Wind Cave National Park - Books

Ill Wind (An Anna Pigeon Mystery) Nevada Barr Annotation: Newly assigned national parks rangers Anna Pigeon seeks solace from her own personal demons in the ancient cave dwellings of a vanished Native American civilization. But an inexplicable illness affecting visitors to the popular Colorado landmark has dragged her from reverie, as have two mysterious tragedies--the death of a child and the murder of a friend. From the Publisher: In Ill Wind, Barr’s powerful new novel, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon confronts death among the ruins. Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park is noted for its well-preserved cliff dwellings, the sole legacy of the Anasazi civilization, which vanished without any other trace in the twelfth century. Separated from friends and family and haunted by personal demons, Anna finds solace in these quiet ruins, their pinon-scented turrets and towers backlit by the fading blue of distant mountain ranges. But the rugged beauty of the park and the mystery of the Anasazi are cruelly overshadowed by danger and death. An unusually high number of medical rescues and the unexpected death of an asthmatic child are followed by the sudden demise of a fellow ranger who is found neatly curled up in one of the ancient kivas, his hat and shoes at his side. Anna had thought she’d found a friend in this man, had seen him as a kindred spirit, but his death transforms him into an enigma. Puzzled and more deeply wounded than she’d ever dare admit, Anna immerses herself in the ensuing investigation. As she sifts through shifting loyalties and struggles to honor the past, she must face forces both seen and unseen which threaten her career - and her very life. From The Critics: Publishers WeeklyBarr lands another successful entry in the solid series featuring Anna Pigeon, the down-to-earth National Park Service ranger last seen in A Superior Death (1994). The daily problems at Mesa Verde National Park are mostly straightforward, although Ted Greeley, the contractor installing a water line, tends to irritate folks (especially the park archeologist, incensed about Greeley’s indifference to buried Anasazi artifacts), and Patsy Silva, a park secretary, is getting ``weird’’ messages from her ex-husband, who has joined Greeley’s crew. The summer takes on darker hues when ranger Stacy Meyers panics so badly during the evacuation of an asthmatic child that he is useless. Soon afterward, Stacy vanishes; his corpse is found tucked away in the park in a scene of death that is ``pathologically neat.’’ Anna is assigned to assist Frederick Stanton, the deceptively ``vague and bumbling’’ FBI agent sent in on the case; as they match wits with an unknown adversary, their working relationship takes on warmer tones than at their last meeting. Despite being troubled by memories of her late husband and her increasing fondness for alcohol, Anna (usually) displays that common sense and appreciation for nature that makes her such good company. Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selections. (Apr.) BookList - Wes LukowskyAnna Pigeon, a park ranger at Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, is a woman on the mend. She’s a widow, she’s battling alcohol dependence, and she’s recently changed jobs. Despite her pain, she reaches tentatively toward Stacey Meyer, a ranger trainee who has also endured his share of middle-aged pain. Shortly after he mishandles a crisis that results in a child’s death, Stacey himself is found dead. Suicide? Anna thinks it unlikely. Murder? Possibly, but who and why? When the husband of another park employee is killed in a suspicious car wreck, the case takes on broader implications. Through it all, Anna struggles with her middle-aged angst, her alcoholism, and her loneliness, drawing support from long-distance calls to her sister, who serves the functions of both a Dr. Watson and a voice on the other end of a crisis hot-line. This third entry in the acclaimed series is as much a personal journey of self-discovery as it is a mystery. Anna is a flawed but admirable woman struggling daily to determine her values and her value in a harsh world. An outstanding novel.AudioFileNewly assigned to Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, Ranger Anna Pigeon, struggling with personal demons, strives to find out what is making park visitors sick and why a ranger trainee, Meyer, and the husband of a park employee have died under suspicious circumstances. Joanna Gleason narrates the excellent abridgment with clarity and drama. She portrays the female characters in clear, natural tones with subtle vocal effects and finds unique, distinctive voices for FBI Agent Frederick Stanton and Meyer. Barr’s characterizations are superb, and Gleason’s vocal characterizations enhance their vitality. An outstanding mystery capturing Anna’s journey of self-discovery is performed with ease and assurance. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYINGTerrific...Nevada Barr’s mysteries keep getting better and better...Ill Wind is enthralling, entertaining, and mysterious: everything a mystery should be. — Susan Isaacs Our Price: $7.99

Wind Cave National Park: The First 100 Years, South Dakota (Images of America Series) Peggy Sanders Our Price: $19.99

The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal John L. Hoogland From the Publisher: In The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, John L. Hoogland draws on sixteen years of research at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, in the United States to provide this account of prairie dog social behavior. Through comparisons with more than 300 other animal species, he offers new insights into basic theory in behavioral ecology and sociobiology.Hoogland documents interactions within and among families of prairie dogs to examine the advantages and disadvantages of coloniality. By addressing such topics as male and female reproductive success, inbreeding, kin recognition, and infanticide, Hoogland offers a broad view of conflict and cooperation. Among his surprising findings is that prairie dog females sometimes suckle, and at other times kill, the offspring of close kin.Enhanced by more than 100 photographs, this book illuminates the social organization of a burrowing mammal and raises fundamental questions about current theory. As the most detailed long-term study of any social rodent, The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog will interest not only mammalogists and other vertebrate biologists, but also students of behavioral and evolutionary ecology. From The Critics: BooknewsHoogland (biology, U. of Maryland) draws on 16 years of research at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, to provide a definitive account of prairie dog social behavior. Through comparisons with more than 300 other animal species, he offers insight into the basic theories of behavioral ecology and sociobiology, examining coloniality, reproductive success, inbreeding, kin recognition, and infanticide. Bandw photographs and an extensive bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $38.00