News Flash of the Week

Dick Kreck talks about the Smaldones on Colorado Public Radio's Colorado Matters (Click to listen)

How the West Was Warmed is an entertaining and enlightening collection of essays collected by noted environmentalist and Greenprint Denver founder Beth Conover.

In this intriguing cultural history, The Birth {and Death} of the Cool, nationally acclaimed author Ted Gioia shows why cool is not a timeless concept and how it has begun to lose meaning and fade into history. Gioia deftly argues that what began in the Jazz Age and became iconic in the 1950s with Miles Davis, James Dean, and others has been manipulated, stretched, and pushed to a breaking point-not just in our media, entertainment, and fashion industries, but also by corporations, political leaders, and social institutions.

The Native response to the environmental crisis facing our planet, Red Alert! seeks to debunk the modern myths that humankind is the center of creation and that it exerts control over the natural world. Taking a hard look at the biggest problem that we face today—the damaging way we live on this earth—Wildcat draws upon ancient Native American wisdom and nature-centered beliefs to advocate a modern strategy to combat global warming. Inspiring and insightful, Red Alert! is a stirring call to action.

The automobile has long been a symbol of status, power, and autonomy, and ever since King Tut rolled through Egypt on his golden-wheeled chariot, artists and drivers have dreamed up mobile masterpieces. A striking photographic tribute and social history, Road Show navigates a path across high and low art, showing how people around the world are transforming their vehicles into stunning folk art, obsessive collections, social commentary, and visionary performances.

In Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family, best-selling author Dick Kreck captures the complexity of Denver's Smaldone crime syndicate. Beginning in the 1920s, and flourishing well into the late twentieth century, the Smaldone family perpetuated a shadowy underworld but exhibited great generosity and commitment to their community. Through candid interviews and firsthand accounts, Kreck reveals the true sense of what it meant to be a Smaldone.

A novel of the contemporary American West, Spoon tells the story of Arcus Witherspoon, a mysterious half-black, half-Indian, oddly clairvoyant man searching the West for his roots.

Exemplifying photography and journalism at its best, Voices of the American West provides a panoramic view of today’s evolving West. The collection features Terry Tempest Williams, Stewart Udall, Katie Lee, Dave Foreman, and many others.

The first book of its kind, The Tattooed Lady uncovers the true stories behind these women, bringing them out of the sideshow realm and into their working-class realities. Combining thorough research with more than a hundred historical photos, this social history explores tattoo’s origins, women’s history, and circus lore. A fascinating read, The Tattooed Lady pays tribute to a group of unique and amazing women whose legacy lives on.

In this original tribute, twelve talented authors celebrate Denver’s 150th anniversary, each creating a unique story based on a different decade in the city’s colorful history. A Dozen on Denver is edited by the the Rocky Mountain News and featuring twelve Colorado authors: Margaret Coel, Pam Houston, Sandra Dallas, Nick Arvin, Joanne Greenberg, Connie Willis, Manuel Ramos, Arnold Grossman, Robert Greer, Diane Mott Davidson, Laura Pritchett, and Robert Pogue Ziegler. Illustrated by Charles Chamberlin.

One snowy day an elderly woman, Sarah, watches children gathering at the bus stop. While they never seem to notice her, she notices them, especially one little boy who has no mittens. That night, Sarah knits the boy a pair of cozy mittens and places them on the blue spruce tree for him to discover. It soon becomes a game, with the children looking for new mittens on the mysterious tree every morning, and Sarah joyfully knitting new ones each night. The Miten Tree