No comments about Black pioneers in Colorado: A history 1528-1921.

No comments about From Plowshares to Jets I Was There (The Story of Robert C. Appleman).

No comments about Geordies, Yankees, and Canucks: The Wonders In England, the United States, and Canada.

No comments about Cemeteries of Hinsdale County, Colorado: Comprising the communities of Lake City, Capitol City, and Burrows Park together with Cathedral, the Lake Fork Valley, Rio Grande & Debs.

No comments about Birth of a Quarry Town: 1800s Lyons, Colorado.

4 comments about Threads of Honor: The True Story of a Boy Scout Troop, Perseverance, Triumph, and an American Flag.

1. I enjoyed reading Threads of Honor. The plot was good and when the flag got chosen to be on a space flight, I was very suprised at the outcome. ( I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't yet read the book.) Well worth the read and good for any age!



2. The best way to describe this book, I believe, is in the words of Senator Orrin Hatch, who wrote the foreword. He says:

   "The American flag is more than just a piece of cloth-it symbolizes the courage of many, and the hope of our nation. From the frontiers of America's earliest days to today's battlefields-the American flag has always represented courage, hope and perseverance. Threads of Honor is about one particular American flag whose threads touched the lives of many and whose journey inspired our nation. In today's troubled times when America is being bombarded by those who try to threaten our democracy and the freedoms we hold dear, this book will give readers a stirring reminder of the many men and women who have sacrificed, and in some instances given everything, for what the flag represents-our freedom.

   "Threads of Honor is a wonderful portrait of a Boy Scout troop that wouldn't give up, their leader who instills loyalty and steadfastness, and an American flag that changed their lives forever. It is about America's space program and the frontiers it conquers. And it is a story of a journey that a small group of young men and one American flag took to help comfort a grieving nation. In short, Threads of Honor is an inspiring portrayal of the triumph of the human spirit."

   - Senator Orrin Hatch

   Threads of Honor is a great read for any patriotic American, but especially for any of the Boy Scouts in your life.




3. An interesting story between the Boy Scouts, NASA, and the government. The book follows the story of a Scout Troop and their quest to reclaim an US Flag which traveled on a Space Shuttle mission. An inspiring story of persiverance for the "little guy" to reclaim a special prize. Easy reading and compelling story



4. Threads of Honor by Gordon Ryan is a truly inspiring story. I was touched by Bill Tolbert's persistence and commitment to getting his troop's flag on the Challenger Shuttle. He never gave up - nor did our flag. Miraculously, it was preserved. What a wonderful reminder of those brave astronauts who gave their lives for that mission. This true story gave me a greater appreciation for my rights, my freedom and our flag!
   It inspired me to be a better neighbor, a better friend and a better contributor to my community. This book would be great for Scout Leaders, Scout Troops, Space lovers, and anyone who is proud of our stars and stripes.

No comments about Drillin', loadin', and firin': In Crestone with the "old timers!".

No comments about Edmonstone Chronicles: Royal Knights and Scottish Kings.

4 comments about From the Grave: A Roadside Guide to Colorado's Pioneer Cemeteries.

1. Never before has a book been so complete and the subject researched more thourghly, than Wommack's From The Grave. Three years of research has produced information for more than 350 cemeteries and mini-biographies of over a thousand pioneers interred in Colorado's cemeteries. Cemetery information, maps, directions, all round out this wonder book. A must read for the historian and genealogist. Humorous epitaphs and ghost stories are an added treat.



2. This book contains interesting data, yet lacks in historical facts about the origin of the nick-name Bloody Bridles, given to Governor Waite in 1893. The book states the nick-name was given for his defense of Populist programs. NOT TRUE !!!

   Governor Waite was called Bloody Bridles for a speech he gave on July 11, 1893; against the impending repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, that de-monitized Silver.

   To see more on this subject; GoTo YAHOO search engine- Enter THE GHOSTWALKER; click on Aspen icon, wait to load sound.... The story of BLOODY BRIDLES and his monument will tell the truth.....




