The first one,
Heroes to Me, is a collection of my first 50 articles on the early west. Lots of basic questions were answered (how long did they live, what was their camp like, along with a collection of about 25 first hand descriptions of the trappers, adventurers and explorers) in this. The main thought on this one is that while there are alot of myths and made up stories on the trappers, mountian men and western people- the real stories are much better than the made up ones. It did well with four good magazine reviews, went to four printings and maybe reprinted again here soon. There are still some around, I saw one on
[url] Amazon.com[/url] recently (but it was considered a collector's book and was about 50% higher than when it was new).
The second is
Rocky Mountain Life. I pulled from 28 dated journals and diaries a collection of interesting daily entries that fill up a year's time. Most are ones you have never seen or read, but gives what life really was like for those who lived it. Has humor, deaths, love, and you get to see the seasonal changes and flow along with the small things we never think about. In its third printing, still in print, with three good magazine reviews.
The third one, which should be out in the next month, is a continuation of the first book with another 25 or so topicial studies on the west. Each different than the first book, alittle deeper in content and with more references. I have seen the proof copy and it looks good.
All of these books, like my writing for
On The Trail magazine, are well researched, but not too scholarly to be boring. The the third book has a bibliography of about 65 books. I am doing the research now on my fourth, and have about 105 pages of notes on the Indians found in the west during this time. Sounds like alot, but I am only to the Nez Perce.
mike.
