Discover hundreds of ghost towns throughout Utah with this guidebook filled with pictures and directions. Penny Spackman Clendenin, who grew up exploring ghost towns, divides them by county, sharing fascinating details that paint a portrait of Utah history. Towns include: • Bradshaw City, which was founded by John Bradshaw after he dreamt of a cave high on a mountain and a pack rat’s nest filled with gold nuggets. His dream was so real that he set out on foot to find his dream mine. • Mercury Springs was a terribly isolated camp, but gold finds and mercury discoveries brought in miners. Later, tungsten was mined in great quantities, but over the years fluorspar has probably bought more whiskey, bread, and beans than anything else. • Star City was the namesake of the Star Mining District and was six miles southwest of Milford. During the 1870s, it grew from a tent town into a mining camp. Filled with tales of outlaws, insights on the mining way of life, and explanations of how these places became ghost towns in the first place, you’ll love the stories behind these fascinating places.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, this extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities. • Now an acclaimed FX limited series streaming on HULU. “Fantastic.... Right up there with In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song.” —San Francisco Chronicle Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

As there are ghost towns in Utah, so there are ghost railroads.

A scrupulously researched investigation of the mysterious massacre of Hopi Indians at Awat'ovi, and the event's echo through American history. The Hopi community of Awat’ovi existed peacefully on Arizona’s Antelope Mesa for generations until one bleak morning in the fall of 1700—raiders from nearby Hopi villages descended on Awat’ovi, slaughtering their neighboring men, women, and children. While little of the pueblo itself remains, five centuries of history lie beneath the low rises of sandstone masonry, and theories about the events of that night are as persistent as the desert winds. The easternmost town on Antelope Mesa, Awat’ovi was renowned for its martial strength, and had been the gateway to the entire Hopi landscape for centuries. Why did kinsmen target it for destruction? Drawing on oral traditions, archival accounts, and extensive archaeological research, James Brooks unravels the story and its significance. Mesa of Sorrows follows the pattern of an archaeological expedition, uncovering layer after layer of evidence and theories. Brooks questions their reliability and shows how interpretations were shaped by academic, religious and tribal politics. Piecing together three centuries of investigation, he offers insight into why some were spared—women, mostly, and taken captive—and others sacrificed. He weighs theories that the attack was in retribution for Awat’ovi having welcomed Franciscan missionaries or for the residents’ practice of sorcery, and argues that a perfect storm of internal and external crises revitalized an ancient cycle of ritual bloodshed and purification. A haunting account of a shocking massacre, Mesa of Sorrows is a probing exploration of how societies confront painful histories, and why communal violence still plagues us today.

"Utah's Hidden Treasures is a tour through the state of Utah, with a tidbit of other areas close by would be a good way of getting the juices flowing in the readers' veins to get up off the couch, put down the TV remote, hide the iPod and whatever device keeps them inside to venture out amongst the hills and valleys in search for that lost mine, treasure or outlaw loot! The author, having spent many years; mostly in his early years hunting such things, learned a lot about many places and accumulated dozens of stories and maps. Are they all true? Maybe not, but that's part of the excitement! It seems that most stories have been somewhat embellished, and many maps have been drawn to scam some unknowing greenhorn. But, there are good maps and good stories and it's an adventure to figure out what is and what isn't true."--provided by publisher.