by Craig Stark #125, 14 July 2008

There's a reason why some things stay "young": Civilization can't get to them. One particular place that refused to grant civilization access for most of this country's history (and to a large extent still does) is Brown's Park - a remote valley carved out by the Green River in the high deserts of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. It was and remains an ideal place for ranchers to winter livestock because it behaves as a natural shelter and provides lush grass as well. It was also an ideal place for outlaws to hide out. Not only was it secluded, but it was also proximate to a third state - Wyoming. Fleeing outlaws had their choice of three jurisdictions to seek refuge in. Rob a bank here; ride there or there and enjoy impunity.

And just who were the outlaws? Among others, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Ranch histories in themselves are in reliable, sometimes intense demand; throw some celebrity bad guys into the mix, and it gets better. Our QMR book of the week, John Rolfe Burroughs' Where the Old West Stayed Young, has both and more, including a fascinating illustration of why things that should be black and white aren't always. Even outlaws, that is, are sometimes gray. In the case of Brown's Park many of them integrated themselves into the community, at least to some extent, and were tolerated.

Photographs and maps make numerous appearances here too, and what this adds up to is a book that's both common and in strong demand - and yes, those Bonanza reprints that followed fast on the heels of the William Morrow firsts ride the bookselling trail too at QMR levels.

You'll see 100 profit-producing books like this every 3 months in BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books, each one presented in a clear format with bibliographic essentials and links to photos. Here is the actual entry for Where the Old West Stayed Young, #71 in QMR, issue #5 (to be published this week):

TITLE: WHERE THE OLD WEST STAYED YOUNG
AUTHOR: John Rolfe Burroughs
ILLUSTRATOR: n/a
EDITOR: n/a
PLACE: New York
IMPRINT: William Morrow & Co.
COPYRIGHT DATE: 1962
ISBN OR LCCN: 0517036797
BINDING: Hardcover
COMMENTARY:
LINK:

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