Nancy McGee

Let me just start by saying, I loved this book! I loved his previous book! What author am I referring to and what books you might wonder? Kevin Fedarko thrilled, educated, inspired, and left me hungry for more with his new book, “A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon.”

I finished reading Fedarko’s “The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History through the Heart of the Grand Canyon” last month, recommended to me by a patron, and I could not wait for his next non-fiction adventure book to arrive. I packed my armchair adventurer backpack and dove right in as soon as “A Walk in the Park” arrived on our bookshelves. The author has truly experienced the Grand Canyon in ways very few people have and takes you from the river to the rim. He has done extensive research on the history of the Colorado River, from early to current explorers and Native Americans, river guides, long-distance hikers, the geology and the dams, and preservation. He shares all of this and the perils and pleasures of being on the water (Emerald Mile) and on the land in his challenging 750-mile hiking odyssey (A Walk in the Park). His personal experience, lack of experience, and wit make both of these books very engrossing reads.

Author Fedarko’s books have also inspired my curiosity to learn more about the Grand Canyon. We just happen to have another book in our New Book area by photographer and author Dave Showalter, “Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado.” Colorful photos and maps enhance the text that explores the watershed of the Colorado River’s 1,450-mile journey from the headwaters in Wyoming to the Gulf of Mexico. Topics explored include the tributaries, wildlife, human and agricultural demands, water rights, and conservation and preservation of this important and beautiful resource of the American West.

If you are planning on visiting the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend reading these books and checking out some of our other books on the Grand Canyon, John Wesley Powell’s exploration of the Canyon, and the Colorado River to truly appreciate your experience.

I have heard it said that you do not really appreciate history until you have some history of your own. That being said, you may not have a good recollection of California history from your fourth-grade class. No worries, A.K. Smiley Public Library has a pretty impressive collection of California history, old and new!

“Fascinating True Tales from Old California: Crooked Con Men, Eccentric Immigrants, and Fearless Females Who Shaped the Golden State” is informative and entertaining. It is authored by historian Colleen Adair Fliedner and begins with a brief chronological timeline. Short chapters tell interesting tales of Californians and events from 1542 through 1940. There is some overlap and references between chapters of some of the individuals highlighted as they were in the same time-frames and may have crossed paths at some point. Trivia fans can glean some little-known facts about how California was once infested with fleas, experienced pirate attacks, and possibly discover some locations of buried treasure.

Another enjoyable read on our beautiful state is historian Noelle Sullivan’s “It Happened in Southern California: Stories of Events and People that Shaped Golden State History.” Short chapters range from “1600s Big Bears and Basketmakers” to “2003 The Governator.” The book concludes with “Southern California/Hollywood/Silver Screen Facts and Trivia,” a bulleted section to further enhance your trivia arsenal.

If you would like to visit some of the places mentioned in the two previous books, check out “Moon Southern California Road Trips: Drives along the Beaches, Mountains, and Deserts with the Best Stops along the Way,” and “Fodor’s Northern California.” These selections can help you plan your excursions. “Route 66 Adventure Handbook,” by Drew Knowles will take you to some of these locations, as well as beyond California on the “mother road.” Create more of your own memories and history using these books as your guide.

If you are inspired to do a deeper dive into California history, A.K. Smiley Library has plenty of books waiting for you, and our Heritage Room has more than just books for your perusal.

The once popular genre of Western fiction books seems to be fading into the sunset, with fewer of them being written or checked out. There are currently only three new Westerns on our new book shelf, with some still coming in. However, if you have a hankerin’ for similar reads, saddle up and come on down to Smiley Library for some non-fiction books that are sure to fill the bill!

“The Summer of 1876:  Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season that Defined the American West,” ties together several legendary individuals with the backdrop of other noteworthy historical events of that year. Names like Custer, Masterson, Hickok, Earp, James, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull are included. These are woven together and explored by author Chris Wimmer along with the beginnings of Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia World’s Fair, the invention of the telephone, the publication of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and other events.

“Follow Me to Hell: McNelly’s Texas Rangers and the Rise of Frontier Justice,” delves into the adventures of Captain Leander McNelly and the inception of the Texas Rangers. Best-selling author Tom Clavin takes readers back to the origins of the dangerous pursuit of justice in Texas and the surrounding areas, including apprehending cattle rustlers and bandits, land skirmishes, and Civil War battles.

Nathan Ward shares a narrative of the same era in “Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier.” Siringo lived his personal dream of being a cowboy, then became a detective with the Pinkerton Agency, an author, and also a consultant in the early years of Hollywood for Western films.

“Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber,” by John Boessenecker is about Charles Boles, a wealthy and educated socialite that lived in San Francisco. His acquaintances had no idea that he was actually the very successful stagecoach robber, aka Black Bart.

Switching gears to where the old West meets modern day, Tracy Daugherty has authored “Larry McMurtry: A Life.” He chronicles the man and his works that surely come to mind when thinking of great Western books and screenplays. In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, McMurtry was also passionate about collecting and selling books.

If you haven’t had your Western appetite quenched quite yet, you can hit the road, or be an armchair adventurer, and visit some of the notable places you have heard about in “Discovering the Outlaw Trail: Routes, Hideouts & Stories form the Wild West.” Mike Bezemek suggests driving, biking, camping, riding a train, and paddling your way along legendary outlaw routes. The book is divided into four sections: Discovering the Outlaw Trail, Stories from the Outlaw Trail, Traveling the Outlaw Trail, and The Ends of the Outlaw Trail-Stories Conclude. Color pictures and maps add to the enchantment of this fascinating travelogue.

Before talking about what’s new, here’s a little information about something old at A.K. Smiley Public Library (besides the beautiful building). Did you know that the article featuring the “New Books at A.K. Smiley Library” is the longest running column in the Redlands Daily Facts?

We have old editions of local newspapers dating back to 1897 available on microfilm that can be viewed on our microfilm reader. However, if you are under a certain age, you might have no idea what that is. Newspapers for many years have been photographed onto a reel of microfilm for preservation, as it takes up a lot less room than the newspapers would, and it lasts longer. The microfilm reader machine makes it possible to view those reels.

Recently while looking up some information for a patron on a Redlands Daily Facts reel from 1920, I ran across the article listing the new books at A.K. Smiley Public Library. I thought it would be nice to share a copy with you, as it is interesting to see what the featured books were. Perhaps you might recognize a few of the titles?

The number of new books that were added weekly in 1920 were probably far fewer than we receive on a weekly basis in 2023. In one recent week, 134 new items were added to our circulating library collection. This number now not only includes books, but also audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, MP3s, and Playaways—items not even dreamt of in the 1920s!

In keeping with the purpose of the article, here is a small assortment of new book titles that have recently been added to our shelves:

“The Wind Knows My Name: A Novel,” Isabel Allende (fiction)

“Grave Expectations,” Alice Bell (mystery)

“The Blue, Beautiful World,” Karen Lord (science fiction)

“Desolation Creek,” William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone (western)

“Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins,” Aidan Levy (biography)

“Secrets of the Elephants,” Paula Kahumbu (non-fiction)

Come in and browse for yourself our different circulating collections available for checkout. Microfilm reels are available for specific research or for viewing old headlines, sports articles, wedding, birth or death announcements, or just to marvel at old store and real estate prices!