With a New Afterword First published in 1989, Boomtown Blues examines the remarkable 100-year history of oil shale development and chronicles the social, environmental, and financial havoc created by the industry's continual cycles of boom and bust.

More college students than ever are majoring in Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Education, or Adventure Education, but fewer and fewer Americans spend any time in thoughtful, respectful engagement with wilderness. While many young people may think of adrenaline-laced extreme sports as prime outdoor activities, with "Outdoors in the Southwest, "Andrew Gulliford seeks to promote appreciation for and discussion of the wild landscapes where those sports are played.

Advocating an outdoor ethic based on curiosity, cooperation, humility, and ecological literacy, this essay collection features selections by renowned southwestern writers including Terry Tempest Williams, Edward Abbey, Craig Childs, and Barbara Kingsolver, as well as scholars, experienced guides, and river rats. Essays explain the necessity of nature in the digital age, recount rafting adventures, and reflect on the psychological effects of expeditions. True-life cautionary tales tell of encounters with nearly disastrous flash floods, 900-foot falls, and lightning strikes. The final chapter describes the work of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, and other exemplars of "wilderness tithing"--giving back to public lands through volunteering, stewardship, and eco-advocacy.

Addressing the evolution of public land policy, the meaning of wilderness, and the importance of environmental protection, this collection serves as an intellectual guidebook not just for students but for travelers and anyone curious about the changing landscape of the West.

"Preserving Western History" is the first college reader to address public history in the American West. Andrew Gulliford's collection of essays explains the research and work that public historians do and the complicated issues of historic site preservation and interpretation.

The contributors' writings document the application of public history to specific Western themes, places, and personalities. Subjects range from the Little Big Horn Battlefield to Route 66 and from historic brothel buildings at the Mustang Ranch in Nevada to Nikkei removal from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Other chapters interpret the Ludlow Massacre Site, define Hispanic identity and lifeways in New Mexico, discuss wild land firefighter memorials and explain the Wilderness Act as a case study in western public history. Other studies focus on Sand Creek, Colorado and Western Mining Landscapes.

Each section begins with an introductory essay that surveys the literature and relevant publications, and each chapter includes endnotes and study questions. The appendix lists academic centers in the West.

Contributors to "Preserving Western History" include:

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former Congressman and U.S. Senator from Colorado and member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe
James E. Fell, Jr., adjunct associate professor of history, University of Colorado, Denver
Art GA3mez, supervisory historian in the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service, Santa Fe
Jon Hunner, director of the public history program at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
Jan MacKell, archivist at the Cripple Creek District Museum in Cripple Creek, Colorado
Sally Mcbeth, professor of anthropology at theUniversity of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Thomas J. Noel, professor of history and director of public history at the University of Colorado, Denver
Douglas D. Scott, Great Plains Team Leader with the National Park Serviceas Midwest Archeological Center and is adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln
William Wroth, former Curator of the Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center