Books published by publisher Galison Books

Downwind is an unflinching tale of the atomic West that reveals the intentional disregard for the inhabitants and the environment in nuclear testing by the federal government and in uranium extraction by mining corporations during and after the Cold War. Sarah Alisabeth Fox interviews residents of the Great Basin region affected by environmental contamination from the uranium industry and nuclear testing fallout. Those residents tell tales of communities ravaged by cancer epidemics, farmers and ranchers economically ruined by massive crop and animal deaths, and Native miners working in dangerous conditions without proper safety equipment so that the government could surreptitiously study the effects of radiation on humans. In chilling detail, Downwind brings to light the stories and concerns of these groups whose voices have been silenced and marginalized for decades in the name of “patriotism” and “national security.” With the renewed boom in mining in the American West, Fox’s look at this hidden history, unearthed from years of field interviews, archival research, and epidemiological studies, is a must-read for every American concerned about the fate of our western lands and communities.

Beware of the Highway Rat. He'll steal your food ...and your heart! Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's bestselling story is now available in a gorgeous gift book format, perfect for celebrating a special occasion. The Highway Rat rides along the highway stealing all the travellers' food. But a crafty duck and her mysterious sister soon put an end to his crooked ways!

In 1842 John C. Frémont led a party of twenty-five men on a five-month journey from Saint Louis to the Wind River Range in the Rocky Mountains; his goal: to chart the best route to Oregon. In 1843 Frémont was commissioned for another expedition, to explore the Great Salt Lake, Washington, eastern California, Carson Pass, and the San Joaquin Valley, places that did not yet belong to the United States.His journals from these expeditions, edited in collaboration with his wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, and published by Congress, thrilled the nation and firmly established Frémont’s persona as the Great Pathfinder. Part descriptive survey, part rousing adventure story, Frémont’s account was far more than a traveler’s guide. His tales of courage and wit, descriptions of beautiful landscapes, and observations about Native Americans strengthened Americans’ sense of a national identity and belief in Manifest Destiny. Still a fascinating page-turner today, Frémont’s report documents the opening of the West even as it offers a firsthand look at the making of the American myth.Anne F. Hyde provides an introduction to this signature American story that contextualizes the report, outlines Frémont’s rise and fall, and shows how, for better or worse, this explorer exemplifies the nineteenth-century American spirit.

In 1826 an undersized sixteen-year-old apprentice ran away from a saddle maker in Franklin, Missouri, to join one of the first wagon trains crossing the prairie on the Santa Fe Trail. Kit Carson (1809–68) wanted to be a mountain man, and he spent his next sixteen years learning the paths of the West, the ways of its Native inhabitants, and the habits of the beaver, becoming the most successful and respected fur trapper of his time. From 1842 to 1848 he guided John C. Frémont’s mapping expeditions through the Rockies and was instrumental in the U.S. military conquest of California during the Mexican War. In 1853 he was appointed Indian agent at Taos, and later he helped negotiate treaties with the Apaches, Kiowas, Comanches, Arapahos, Cheyennes, and Utes that finally brought peace to the southwestern frontier. Ralph Moody’s biography of Kit Carson, appropriate for readers young and old, is a testament to the judgment and loyalty of the man who had perhaps more influence than any other on the history and development of the American West.

In Old Home Town, Rose Wilder Lane has recreated small-town society of pre-World War I America with a precise feeling for decorum, dress, and kitchen dialogue. Like Sherwood Anderson in Winesburg, Ohio, she describes a community through the stories of certain memorable citizens. The overlay of nostalgia cannot hide some sharp observations about marriage and women's rights.

