No dust jacket; cover and pages have light wear; pages are unmarked. #63-12346
The Wonderful West is a 1963 illustrated history and travel book by Stewart H. Holbrook that explores the culture, history, and geography of the American West. Published by Doubleday & Company, the book is described as a "lowbrow" historical narrative that covers regions ranging from Vancouver to Arizona and California to Colorado.
The text is illustrated with 67 full-color pictures and features Holbrook’s characteristic focus on the "Far Corner" (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) while expanding to broader Western themes. Key content includes:
-Historical Figures: Profiles of pioneers and legends such as John Jacob Astor, Meriwether Lewis, Brigham Young, General George C. Custer, and Captain John C. Fremont.
-Regional Stories: Narratives about Idaho’s mining towns, the Sioux and buffalo in Wyoming, and dude ranches in Montana.
-Cultural Observations: Holbrook examines the spirit of the West, including a segment on British Columbia and the Doukhobors, and touches on Nevada’s evolving identity.
Holbrook, a former lumberjack and long-time writer for The Oregonian, uses a storytelling approach that emphasizes colorful characters, humorous anecdotes, and the everyday lives of loggers, miners, and eccentrics rather than academic historical analysis
