragedies, legendary figures, and what must of been, great fun. This new edition carries the story right up to this year.

I too had the unabridged recorded book. It was a major yawn and I kept thinking when it would ever end. I found myself fast-forwarding through the tapes waiting for Caleb to met-up with Reno, the brother of Willow. Well after fastwarding through many tapes still no meeting with Reno. Unfortunately, I cannot torture myself any longer. The pain must end; therefore, I will not finish this book.

Do not waste your money by purchasing this book. Luckily, I got it from the public library.

'Only His' is one of the 4 books of the 'Only' series. Caleb Black, a hard man with an even harder heart. That is the picture you will get when you start off with the first few chapters of the book. Willow Moran, the civil war left her home torn apart and her an orphan. Her only loved one left are her brothers and when her brother Matthew Moran wrote home for help, she entrusted her fate to Caleb Black. What she does not know is that Caleb is using her to seek out her brother for revenge.

The book started off with their journey through the wilderness with vivid description, much too vivid and much too long. Through chapters 1 to 15, it was all about the journey. And when the time comes for the showdown between Matthew and Reno, readers will be sorely disappointed. The build up was so long, the showdown so anticipated and it only last for a few sentences.

I have enjoyed a few of Lowell's books, but this one was just plain boring. It was too long winded and I should say lacking.

I strongly disagree with the reviewers who claim there is little or no plot to this wonderful tale of 2 strangers; a somewhat naive but intelligent young woman & her hired travel guide, a hardened gunfighter, who both seek the same man for different reasons. Boring, never!! Romantic, absolutely!

Their journey across the Colorado Rockies, with the woman's prized Arabian horses in tow, is wonderfully descriptive & full of adventure & hardship. While the plot is not particularly complex, I found it to be an enjoyable account of a long & arduous journey. It also provides a framework for the portraits of the 2 protagonists. The characters of this extraordinary woman & man, & the development of their relationship, make reading this book worthwhile. Willow Moran is bright, spirited, couragous & caring. Caleb Black may be obsessed with revenge, but he is also a man with a stong sense of integrity & a very sweet & tender side. Both of them together are dynamite!

I like Caleb & Willow as human beings, complex & out of the ordinary. And I loved reading about the Arabian horses...an added plus. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The books in this trilogy and also the 4th in the series had vivid descriptions of dead animals burned in a fire, a man gored by a bull, dead bodies found days after they were murdered, etc. These went beyond my taste in telling more than I cared to know.

I was disappointed because the main characters were Christians, but Abbie seemed to spend the majority of her time either hating someone or envying them. And she didn't seem to tell others about the Lord. And it seemed her faith was rarely strong. When the man Abbie loved married another for honor, Abbie treated him very cooly and yet still spent her time pining after him even though he had a wife. In another instance, she was envious of her sister-in-law Marcy for calling her mother Ma. I realize Christians do experience all these feelings, but the author seemed to dwell more on the sins than on the eventual victory over them.

To be fair, there was plenty of action. But the above are just a few of the reasons why I wouldn't want to re-read the books and would be unlikely to buy more of them.

I picked up the first book in the library, thinking the series looked good and I needed something to keep me busy for the next week. Well, I finished the first book within hours of completing my homework. The next day I rushed to get the next book and that is how my last 5 days have been.
I feel very attached to these characters and I have grieved with Abbie through all of the deaths. The author knows the situation of post-Civil War Colorado. She has done her reseach and created a family who's problems twist up my soul. Abbie although she is a wild character has grown with her different experiences. When Monte died, I could not believe it. This story was to have a happy ever after, but it ends up as a different happy ever after. I find how the book does not get into any thing scandelous refreshing. It is a nice change from many books on the selves today.
From a Colorado native, my thanks to the author. She has represented our mountains very well.

This series made me laugh and made me cry. Kristen Heitzmann created characters that rang true. The plot kept me up all hours of the night in anticipation of the next page. These books are incredible. An inspiring and realistic journey through love, loss, and new love. Thank you, Ms. Heitzmann!

This book appears to have been slapped together with less than two weeks of work. I was constantly confused by discrepancies between the descriptions and the photographs. Lichens described as bright green, chartreuse, orange, red, etc., were all about the same dull shade of gray-brown in the pictures. This may be due to poor photography, poor reproduction, or the fact that the lichens pictured are old dessicated herbarium specimens rather than living lichens in their natural setting.

This little book of pretty pictures of lichens is slightly larger than a Reader's Digest but not quite as thick, so it will fit into your backback but not into your pocket. It tells you what you want to know without getting too botanical and will add greatly to what you will see on your next hike, and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after ----

Only 27 pages devoted to actual RMNP destinations and the rest a basic beginners guide to flyfishing. Better than nothing, but I recommend stopping by the Estes Angler for some real advice.

This book provides a basic introduction to fly fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park, but left me wanting for a lot more. The focus is on lake fishing, with little emphasis on the beautiful little streams throughout the park. The information on hatches and flies is sparse, something I'd expect a lot of information about from a book targeted at such a specific area. There's a lot devoted to casting, knot tying and general fly fishing technique that I found of little use, but that's not uncommon in this type of book. All in all, if you'd like to get started in RMNP, this is a decent way to go, but realize going in that there is a lot missing here.

This book is a phenomenal find. I live just 25 miles south of Rocky Mountain National Park. Each year, for the past three years, I sit down with my fishing buddies, we open up Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park: An Angler's Guidebook, and plan approximately eight trips to the "park" using this book as our guide. So far the trips have been fantastic. Every year the question is raised "How can we go to another spot when the last trip was so great?" The guidebooks advice never fails us, have faith, read the book and GO! I have caught Colorado River cut throat, green back cut throat, rainbow, brown trout and brookies. The book is well written and will serve as a guide for anglers wanting easy, moderate and difficult hikes. A must buy for someone who doesn't know the area. I am looking for a recommendation for Yellowstone.

This guidebook was a disappointment. The index is poorly constructed making it useless for cross-referencing. For example. under the section for the Denver Botanic Gardens it lists it as a "CC trolley stop," which is not listed in the index and which I could never find a reference for in the guidebook. Several of the restaurants listed in the book have gone out of business and one that we tried to find hadn't been in business for several years. When I visited a large bookstore in Denver, a display table with many recommended guidebooks to the area did not include this one. By the end of my trip, I had stopped using it.

This last spring, my husband and I spent two months in Denver on a business trip. We purchased the Insider's Guide to Denver before we left, and I did a lot of reading before we departed. So when I got there, I already knew a lot. Then, while we were there, we used this book everyday. The maps were outstanding, they helped us navigate the whole time we were there. We also used the restaurant section a lot, and the activities section. We were never without something to do, because if we found ourselves with a free moment, all we needed to do was whip out this book, and off we went to another great place. This book has many creases in it now, and it was the greatest book we could have bought. I highly recommend it! The only thing was I found some things had changed since the book was last updated, and it could use another edition.

Jana Miller's epic over the city 5,280 feet in the air. The book covers everything from the cities gothic beginnings to its prurient present. Along with her pen pal Stitch, Miller pieces together an opus about the gateway to the Rockies that will keep you turning the pages and finding the appropriate place to dine.