The Great Plains is a well-known and well-studied hybrid zone for many animals, most notably birds. In Great Plains Birds Larkin Powell explores the history, geography, and geology of the plains and the birds that inhabit it. From the sandhill crane to ducks and small shorebirds, he explains migration patterns and shows how human settlements have affected the movements of birds. Powell uses historical maps and images to show how wetlands have disappeared, how grasslands have been uprooted, how rivers have been modified by dams, and how the distribution of forests has changed, all the while illustrating why grassland birds are the most threatened group of birds in North America. Powell also discusses conservation attempts and how sporting organizations have raised money to create wetland and grassland habitats for both game and nongame species.Great Plains Birds tells the story of the birds of the plains, discussing where those birds can be found and the impact humans have had on them.

Over the past 150 years, people have flocked to the Pacific Northwest in increasing numbers, in part due to the region’s beauty and one of its most exceptional features: volcanoes. This segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire has shaped not only the physical landscape of the region but also the psychological landscape, and with it the narratives we compose about ourselves. Exceptional Mountains is a cultural history of the Northwest volcanoes and the environmental impact of outdoor recreation in this region. It probes the relationship between these volcanoes and regional identity, particularly in the era of mass mountaineering and population growth in the Northwest. O. Alan Weltzien demonstrates how mountaineering is but one conspicuous example of the outdoor recreation industry’s unrestricted and problematic growth. He explores the implications of our assumptions that there are no limits to our outdoor recreation habits and that access to the highest mountains should include amenities for affluent consumers. Each chapter probes the mountain-based regional ethos and the concomitant sense of privilege and entitlement from different vantages to illuminate the consumerist mind-set as a reductive—and deeply problematic—version of experience and identity in and around some of the nation’s most striking mountains.

Bent's Fort was a landmark of the American frontier, a huge private fort on the upper Arkansas River in present southeastern Colorado. Established by the adventurers Charles and William Bent, it stood until 1849 as the center of the Indian trade of the central plains. David Lavender's chronicle of these men and their part in the opening of the West has been conceded a place beside the works of Parkman and Prescott.

Master storyteller Ralph Moody tells the thrilling story of a plucky horse who refused to quit, a down-on-his-luck jockey who didn’t let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and a taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. In this real-life story Moody captures the hoof-pounding excitement of the explosive early races to an unforgettable showdown with the feared Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Moving and inspirational, Come on Seabiscuit! is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion. Ralph Moody is best known for his eight Little Britches books, which have delighted generations of readers and are all available in Bison Books editions. Ralph Moody captured the hearts of young readers everywhere with his beloved Little Britches saga. In this Bison Books edition of his 1963 classic, Moody brings to life the story of a knobby-kneed little colt called Seabiscuit, who against all odds became one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time. Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs too short, and his gallop was awkward. His owners gave up on Seabiscuit when he was two, raced him too heavily, and tried unsuccessfully to sell him. It took the keen eyes of trainer Tom Smith to recognize the heart, courage, and gallant determination of Seabiscuit, the qualities of a truly great horse. Smith's unfailing patience and astute treatments, the love and skill of jockey Red Pollard, and the continued support of owner Charles Howard forged Seabiscuit into a champion.Purchase the audio edition.

Henry Wells (1805–78) and William Fargo (1818–81) first worked together when they broke the Post Office monopoly on mail service along the Erie Canal in the 1840s. In 1852 they incorporated Wells, Fargo & Company and went into the express business in California, carrying gold, letters, packages, and freight between the mining regions and the financial centers of the East. They registered the miners to receive deliveries, guarded the gold-dust shipments, apprehended stage robbers, recovered stolen gold and silver, and established a reliable, conservative banking house in the world’s wickedest city, San Francisco. They survived the collapse of the mining industry, the great California panic of 1855, the depredations of bandits such as Rattlesnake Dick and Black Bart, the dominance of the railroads, and the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Acclaimed Western writer Ralph Moody tells the exciting story of Henry Wells and his drivers, messengers, and riders; his accountants, managers, and detectives; and how they built a lasting empire in a business most entrepreneurs thought too risky to try. Moody, author of more than a dozen books on Western subjects, gives an action-packed account that readers young and old will enjoy.