BOOKS & GIFTS

Author and historian, Hope Benedict was born and raised in the Lemhi Valley. In this Arcadia publication, Benedict uses the extensive photo collection of the Lemhi County Historical Society and Museum to portray the history of this American Western community. Photos of the Lemhi Shoshoni, mining, ranching, the timber industry, early transportation, pioneers, and Salmon City at the turn of the twentieth century, instill a sense of this place and its past.

Idaho’s Governors: Historical Essays on Their Administrations is an excellent guide to the history of Idaho through its top political officials. The essays, written by regional historians, cover critical issues in the development of state’s government and of the state in general. In addition, the book serves as resource for future research into the rich political history of this state. The essays span the territorial era through the midpoint of Governor Cecil Andrus’ third and fourth terms in office.

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Take a quick tour of Idaho’s many ghost towns with Bruce A. Raisch. Replete with photos and anecdotes, Raisch acknowledges, “This book is a reflection and project, not just of thousands of road miles and as many hours of research, but of Idaho and its own people. The beauty of this State, the richness of its history, and the friendliness of its people made this book not only possible but also a lot of fun to research and write.”

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In his second book, Stanley Potts offers rich detail of a lifetime in the remote and often forbidding lands of the American West.

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In this, the beginning of a great series, Stanley Potts describes a lifetime of adventures (and misadventures) in the difficult back country of Idaho, Nevada, and Alaska.

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Book three of the Potts series is drawn from his seven decades in the wilds of the American West.

Julia Randolph, regional historian and author of a number of books on East Central Idaho, including This Quiet Ground and Gibbonsville: The Golden Years, compiled the biographies of Lemhi County Veterans from the Civil War to those who served in World War I.

Described as the “best collection of river stories in print,” Halfway to Halfway and Other River Stories conveys the addicting appeal and outrageous joys of running rivers in the American West. “This book goes the whole way. Written by seasoned guides, these rollicking, poignant, humorous, tender stories give us a glimpse into a unique American subculture. Put on your life jackets. You are headed for a wonderful ride,” writes Ellen Waterston, author of Where the Crooked River Ends. Including stories from the Salmon River of No Return, the Colorado, and the Rogue, this book will keep you laughing and itching for adventure.

“When young Clancy Bender went into the Idaho woods to work for the summer, he expected hand-blistering labor and knew he had much to learn about mining and horse packing. But Clancy could have never guessed what adventures lay ahead. Nor could he have predicted that through his friendship with a Chinaman, he would witness first hand what it meant to be a non-white in the American West of 1932.”

Larry N. Gwartney lives in Salmon, Idaho, and is a retired teacher, coach, and whitewater guide.

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Salmon High School students, under the direction of teachers, Dr. Terry Magoon and Mike Crosby, interviewed regional residents, conducted archival research, and created a series of historical journals invaluable to the history of this state. This is one of the few editions still available.

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“Set in 1920s Montana, this compelling domestic drama tells the story of two brothers—and of the woman and young boy, mother and son, whose arrival on the brothers’ ranch shatters an already tenuous peace. From the novel’s startling first paragraph to its very last word, Thomas Savage’s voice—and the intense passion and cruelty of his characters—holds readers in thrall.”

Museum staff: This is one of the finest books we have ever read, and we recommend it highly.

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“Her name was Elizabeth, and she was an American princess as surely as her mother, the invincible Emma Russell Sweringen, was the ‘Sheep Queen of Idaho.’ Old-timers in Idaho, Utah, and Montana still remember the Sheep Queen with love and awe. And Elizabeth? ‘I have only twice in my life seen women as beautiful,’ her son recalls, ‘and both of them were strangers.’”
The Sheep Queen of Idaho, originally published under the title, I Heard My Sister Speak My Name, “is a magnificent chronicle of five generations of an American ranching dynasty who shared a unity and a heritage which made the family all but impregnable—and of the shy beauty who, by one act, threatened that unity and became a stranger even to herself. It is the story, unforgettable, incredible, but true, of a child who never knew her, but devoted half a lifetime to seeking her secret out.
“. . . Thomas Savage speaks directly to every adopted child among us. He speaks, eloquently, to those who have been raised in the American West and have experienced the joy and loneliness of ranch life. He speaks, with compassion, honesty and hope, to parents fearful of the future or regretful about the past. Indeed, this timeless novel speaks to us all.”

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Savage’s first novel sets the stage for a half-century of fascinating characters and compelling plots. According to Annie Proulx, his work captures, “family complexity of names, identities, of east coast culture and western mountains, of manual labor and writing, of a lost past and private secrets.”