Nancy McGee

A personal connection to a book makes it even more interesting to read. A place you have been or a person you have knowledge of may engage you more deeply into the story.

A few years ago, I took a rough four-wheel-drive trip up to Cerro Gordo, after contacting the previous owner to arrange a visit. It was a fascinating private tour to another time and place. “Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley,” is a captivating read, even if you haven’t been there. Author Brent Underwood (and some investors) purchased the desolate and abandoned silver mining town of Cerro Gordo in 2018 and he moved there in 2020. The location is remote, has no running water, and sits at 8,000 feet in the Inyo Mountains above Death Valley on one side and Owens Lake on the other. He interweaves the history of the area with his struggles and determination to bring the town back to life. Extreme weather, being trapped on the mountain for several days, and a fire that destroyed the beautiful historic hotel were just some of the challenges he has already dealt with. Follow him and his latest adventures on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Another book I really enjoyed, having visited Alaska and musher Jeff King’s Husky Homestead, is “Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod.” Veterinarian Lee Morgan takes the reader to the very cold locale of Alaska in March to share his experiences as a race volunteer. Since 2012, Morgan has been sharing his expertise, compassion, and perseverance ensuring the health and safety of the elite canine competitors out on the wilderness trails of the Iditarod race. He has some fascinating stories to tell about the dogs, mushers (including Jeff King), joys, and mishaps of being out on remote checkpoints with other veterinarians on the 1,049-mile trail.

Vague memories of a childhood visit to the Mississippi River made reading “The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi,” more interesting. Author Boyce Upholt thoroughly explores the history, culture, environment, ecology, and politics of the river and its extensive watershed. His coverage of almost every aspect of the river, its past and present impacts, and future is almost as expansive as the area and people that are connected to it.

Visit our New Book Section and checkout these books or browse and find something of special interest to you!

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.