Paul Kallmes compiled and edited a stunning collected of photogaphs and essays concerning the work of Vittorio Sella. He is to be commended for bringing this collection of Sella's photographs to the attention of North American readers. Mr. Kallmes is a visionary. Bravo and thank you Paul!

Vittorio Sella is little-known today, but knowledgeable people like Ansel Adams consider him one of the greatest mountain photographers ever. Sella did his work at a time when cameras weighed 40 pounds, glass negatives two pounds apiece, and mountain climbing was much more primitive than today, without the warmest clothes, tough equipment and bottles of oxygen. Sella is also known for being the first person to scale the Matterhorn in winter.

Sella was the son of the first Italian to write about photography and his uncle was a famous leader of Italian mountaineering. Expedition photographs were a new idea in his day, and primarily served the purpose of map-making for subsequent expeditions. Sella's work also served that purpose, but transcended it with stunning minimalist views. As Ansel Adams points out in his preface, Sella also understood the technique of mountain photography in ways that are missed by many current photographers.

His work was of such stature that he was invited along on important expeditions by the Duke of Abruzzi, which allowed him to be the first to create images of many important scenes. These expeditions included his native Alps, Alaska, Uganda, the Caucasus range, and the Himalayas. His photograph of K2 in the Himalayas is considered the finest one ever.

As dazzling as these images are, the essays in the book greatly add to them by explaining the context of their creation, the photographic problems involved, and the artistic aspects of the work. I enjoyed reading each of them, because each shed a different light on the work.

Although the book is about summit photographs, the book includes many photographs during the ascents, of the people met during the expeditions, and of local scenery.

The summit photos are remarkable to me in many ways. First, he made great efforts to get the right perspective -- often climbing another mountain to get a view the the one alongside. Second, he created stunning panoramas of the major chains which exceed what the eye can see, even if you were there. Third, the pictures have a sense of motion in the glaciers that is quite remarkable. These rivers of ice look like they are moving in videos when you look at them. Fourth, the mountain views have a spiritual quality that is uplifting. Your view of mountains will be forever changed by these photographs.

Also, I feel grateful for the photographs because, although I love mountains, I am not a mountain climber and would never have a chance to see these beautiful, inspiring scenes otherwise.

I encourage you to read and enjoy this book as example of what goals can provide. In the days when Sella was climbing there was no chance of reaching the top of many of these peaks, such as K2 (thought by many to be the toughest mountain in the world to climb). Yet the climbers and Sella achieved lasting meaning for themselves and for us in their partially successful endeavors. Goals take us to the top of our skills by extending our ambition and focus. Be sure you are always looking for the next mountain to climb (and photograph). Let these wonderful images inspire you on to your personal greatness! Also, think about choosing goals that will aid and inspire others for many years in the future as Sella did.

Vittorio Sella photographed primarily in the late 19th and early 20th century and chronicled many important expeditions. In this book, the authors present an wonderful array of his work, and the photographic reproductions are remarkably loyal to the originals in coloration. Admirers of Ansel Adams will love this book and will clearly see the antecedents of his style.

I had just finished the 2nd book and search for it the only copy i could find was 35 miles away. I rush out and got it read it and love it i can't wait for what is next. I just found these book i bought the 1st nd 2nd and read the 3rd and i ran out please write 100 more. It would make a great Movie

This book is full of passion that's expressed in poetry and Carina's and Quillan's love for each other. Carina DiGratia Shepard wants to leave Crystal, Colorado to have a fresh start in Sonoma, California where she grew up. Quillan is eager to prove his devotion and love for Carina and so they set off to begin a new life in California. Their journey was exciting and adventurous. When they finally arrived at the DiGratia estate things were not the same as when Carina left them. Surprise and anger over Carina's marriage has taken hold of the DiGratias and Quillan faces yet more rejection in his life. What would it take for him to accepted into Carina's Italian family who still want her to marry her first love, Flavio? DIAMOND OF THE ROCKIES is a great series and deserves an award. Great story and a great ending. This trilogy was great. I heartily recommend this for anyone who likes romance and adventures in 1880s situated in the lovely Colorado Rockies and California's extravagant vineyards. I can't wait to see what Kristen Heitzmann has for us in store!

