Article Contributed on: 6/20/2009 5:08:24 PM
For anyone who read the Rocky Mountain News, or cradles a love of Colorado and American history, you will want to read on.
Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters / 150 Years of Front-Page Stories from the Rocky Mountain News is a new book written by longtime Rocky editor Michael Madigan that preserves the newspaper's history and captures the flavor and feel of all its years. The author lives in Arvada, Colo.
The 192-page, over-sized commemorative volume is available now at the author's web site - www.michaelmadiganauthor.com - and in the gift shop of the Colorado History Museum and all Tattered Cover locations. Retail price is $29.95 plus tax/shipping. It will be available in most area bookstores soon.
Special signing events are in the works. Watch the web site for announcements.
The Rocky, creator of YourHub.com, was Colorado's leading and oldest daily newspaper before closing earlier this year, just 55 days short of its 150th anniversary. Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters chronicles its rich history in a uniquely readable and entertaining format.
The author chose 150 events of historical or cultural importance to Colorado and our nation and reprised them with original news reports and the actual front pages from the newspaper.
Readers can experience what it was like to open their Rocky on the days it first reported Lincoln's assassination ... the sinking of the Titanic ... the trial of a Colorado cannibal ... the two great World Wars ... an American walking on the moon ... its warning to young fans of the Beatles ... the unsolved murder of Jonbenet Ramsey ... the tragedy at Columbine High School ... and many, many more noteworthy news stories.
Some of the most recent chapters are featured in 25 pages of full color.
In addition to the "big stories" which were found on Page 1, nearly every chapter includes shorter stories and vignettes that add color and characters to the stage upon which Denver and Colorado grew up over 150 years.
These stories tell how Baby Doe Tabor died outside the Matchless silver mine ... of the days when Miss Santa Claus gave away gold on downtown streets ... how the newspaper used to sell injury insurance for an arm and a leg - literally ... the start of Molly Mayfield's gossip column ... of the woman banned from the Eisenhower Tunnel ... of the love affair longtime columnist Gene Amole shared with his readers ...
And, the last days of the Rocky Mountain News.
As former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm put it, Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters is "A history, a tribute, a remembrance, a celebration - alas - an obituary of one of Colorado's most important institutions. The history of Denver and Colorado unfolds before your very eyes."
Madigan is scheduled to present a workshop at Colorado AuthorFest in Manitou Springs in October. In a departure from most authors' routine, he is also available to discuss the book with area book clubs and history groups. He can be contacted at www.michaelmadiganauthor.com.