From the Aboriginal beginnings, early exploration and the building of such wonders as the Giant Stairway and the Scenic Railway, the famous buildings, writers and artists, including Bradman at Blackheath, the Chinese people and the pioneers. This book covers the history of all the towns over the mountains through to the Jenolan Caves.

Martin Thomas takes the reader on a journey through a compelling study of culture, landscape and mythology. For both Aboriginal people and their colonisers, the rugged landscape of the Blue Mountains has stood as an intriguing riddle and a stimulus to the imagination. The author evokes this dramatic and bewildering landscape and leads his readers through the cultural history of the locality in order to probe the 'dreamwork of imperialism'.

"With selections from nearly 50 writers spanning 160 years, this book is the best primer on the extraordinary redrock landscape of Capitol Reef. For 12,000 years, people have left a rich record of their experiences in Utah's Capitol Reef National Park. In The Capitol Reef Reader, award-winning author and photographer Stephen Trimble collects the best of this writing -- 160 years worth of words that capture the spirit of the park and its surrounding landscape in personal narratives, philosophical riffs, and historic and scientific records"--Provided by publisher.

In the palm of time: Understanding the saga of San Juan -- Land of contrast, land of change: The geography and place names of San Juan County -- Academics, amateurs, and the Anasazi: An overview of the prehistory of San Juan County -- Utes, Paiutes, and Navajos come to San Juan: Setting the foundation, A.D. 100 to 1880 -- Entradas and campaigns, entrepreneurs and surveys: Early entrants into the San Juan Country -- Civilization comes to San Juan: Homesteading and city-building, 1880-1940 -- Pushing the line: Navajo Conflict and boundary expansion, 1880-1933 -- Shrinking lands in a crucible of change: The Ute and Paiute experience, 1880-1933 -- Beef, wheat, and biology: Livestock and farming industries in San Juan, 1880-1990 -- From beads and blankets to dollars: Ute and Navajo economic development, 1900-1990 -- Tall timbers, mountain streams, and desert rivers: The development of forest and water resources in San Juan County -- Mines and roads: A hundred years of boom and bust -- Taking care of its own: Health and education in San Juan County -- Faiths of the land: Religious expression in San Juan County -- Taming San Juan: The establishment of law, order, and government -- From "Blank Spot" to "Sagebrush Rebellion": The rise of federal hegemony in San Juan County -- San Juan in the imagination: A writer's paradise, a philosopher's dream -- Through a glass darkly: One historian's view of the future.