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 Here are all the reviews for The Arbuckle Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories submitted by our readers!
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Recommended for students of western lore and literature.
Written by a genuine turn-of-the-century cowpuncher, "The Arbuckle
Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories" offers modern readers an informative and
entertaining window in time to the great roundups, trail drives, humor
and hardships of handling cattle in the American west of yesteryear.
Also included are pioneer anecdotes of northwest Colorado told with
all the drama of tales around a campfire. The stories include: Dogies,
Dust, and the Drink; Hired Killers and Winter Underwear; The Great Elk
Migration; The Hermit of Yampa Canyon, Riding with Butch Cassidy;
Buzzards Don't Talk; The Wild Horse Man; Dirty Cattle Thieves; Tom
Horn; Queen Ann Bassett, and more. Of special note is the epilogue:
The Demise of the Two-Bar Rooster. "The Arbuckle Cafe" is highly
recommended reading for students of western lore and literature, and
anyone who has ever day-dreamed of what it would have really been like
to punch cows on one of the last frontiers of the American west. |
By Midwest Book Review |
5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a book with atmosphere.
Here's a book with atmosphere. You can almost smell the campfire and
the Arbuckles' Coffee brewing over it, right alongside the scent of
horses, cattle, and sage. "The Arbuckle Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories"
creates its own setting and Val FitzPatrick's style is such that you
almost hear the cowboys swapping the yarns around the fire. However,
there's far more truth to the tales than the title suggests. Although
FitzPatrick, a Colorado native born in 1886, missed trailing the big
herds, he began cowboying at age 13 for the K Diamond Cattle Company.
At age 14 he began working for the Two-Bar Cattle Company, which was
"the goal of nearly every young man in the area." Cowboying left its
mark: FitzPatrick learned to appreciate a good tale and how to tell
it. |
By "Western Horseman Magazine" |
Don't miss this one!
One of the best books ever. Great writing, authentic, entertaining.
You won't want to put it down.
I also recommend "The Ozark Clan of Elkhead Creek" - about growing up
on a ranch and VERY good.
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By A Customer |
Jewel of a book!
With the dawning of the "new millenium" upon us many people think of
the "wild west" as ancient history. This jewel of a book, by Val
FitzPatrick, allows us to reflect upon just how rapidly we have become
gored and dependant upon our stampeding, technology driven society.
Mr.Fitzpatrick, who died in 1988 vividly recounts stories from his
youth when none other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid slid
their boots under his mother's kitchen table for a quick meal on their
trip down the old outlaw trail. These stories, while regional in scope
of subject, are a veritible history lesson of how rural life through
out the west was in the days before, airplanes, cars, paved roads or
even telephones. Told in a down to earth manner, neither glamorizing
or romanticizing the "good old days" he vividly paints a picture
showing the good and the bad, as well as the joy and hardships of
those times of his early years. You can almost feel the warmth of the
tin cup in your hands and smell the wet sage as you savor the flavor
of these exquisitly told tales.
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By A Customer |
Authentic good writing, authentic good entertainment!
This book is about real cowpunchers, but is good reading for anyone! I
have trouble deciding which story is my favorite ("Rattlesnake
Four-in-Hand" is one of the funniest stories I've ever read, and "A
Deal with the Infinite" is one of the most powerful). Val FitzPatrick
has a wonderful writing style. I recommend this book for anyone who
wants good writing, a beautiful cover (done by Ron Riddick, Cowboy
Artist Hall of Fame), and genuine good reading. I'm starting my second
pass on it!
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By A Customer |
A real collectible!!
This is a book you'll want to keep! Buy an extra for a friend. It's supurb!!!
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By Bob Foster |
Entertaining, great writing, one of the best I've read!
If I were the publisher of this book, I would give every one a
double-your-money-back-guarantee, because I would know without a doubt
that I'd never get one taker! This book is the real stuff, and Mr.
Fitzpatrick is an excellent writer - I LOVE this book!
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By A Customer |
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 Here are all the reviews for Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians submitted by our readers!
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A window into a yesteryear of the western frontier.
"Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians" is a remarkable
eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val
FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All
his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate
knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after
their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the
modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontie
during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the
homelands.
This is an account more accurate and compelling that those
of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very
highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies
collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one
of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts
from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin,
scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section
describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.
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By Midwest Book Review |
Finally, the story from the Indians' perspective! Fantastic!
Here is how the dispossession of the Utes really happened. Should be
required reading in history classes. Fascinating account. Highly
recommend!!
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By Bob Foster |
Written in part by a true American Hero, Dalton Carr
Too bad it is not fiction, this is a sad account of the fate of the
Ute Indians, written by a true American Hero, Dalton Carr, may you
Rest in Peace my friend!
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By Mr. Thomas M. Ferruzza |
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 Here are all the reviews for Salt Lake City: Jewell of the Wasatch submitted by our readers!
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| It's rare to see a book of this exceptional quality for this price.
Beautiful photos, interesting text - this is a really pretty book that
will give you an overview of the area, which is really a beautiful
place. |
Jean Medford |
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 Here are all the reviews for The Ozark Clan of Elkhead Creek: Memories of Early Life in Northwest Colorado submitted by our readers!
Click Here To See More Detail About This Book! |
This book is a rare find and a true treasure. For anyone who needs to
step outside of the turmoil of modern life and return to a
simpler—though still difficult—time, this is the book for you! The
imagry of a young boy leaving his green Missouri home for the
harshness of northwestern Colorado—a place where winter temperatures
easily drop to forty or fifty below zero, then stay there—is beautiful
and spell-binding, at times it brought tears to my eyes.
But theglories of a mountain spring, summer and autumn show reveal why anyone
would want to live there. At the same time, the down-home humor often
makes you laugh out loud. For instance--who ever heard of a winter so
cold that "one fellow spotted four jackrabbits pushing a coyote to get
it started." Great humor.
Mr. Miller is a writer in the mold of our
great humorists and great folk writers. His depiction of seeing and
using his first flush toilet is one of the funniest things I've ever
read. Buy this book. You'll treasure it too. And share it with anyone
who wants to tell you how hard life can get.
This book will show that
person how to overcome, while still seeing the beauty in the world and
still keeping an excellent sense of humor. |
J. M. Tubbs, Author |
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 Here are all the reviews for The Pebble Pups submitted by our readers!
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My 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter were both delighted with The Pebble Pups. We downloaded the book from its online source and I'll always remember the scene of the two of them hovering over the printer awaiting each page as it was completed. You'd hear an "oh wow, look at this" or an "ah cool" that even made me run over from my own task to see what they were so excited about.
After reading it from start to finish, my daughter said she really loved the cute illustrations. She enjoyed and appreciated the depth of the information the book shared about rocks, minerals, and fossils within the story of a fun, family adventure. She also said she felt encouraged to go out and explore, herself.
My son enjoyed the drawings and the humor and turns in the story's plot, especially the part where the family got stuck in the slippery Bentonite clay, the very same clay they made the pinch pots from earlier in the day.
I enjoyed the colorful, mostly full page illustrations myself. The favorite part of the story for me was when the Pebble Pups were visiting Old Wolf's Rock Shop where the family could buy "a Nautilus from Germany, ...white quartz crystals from Arkansas, or a piece of amethyst from Brazil. I appreciated seeing the lovely finds came from all over the globe and that every continent had its wonders.
This is a special book for all who want to share the love of the treasures the earth has to offer within a gentle family story. I would recommend it to all junior outdoorsmen and women. |
Katey, Matthew and Nichole Bailey
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