Please, please do not let this be the last book in this series. I have come to love Carina and Quillan and would hate to say goodbye to them. There is so much that needs to be finished, will Quillan recover the full use of his legs, what about the suggestion of another baby? There is so much potential for another book. No, no another two or three books!!

This book captures the beauty and spirit of Colorado. Mr. Keen has a rare talent that allows him to transport us to places of extreme beauty through his artistry. An added bonus to this book is the companion cd where he shares his expertise with his readers. If you want to experience Colorado, pick up this book, sit back and enjoy.

As a longtime resident of Colorado I have loved looking through the photos of the many places I've hiked and visited over the years. The pictures of the mountains are awesome. When I am citybound, I just pick up the book for a reminder of how wonderful Colorado is. The crispness and color in the book make these photos belive you are right there, standing in the very space the photo was taken. You don't have to live here either to enjoy this book. Many of my out of state relatives love it! Highly recommended!

I own this great book on the Colorado Rocky Mountains! Every page shows breathtaking pictures in the Colorado Rockies... from quiet streams and meadow wildflowers to the towering aspens and "purple mountains majesty". The best gift/coffee table book that I've seen in a long time and certainly the best of the Colorado books. We were able to see this book and a display of a dozen or more of Jim Keens panagraphic images at Denver International Airport in early 2002. The 3 x 8 foot enlargements were awesome! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book to buy as a gift --- and you'll enjoy it so much you'll buy one for yourself as well.

Illustrated by January Atkinson, an intimate journal of 31 native plants.

"An herbalist, botanist or scholar may study plants for a lifetime, becoming an authority on the general & scientific aspects of the medicinal plant kingdom-and never gains intimate knowledge of the subjects they so closely scrutinize. Such understanding comes from not only harvesting and preparing the plants for medicinal purpose, but in the actual use of them. It is through their use that one gains confidence in the truths of the plants' healing properties. With such truths comes wisdom; and through wisdom comes a deep sense of commitment to the plants' survival and environmental preservation." Page 1

Intimate:
1. pertaining to the inmost character of a thing; fundamental.
2. most private or personal.
3. closely acquainted or associated; very familiar.
4. promoting a feeling of privacy, coziness, romance
5. resulting from careful study or investigation; thorough.

Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains is much more than a handbook by which I can identify some plants growing in a particular region of the world. It is indeed a devotional journey into the living land wherein Darcy Williamson is content to dwell. It is a personal, scholarly, illustrated journal of her love affair with the friends who sustain her.

As she introduces each friend-Alder; Alum; Angelica; Arnica; Arrowleaf; Peony; Cascara; Chokecherry; Cleavers; Cottonwood; Cranesbill; Elder; Fir; Gentian; Gumweed; Hawthorn; Horsetail; Huckleberry; Lomatium; Oregon Grape; Pennyroyal; Pipsissewa; Skullcap; Nettle; Sweet Cicely; Sagebrush; Uva Ursi; Valerian; Virgin's Bower; Willow & Yarrow (just typing all those names is poetry!)-Darcy Williamson tells us her memories, often of when she first came upon the plant, describing the seasons, or a particular hike up a snow-covered draw, or a hillside in spring, a summer meadow.

Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains is filled with illustrator January Atkinson's vivacious glimpses of both flora & fauna that delight the eye & ably convey the visuals needed to identify.

It was a struggle to categorize this book-was it Health, Mind & Body? It is a healing book. Did it go into Home & Garden? If you live, as I do, in the wilderness, then many of these plants' coastal cousins live in my garden. Or is it Education & Science? How to use each plant is meticulously & scientifically referenced & listed, with all necessary cautionary explanations.

