Desert Hawk Books

256  pages
Illustrations
Hardback

Women were scarce enough in the West of the late nineteenth century, and a middle-ages English lady traveling alone, by horseback, was a real phenomenon. It was during the autumn and early winter of 1873 that Isabella Bird made this extended tour of the Rocky Mountain area of Colorado, when she was on her way back to England from the Sandwich Islands. What she called "no region for tourists and women" is today a popular resort, through some of the back trails retain their inaccessibility and wild aspect.

"In its simple and disarming style, it is a great piece of reporting on a rugged frontier."-San Francisco Chronicle

"Delightful letters by an English spinster who recorded a considerable portion of the real West."-Saturday Review

"This book is a jewel case of keen perception, social analysis, and masterful description for this era."-Chicago Tribune

Daniel J. Boorstin, who is thoroughly familiar with the scenes of Miss Bird's trip, has provided an interesting account of the distinguished lady's career in his introduction. Now Librarian of Congress, he was formerly with the Museum of History and Technology in the Smithsonian Institution. He is a noted American historian and author of many books, including a multi-volume history of the United States which won a Bancroft Prize for History.