Guarding the Treasure - Dick Brown

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Résumé :
Guarding the Treasure, this historical novel, is Book Three, of a trilogy in Under the Canyon Sky: centers on early Grand Canyon pioneers. By day, the Canyon, the main character in this story, flaunts wild colors and teasing shadows; by night, it sleeps under a canopy of shimmering stars. Sadly, the Federal government contemplates destruction of parts of Grand Canyon, that it worked so hard to protect, by damming the Colorado River and obliterating natural and cultural resources. Kirby and Sabrina O'Brien - as passionate defenders of the Canyon, they plunge into Colorado River dam controversies surrounding Bridge Canyon and Marble Canyon, while financing the design and construction of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Museum. Cody Livingston - Silver Star war hero, marries daughter of park engineer, becomes rancher, inherits entire cattle enterprise headquartered on the old stage road. He and wife Cora vow to continue Sabrina's legacy to protect Grand Canyon. Russell Cramer - Park Engineer, agonizes over Village water supply issues, accepts Kirby's ideas for a trans-canyon pipeline, opposes Reclamation's proposed hydroelectric power dams, and organizes a search for radioactive rocks exposed in copper diggings. Witness a tragic suspension bridge collapse, river drownings, a train wreck, demolition of early historic hotels, a uranium scare, and the beginning of commercial river-running. Cross the troubled waters of the Colorado on a riveted steel replacement bridge leading to an Army camp, and a creek-fed swimming pool in the inner gorge. Wince at outlandish river dam proposals, high-strung cableways, intrusive canyon overflights, corporate greed, clashing government missions, and other incredible assaults on the Grand Canyon. Guarding the Treasure fulfills the promise of protecting the glory of the Grand Canyon for future generations, through a masterfully woven tale of natural wonder and human history. A must read. -Dr. Gary Fogel, Author and Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University.

Biographie:
Dick Brown has always been fascinated by western history - mountain men, wagon trains, gold rushes, cattle drives, notorious outlaws, ghost towns, and transcontinental railroads; however, he has concentrated much of his recent writing on one region of the American West in particular - the Grand Canyon. He has spent decades researching the early pioneers and the Canyon's bumpy road from unbridled backcountry to a national park. It is the venerable pioneers of the late nineteenth century, with their struggles to survive and thrive on the ragged edge of this tremendous abyss, that inspired Dick to write this historical novel. The story is based on his own exploration below the rims of the Canyon, on the Colorado River, on the twisted trails, on a mule named Hank, in the copper mines, and at the sites of primitive camps and lodges of a bygone era. During his writing career, Dick has authored and co-authored five award-winning books and has been published in numerous periodicals. He is a retired systems engineer and president of the Grand Canyon Historical Society. As a former Navy submariner, he is a regular contributor to the journal The Submarine Review. He is also past editor of the magazine Ballooning. Dick lives in the forested mountains of central New Mexico, enjoying retirement with his wife and two feral cats.