As I read, I kept remembering Jean Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear & Iza, the wise women, who found Ayla & taught her all she knew. Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains not only teaches me to identify & use each plant, it brings up memories & makes a friend & mentor out of its author.

Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains is as glorious a discovery as coming upon a hillside of Sagebrush basking in summer sun, or a patch of Cranesbill in the dappled forest.

Very well done! A must for wild plant lovers.

More from Darcy Williamson: Basque Cooking and Love; River Tales of Idaho; The Rocky Mountain Wild Foods Cookbook; Ten-Minute Meals, Five-Minute Workouts: For People Who Never Have Enough Time; How to Prepare Common Wild Foods; Salmon River Legends and Campfire Cuisine; Cooking With Spirit: North American Indian Food and Fact & many more!

(04/06/03)

Rebecca

"Healing Plants of The Rocky Mountains a worthy and useful addition to a forager or herbalist's library, as well as being a very nice companion volume to her earlier work, "The Rocky Mountain Wild Foods Cookbook."The author provides 170 pages of well-grounded information and some very lovely one page short essays. Her introduction immediately stresses the importance of having a relationship with the plants one is harvesting and using. The concept of the Plant as the Teacher is revisited many times. Be open to the plants and learn what lessons they have to share. Williamson's experience, gentleness of spirit, ecological ethics, and humility are evident in her writing.

Thirty-one plants are explored within this book, many of which are not found in standard herbals, though the reader will also recognize some old friends to be sure. These are plants of which Williamson has "intimate" knowledge or wisdom. She makes it a point to explain that intimate knowledge evolves from observing the plant. Wisdom comes from working with the plant and "a deep sense of commitment to the plants' survival and environmental preservation" (page 2). Each plant has an individual chapter which opens with a short essay. The essays are filled with Spirit, depth and subtlety. Like an artist she paints a picture with a palette words. Each short essay is a total sensory experience. The reader is lead to hear the local sounds: the "plink, plink, plink sound of firm, round berries hitting the bottom of a galvanized pail" (page 88) or the sound mosquitoes make at dusk. Aromas and odors, sights, textures, and tastes of each plant and its environment. Even the quality of light at that time of day is brought into play. She invites the reader to share and partake of these very special venues, as she herself has experienced them during forays. There is nothing excessive in Williamson's writing as she chooses her words with care and grace. Animals, birds and insects are also included in this three dimensional portrayal of the plants' world.

A detailed botanical description (as well as Family, Genus, Species, Taxon), harvesting facts to include techniques and tips, historic notes (ethnobotanical points of interest), contraindications, cultivation information, and plant constituents are provided with each chapter. A "General Usage" section is also laid out in articulate and detailed fashion by body system or health situation. Veterinary aids are covered where applicable. Most of the chapters have recipes or formulas included. Williamson's formulas and recipes are easy to follow and straight forward. Her working knowledge and experience of the plants is evident in this area of the book as well. The recipes and formulas are intuitive and unique.

January Atkinson has created some spectacular watercolor illustrations. The quality of her work shines though the expression of movement and personality of each plant. I was struck by her rendition of the root structures of some of the plants (most especially of the Lomatium and Arrowleaf Balsamroot). Gaze carefully at each illustration for it captures insights into the plant. There is an intuitive quality here that reveals that the artist has spent time on forays touching and diligently observing. Throughout the book are also scattered sketches of animals, insects and birds which are, to say the very least, charming.

In her introduction, Darcy Williamson makes mention of an additional future book of healing plants, I am looking forward to being able to read, enjoy and use that book as well.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, with 31 different herbs featured. Historic notes, contradictions, cultivations, harvesting, descriptions, general usage & the constituents are listed for each herb. Many new recipes are included that are both easy to follow & use. This is a must have book for those who enjoy the herbs & have a love for art. January Atkinson has combined her artistic talent with Darcy's love of native plants to give a book that is not only enjoyable & informative but a pleasure to look at as well.

