The classic bestselling history "The New York Times" has called original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking is available in a special 30th-anniversary edition. 56 illustrations.

In the spring of 1860 on the eve of a civil war that threatened to tear the country apart, two Americans conceived of an audacious plan for linking the nation's two coasts, thereby joining its present with its future. This book traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri 1,500 miles west to Sacramento.

"The Adobe Kingdom" is one of those rare things: the true story of two families across twelve generations. They came to New Mexico seeking a new homeland, not to initiate a new society but to transplant an old one. What they found, as they lived their lives in what they came to believe was one of the most beautiful places on earth, was a forbidding land, both hostile and nurturing, and not unlike the land they had left behind. Their daily contact...

The must-have companion to Bill O'Reilly's documentary television series Legends and Lies: The Real West, a fascinating, eye-opening look at the truth behind the western legends we all think we know : How did Davy Crockett save President Jackson's life only to end up dying at the Alamo? Was the Lone Ranger based on a real lawman--and was he an African American? What amazing detective work led to the capture of Black Bart, the gentleman bandit and...

Dee Brown's fascinating history of women on America's western frontier "Who was the western Woman? What was she like, this gentle yet persistent tamer of the wild land that was the American West?" These are questions that Dee Brown, author of the bestselling Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, sets out to answer in this spirited work of social history. He outlines the many types of female pioneers: housewives to rebels, schoolteachers to saloon women....

Experience Colorado with this new, enlarged edition of A COLORADO HISTORY. For fifty years, the authors of this preeminent resource have led readers on an extraordinary exploration of how the state has changed-and how it has stayed the same. From the arrival of Paleo-Indians in the Mesa Verde region to the fast pace of the twenty-first century, A COLORADO HISTORY covers the political, economic, cultural, and environmental issues, along with the fascinating...

Jolie Anderson's collection of wild west tales focuses on the early frontier history of Colorado's plains and includes a look at some of the state's early pioneers like the "59ers" who promoted the state through travel guides and newspapers, exaggerating tales of gold discovery and even providing inaccurate maps to promote settlement in the plains; the perils of living and traveling the major gold routes the town of Julesburg relocated four times...

Nestled in the heart of a dramatic natural amphitheater formed by the Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos serves as the gateway from the Santa Clara Valley to the Pacific Ocean. This happy accident of location allowed historic Los Gatos to witness a colorful parade of swashbuckling explorers, Franciscan padres, and hearty American pioneers, many of whom came to harvest virgin redwood forests from the mountains and grow fruit in exceptionally fertile soil....

Colorado is the scene of a thriving culture of breweries. From Coors, America's largest single-site brewery, to Three Barrel Brewing Company, found in the back of an insurance office, each and every one holds a unique place in the state's brewing scene. For two years, author Ed Sealover traveled the state, speaking to more than one hundred brewers and learning what makes each place special, detailing their histories, quirks and signature beers. With...

San Francisco has always been a city of transformation. From the nostalgic days of downtown shopping and grand movie palaces to newer buildings on the skyline and stunning neighborhood transformations, change has been a constant factor since the early days of European settlement in the late 1700s. Evidence of early San Francisco is still visible in the revitalized Ferry Building, repurposed as an artisan marketplace; in the celebrated neighborhood...