"When McKinley Casperson, fun-loving promoter and bachelor, meets Lillian Prichard on the funicular railroad he operates on Castle Rock, he cannot imagine that one day this spirited beauty will tangle with the Ku Klux Klan and help his family shed the dark influence, a surprising political current that captured Colorado's statehouse and governor's mansion in the 1920s."--Page 4 of cover

The memoirs of Seidensticker, perhaps best know for his translations of modern and classical Japanese novels, including the 11th century Tale of Genji. Seidensticker was introduced to Japan as a young diplomat during the Allied occupation and remained in Tokyo afterwards, befriending many of the luminaries of the Japanese literary scene. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"Where The West Lives!" Golden's motto sums up the colorful history of the small town set at the entrance to the storied gold fields of Colorado. The scenic valley that shelters Golden caught the notice of some of the most famed pioneers of the West: explorer Major Stephen Long, world traveler Isabella Bird, showman Buffalo Bill Cody, and brewer Adolph Coors. Chronicled here in over 200 vintage images is the history of this quintessential "rough-and-ready" Western town. Serving as the territorial capital from 1862-1867, Golden was primed as the perfect business opportunity due to its proximity to the mining districts. Entrepreneurs with a vision of Manifest Destiny worked diligently to civilize the frontier town, and it soon became a major player in the state's mineral extraction, education, and railroad industries. Boasting more saloons than any other structure in town, Golden also had its share of coal mines, gold smelters, a paper mill, and several railroad lines. Featuring many historic images of the town's past, including original panoramic views by William Henry Jackson and images of Buffalo Bill Cody's Masonic funeral, this book captures the heart of a town where the spirit of the West never died.

Name by Jonathon Yardly of the Washington Post as one of the best books of 2000, Citizen Coors combines a monumental business story with a heartrending tale of family strife and a sweeping vista of American politics in the last half of the twentieth century. From the moment when the dsitute Prussian Adolph Coors stows away to America in 1868, through the creation of the Heritage Foundation, to the global expansion of the billion-dollar Coors Brewing Company, the Coors family triumphed by iron-willed commitment to its own values -- values that ironically prove the family's undoing on both the business and political fronts. Acclaimed writer Dan Baum captures it all, from Adolph's Prohibition-provoked suicide to the banishment of an heir-apparent for marrying without permission. Baum vividly depicts the genius, eccentricity, and tragic weaknesses of the remarkable Coors family.

It's hard to imagine that Douglas County's breathtaking vistas--now occupied by expanding suburbs and quiet, open spaces--were once the home to dinosaur herds and, later on, nomadic Indian tribes. The nation's second gold rush brought those seeking great fortunes to central Colorado, but it was the untapped potential of the area and a dream of taming the land that appealed most to early settlers of Douglas County. Pioneers like General Bela Hughes and John D. Perry (whose agreement led to the railroad connection across Kansas to Denver) and Martin Henry Goddard (who, along with his wife, Nellie, ran the Rhode Island Hotel) were among the first of many settlers to establish roots here. Join the Castle Rock Writers for a journey through the history of this land and the diverse legacy left behind by those who made it their home.

"Who is an American?" asked the Ku Klux Klan. It is a question that echoes as loudly today as it did in the early twentieth century. But who really joined the Klan? Were they "hillbillies, the Great Unteachables" as one journalist put it? It would be comforting to think so, but how then did they become one of the most powerful political forces in our nation's history? In The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland, renowned historian James H. Madison details the creation and reign of the infamous organization. Through the prism of their operations in Indiana and the Midwest, Madison explores the Klan's roots in respectable white protestant society. Convinced that America was heading in the wrong direction because of undesirable "un-American" elements, Klan members did not see themselves as bigoted racist extremists but as good Christian patriots joining proudly together in a righteous moral crusade. The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland offers a detailed history of this powerful organization and examines how, through its use of intimidation, religious belief, and the ballot box, the ideals of Klan in the 1920s have on-going implications for America today.