Profusely illustrated with full color photography throughout, Vera Evenson's Mushrooms Of Colorado And The Southern Rocky Mountains is a definitive and completely "user friendly" reference manual ideal for the non-specialist general reader. The beautiful photography showcases the mushrooms in their natural habitats while the text provides keys, clues, and diagrams to help identify mushrooms found in the field. The subject of poisonous mushrooms and how to avoid eating one is simply invaluable, while the basis of mushroom structure, life cycles, habitats, and names is as authoritative as it is informative. With more than 170 mushroom species represented, Mushrooms Of Colorado And The Southern Rocky Mountains is a "must" for anyone hiking through that part of the world to enjoy the region's diverse fungi.

Deals with mushrooms from the Rockies. Nice photograph & information on the same page.An essential field guide to any mushroom lover!

what a wonderful book. Inexpensive too. Beatiful photographs. It very well applies to mushrooming in the Rocky Mountain region. Many other books have pictures that don't quite match the hues, color, setting of the mushrooms I see in Colorado, but the pictures in this book does.

This is an excellent guidebook to the flowers, shrubs, trees and plants of the entire Rocky Mountain chain. I tested this book in the meadows and streambeds near my home in Wyoming and discovered that the photos are clear, colorful, and aid in identification of species. Each listing features a general description as well as data on the leaves, flowers, fruits, and range. If you read the description closely and match it with your subject it's difficult to misidentify the species. Not every wildflower is included here but 95% of what you might find in Yellowstone or RMNP is here. Also, there's a brief bit of lore on most of the more common plants and flowers to help the reader understand the historical medicinal uses, as well as which ones make a refreshing tea and which ones can leave you paralyzed and impotent if ingested at toxic levels.

Not to be underestimated is the sturdy construction of this book - I carried it on a 2 week backpack earlier this summer and found the cover virtually indestructible and waterproof.

"Plants of the Rocky Mountains" is by far the best all-around field guide for Rocky Mountain trees, shrubs and flowers (with some grasses) that I've yet seen, and ranks right up there with classics like Newcomb's Wildflower guide for the northeast. Kershaw et al. provide simple, easy-to-use keys and organize plants by growth form (trees, shrubs, flowers), family, and color, so that both beginners and botanists can navigate with ease. Photographs are typically small, but the entire plant is shown, usually in its native habitat. Descriptions typically include relatives, uses, and occasionally an amusing anecdote.

As a cautionary note, "Plants of the Rocky Mountains" is intended to be used in the mountains, and is less useful in deserts, basins, or canyon country. That said, this is the ONE book that I take with me on weekend jaunts in the high country. -William Adair, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University

The guidebook by Kershaw, et al is an excellent reference to plants of the Rocky Mountains. It has quite representative color photos of almost every species mentioned, and there are handy tools to help identify unknown species. The quality of the paper and binding allow for continued use in the field. When I take only one reference guide into the field, it is this one.

Really liked this book. Displays elevation at destination, altitude gain, distance one way, and which trailhead to use at the beginning of each trail description. Lots of full color photos make it easy to tell your in the right place, but can take away a bit from the element of surprise for what you're going to see when you go there. Only one map in the book, so the purchase of a trail map may also be in order. All in all a good book with short, concise descriptions of trails and what can be seen from them, as well as precautions about altitude, exposure, and other dangers on the trails.

This is an outstanding introduction for those preparing to shun the automobile for the Rocky Mountain National Park backcountry. In a brief 140 pages Jerome Malitz delivers a superb overview of 33 park trails and destinations. Malitz's introduction includes a nice survey of park flora and fauna, geology and history. There is also a concise overview of precautions before heading into the backcountry. (I've hiked extenstivley in RMNP and strongly advise heeding Malitz's cautions. However inviting the scenery and innocent appearing the trail, RMNP is not Disney World. People, especially those who casually head down the trail without forethought, can get into trouble.)

