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Celebrating the Centennial State

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Contributed by: Ioanna Athanasopoulos on 7/25/2007

By Joyce Deming, information services librarian, Golden Library

With more than 300 days of sunshine a year and a backdrop of mountain scenery unparalleled in the lower 48, it's no wonder Colorado is one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Whether you're a newcomer to Colorado or an old-timer like me, there is much to celebrate about our state. Here are a few titles to help you do just that.

Mention the name, John Fielder, and anyone who's spent more than a week in Colorado knows who you're talking about. His work has earned him the well-deserved reputation as one of the country's premier landscape photographers. There are some lesser-known names in the field, however, and Grant Collier certainly deserves more recognition. His book, "Colorado: Moments in Time," is a superb collection of photographs from around the state, accompanied by Collier's essays on the history of each of the regions pictured. It's a book to be savored.

What Fielder is to landscape photographers, Ann Zwinger is to nature writers. Author of almost 20 books, Zwinger has won numerous awards for her nature writing. Of all her books, my favorite remains "Beyond the Aspen Grove," a delightfully-written and well-researched exploration of the plants, animals and ecology of a 40-acre mountain parcel owned by her family near Colorado Springs. Accompanied by her detailed pencil drawings, it's a loving tribute to a place that helped Zwinger realize "it is we who belong to the land."

While it's easy to fall in love with Colorado's mountains, to which the plethora of books about them will attest, our eastern plains are another matter altogether. Often described as bleak and barren, it requires patience to discover the subtle beauty of the short-grass prairie. No one is more qualified to do so than noted Colorado wildlife writer Mary Taylor Young. Her book, "Land of Grass and Sky," is part natural history text, part self-discovery journal, and totally engaging.

About 120 miles east of Denver is the town of Flagler, the boyhood home of journalist and author Hal Borland. Born in Nebraska, Borland moved to a homestead near Flagler with his parents in 1910. He chronicles the hard work and stubborn determination it took to build that homestead in his book, "High, Wide and Lonesome." But, far from being a "woe is me" memoir, it's an inviting look at a harsh, yet beguiling landscape. If you like this book, you might also enjoy its sequel, "Country Editor's Boy."

For another take on the homesteading life, give "The Diary of Mattie Spencer" by Sandra Dallas a try. Dallas, a well-known Denver historian, has created a vivid fictional account of life on a sod-house homestead in the Colorado Territories of the 1860's. Told in journal form, it's a story of joy, tragedy and romance that's hard to put down.

You can check out these books and more at any Jefferson County Public Library location. Look for them on our web site at http:\\jefferson.lib.co.us, or talk to your librarian for more recommendations.

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Ioanna Athanasopoulos

Lakewood , CO

Ioanna Athanasopoulos has posted 195 stories and 0 comments since joining on 4/20/2006. Ioanna Athanasopoulos 's average story rating is 5.

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