Growing up on a dairy farm in Sussex, England, Stephen Pern was fascinated by the American West. As an adult, he spent six months walking 2,500 miles through the West, along the Continental Divide. Here is his irreverent, engaging account of the trek--a story of blisters and beauty, of off-beat characters and surprising insights.

A novel on the Comanches, the first Indians of the Plains to take advantage of the horse, brought by the Europeans. The resulting mobility helped them become a great nation and their story is told through the eyes of Horseback, a skilled mounted warrior. (From WorldCat).

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, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. The WPA Guide to Colorado, not surprisingly, emphasizes the natural beauty of the Highest State. With a landscape ranging from alpine mountains with lush forests to arid deserts with massive sand dunes and a history that includes a rich Native American presence as well as booming mining and agriculture industries, the WPA guide shows how Colorado has earned the moniker “the Colorful State.”