Information on destinations is logically grouped by sections corresponding to general areas of the park. Each section begins with a very legible, color USGS topographical map with trails and campsites marked. Within each section, Malitz gives a nice description of the trail including the trailhead of choice, distance, altitude gain and elevation at the destination. Narrative is punctuated by color photography of key landmarks.

This is a fine primer on RMNP backcountry and will whet the appetite of any who are ready to see what is beyond Trailridge Road or the parking lot. (For readers ready for the next level of detail, I also recommend Dannen's "Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park" (8th Ed.). Together, these two books provide the maps, photography, narrative and detail to send you on your way with zeal and confidence.

Not bad. Each hiking trail has 2 to 3 pages written about it and a couple of color pictures. The length (in miles), point to start, and elevation change is listed for each trail. We have two small children and are using this book to plan our visit to the park so we don't go to the wrong area. The shortest trail listed is 0.1 miles and the longest is 16 miles (round trip). The highlights of each trail (water fall, lake, view, etc.) are briefly described. I am happy I bought it but the maps are cut up (to cover each individual area of the park)so prior to visiting the park I still will need to purchase an overall map of the park.

This summer while stopped at an overlook on Trail Ridge Rd. in Rocky Mountain National Park, we spoke with a Park Ranger who had Scott Roederer's Birding Rocky Mountain National Park book in her vehicle. She told us that Scott's book was the best book on birding in RMNP. She uses it as a reference for park visitors who have questions about different birds and where to find them. It also is very well illustrated. I would definitely recommend this book for birders who visit this magnificent Park.

As first time visitors to Rocky Mountain Park, we purchased Scott Roederer's Birding Rocky Mountain National Park in the park bookstore, but we wish we had had it to study beforehand. This guide not only focuses on the best locations for specific birds, but also provides careful directions (complete with odometer readings!) to trailheads that go well beyond the general maps available. We were also grateful for his strategies for avoiding the summer crowds, including when to arrive at specific trails and the order in which to bird them. Add to all of this Scott's warm, lucid style spiced with birding anecdotes that we can all relate to, and you get a bible for birding Rocky. Although we are certain that birding the park with Scott would have been the supreme experience, carrying his book in a hip pocket is the next best thing!

Dan Whipple's Click incorporates all the elements of a well-written mystery-suspense novel with a subtle underlying humor that will keep you smiling.
A murder investigation in small town Wyoming induces free-lance photographer/protagonist McClary to raise a skeptical eyebrow at investigator Lt. Oldman. When McClary's best friend joins the growing list of victims, the stakes are raised for this artist/observer.
Along the trail to the solution of these seemingly small town, small time murders, McClary hooks up with a New Jersey redhead currently working as a reporter for the only in-state newspaper enjoying statewide circulation. When the two witness the assassination of a national political figure (from Wyoming, of course), the ante ratchets up and then Reporter Nadia Bzdak is kidnapped by the conspirators.
The tension is appropriately and skillfully balanced by an underlying tone of light amusement which seems to pose the question: "how imporant can anything in Wyoming really be?"
(Mr. Whipple needn't have left the state before publishing this gem- many of us here share the same view.)
The perfect book with which to spend a winter evening by the fireside forgetting-- for a few hours-- the world's tensions.

Finally, a book Wyoming can be proud of. Dan Whipple pays attention and gives us book with the people we know and love in Wyoming. Who would have ever thought Wyoming had personalities and politics worthy of detective novel status?

Better than watching reruns of Northern Exposure, "Click" is full real people and politics revealed to us one snapshot at a time. I loved our sloppy but savvy,loner/photographer/amature detective, he made me laugh out loud and I felt a page turning obiligation to help him get to the bottom of things.

Somehow Dan manages to get every Wyoming joke I ever heard into the book without portraying all of us as undereducated bumpkins. Well, he does work in the famous cookie episode.

And the best part is, he gives us a heroine of magnificent quality. Not easy for a guy. Although Dan says characters in the book are fictional, I like thinking these folks are my neighbors. Thank you Dan. Read this book.