3. The amount of research that went into this book is absolutely incredible. I am native to Colorado and have lived here most of my life. I am so glad to see that someone finally took an interest in the peaple who made this state what it is. Besides the fact that it is so easy to read. One Great Book.



4. Wommack's book represents a daunting amount of research and should become a standard reference work for geneologists and historians.

4 comments about OBIT. Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People who Led Extraordinary Lives.

1. Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer Jim Sheeler presents Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People who Led Extraordinary Lives, an anthology of brief yet heartwarming portrayals of men and women who led energetic, compassionate, sometimes humorous, always shining lives. Each biographical portrayal is only a few pages long - yet that is more than enough space to expand beyond the traditional printed obituary and reveal the wonder, the color, and the personality infused into each individual's unique life. Obit is ultimately an anthology celebrating life, not death, and an emotionally moving read whether explored a few pages at a time or all at once.



2. Jim Sheeler notes in his introduction: "The death beat is supposed to be the worst job in the newsroom. For those of us who understand, it's journalism's best kept secret -- a place of raw emotion and endless wisdom, a place where you find lessons of life more brilliant that anything you'll find from the traditionally designated 'noteworthy' people who usually appear in the rest of the newspaper." I've been writing obits for years, yet after reading this book I now aspire to cover the death beat like Sheeler does -- with compassion and grace.
   
   The deceased are the main focus of each chapter, but Sheeler is there too, buried in the spaces between each inked line. A master wordsmith and medium, he has the uncanny ability to give a voice to ghosts and record their legacy. Read this collection, and you too will hear the whispered tales of nurses and bartenders, pilots and farmers, mountain makers and carousel caretakers.
   
   Take your time, though. "Obit" is simply too rich to read in one sitting. This collection of "inspiring stories of ordinary people who led extraordinary lives" is meant to be savored. As such, I devoted the last half hour of each day to a different deceased man or woman, then carried their stories into Morpheus' realm. There they inspired my dreams. And when I woke up, hours later, the dead were alive once again, filling my mind with thoughts of love, loss, courage and generosity.



3. OBIT. Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People who Led Extraordinary Lives. This book is reminiscent of well written Readers Digest short stories. Obit will force the reader into reflection on one's own fleeting life. When the time comes and none shall escape it. Will the last things said about you just be a "footnote on the backside of life"? Or will the reading of your obituary bring a tear to a strangers face?



4. A friend of mine sent me this book to include in my annual write-up of the "most inadequate blurbs." OK, this one is by Westword, whatever that is, and it reads in its entirety: "Many of Sheeler's subjects are lifeless, but his prose certainly isn't." As a blurb, it's distinctive on two counts: you don't see many books blurbed with the equivalent of "Not Lifeless!" and secondly, as a sentence, it has the most misleading use of the word "Many" I've ever seen. What do you think Westword was intending by using the word "Many." If he had read the book he would have known that it is a large collection of obituaries. There aren't a few live people mixed in for variety. No, it's all dead, all the time--I should say, all lifeless all the time. Anyhow I got to reading the book and I must say, it is certainly worth a read.
   
   Jim Sheeler is no Alden Whitman (the man who for so many years wrote obituaries for the NY Times of the most famous people on earth). I take it that he prides himself on doing the little people, the meek of the earth, and his beat is Denver, Boulder, and the surrounding lands of Colorado. I don't know how he selects his subjects, but he writes on and on about their lives, their families, the things they did over the years, and how sad it is that they've died. I found myself sniffling a bit, especially over the young ones, one boy died at 15, a budding opera buff and enthusiast who had a fatal heart ailment, or another boy, the bad boy of his little village, who died overseas serving his country.
   
   But strangely I found myself growing cold to the deaths of a whole pack of country folk. It's Sheeler's fault, he just doesn't seem able to animate these people, make them come to life for the reader. All of them have the same format, and about the same number of words, so a profile of a nonagenarian clocks in at about the same length as a child, giving rise to the suspicion that, with all his bruited tenderness, Sheeler's just cranking them out like loaves of bread. And sorry, despite the subtitle, I didn't feel the "extraordinariness" of any of these people's lives. Says on the front of the book he won the Pulitzer Prize. For what? I ask. Was it Colorado's turn?