History


John Gregory Country:
Place Names and History of Ralston Buttes Quadrangle, Jefferson County, Colorado

Second Edition

Winner: American Regional History Award, Western States Category

“…a fascinating micro-history of a small but historically significant area of Colorado…Cemeteries, Mines, Parks, Railroads, Schools, Stage Stops, Indian Trails, and other ‘Items of Interest’ fill this tome with fascinating details of the lives of the many people who lived and worked in the area…

If you are interested in the richness of the lives of the people who helped make our history, this is the book for you. It is wonderfully illustrated with high quality photographs and maps that add dimension to an important work.”

– Alan Culpin, Abracadabra Bookshop


Narrative history

History Rendered as Story

The El Dorado Trilogy

 

Ranging across America’s westward expansion and cultures from 1846 to 1869, the trilogy is a narration of historical events. It is not a collection of events. It is the story told by the events.

 
 

Over the Mountains of the Moon

Book 1, 1846-1849
Winner: Eric Hoffer Book Award for Legacy Fiction, 2010

“Whether read as an adventure tale, a quest, a love story, a character study or a narrative of survival, it succeeds on all levels. It is a western which transcends the genre; it is a novel to be savored, loved, hated, but never ignored. This is an editor’s choice for one of the best books of 1995.”

– Amarillo Sunday News-Globe Review

 

Down the Valley of the Shadow

Book 2, 1849-1857
Finalist: BookExpo, Los Angeles, 2003

“A most complex book that is fully as good as Over the Mountains of the Moon. In this book, as in the last one, Ramstetter presents a graphic picture of the frontier in lyrical prose.

If you have not read her first novel, do so immediately, then read the sequel. This may be the single best fictional account of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.”

 – Doris Meredith, Western Writers of America

 

Ride, Boldly Ride

Book 3, 1857-1869
Finalist: 2009 National Indie Awards

“An extraordinary plot, delivered with brilliant dialogue and description. This book engaged me with the history of the time, sending me diving into dictionaries and history books. Before I had finished, I was recommending the book to family and friends.

Even though I have not read the first two books in the series (but I will), it was fairly easy to step into the story. The aids—the map,  the history, the cast, and the bibliography—were all nice touches….”

– EVVY Winner, Colorado Independent Publishers—Judge’s Comments