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Presents a comprehensive overview of the Western state, covering such topics as its national parks, rivers, wildlife, plants, cities, explorers, Native Americans, and the mining, railroading, farming, and ranching of the present and past.

Zane Grey, who is best known for his novel "Riders of the Purple Sage," helped to define the popular image of the Old West through his popular adventure novels. First published in 1910, "The Heritage of the Desert" is set in the American southwest where John Hare is found dying in the desert and consequently nursed back to health by the rancher August Naab. John soon finds himself caught between his indebtedness to the generous rancher, whose daughter...

Aunt Phil's Trunk Volume Three entertains readers as they travel through Alaska's history from 1912 to 1935. This book of nonfiction short stories highlights the pioneering spirit of early Alaskans as they enter a new era as a territory of the United States. As with the first two books, Volume Three is filled with close to 350 historical photographs. Downing Bill weaves page-turning narratives. Readers follow along as men with axes, hammers and mauls...

Ranked among the top ten states for both disasters and dry climate, Colorado has a long history of extreme weather. On May 19, 1864, residents of the fledgling gold rush town of Denver awoke to a wall of water slamming into the city with enough force to flatten buildings and rip clothing from its victims. The infamous Big Thompson Canyon flood of 1976 killed 144 residents, tourists and campers. Per the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Coloradoans...

Franciscan monk Fr. Junipero Serra, founder of the Spanish mission system in California, raised a cross on the beach on March 31, 1782, at a spot that became a general wayfarer's midpoint between Los Angeles and Point Conception. This was the dedication of Mission San Buenaventura. Bordered by rivers out of the foothills, this coastal area had originally been home to many Chumash Indian villages, dating back to 1000 A.D. The small mission outpost...

Quirt Creek flowed sluggishly between willows which sagged none too gracefully across its deeper pools, or languished beside the rocky stretches that were bone dry from July to October, with a narrow channel in the center where what water there was hurried along to the pools below. For a mile or more, where the land lay fairly level in a platter-like valley set in the lower hills, the mud that rimmed the pools was scored deep with the tracks of the...

The smog beast wafted into downtown Los Angeles on July 26, 1943. Nobody knew what it was. Secretaries rubbed their eyes. Traffic cops seemed to disappear in the mysterious haze. Were Japanese saboteurs responsible? A reckless factory? The truth was much worse--it came from within, from Southern California's burgeoning car-addicted, suburban lifestyle. Smog town is the story of pollution, progress, and how an optimistic people confronted the epic...

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers' Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country's shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors, many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures, were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck,...

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers' Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country's shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors-many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures-were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck,...

The "Aunt Phil's Trunk" Alaska history series is taking Alaska by storm. This critically acclaimed four-book series written by Laurel Downing Bill is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of the Last Frontier. The books, which are appropriate for ages 9 to 99, are a delightful journey through Alaska's rich past. "Aunt Phil's Trunk Volume Two," which shares Alaska's past from 1900 to 1912, continues to bring Alaska's history alive. This...