"James H. Pickering, who wrote about the early years in Rocky Mountain National Park in a previous book, chronicles Estes from 1903 to 1945 in this fact-filled, nicely written volume...America's Switzerland is the most extensive work to date on the area. If Pickering overlooked a fact, it's probably not worth knowing."
—Sunday Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News
"This book chronicles the dual history of the town of Estes Park and the nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. The story begins at the turn of the 20th century, where the author's This Blue Hollow: Estes Park, the Early Years, 1859-1915 (CH, Sep'00, 38-0517) left off, and it closes at the end of WW II. English professor Pickering (Univ. of Houston) is a long-time summer resident of Estes Park, and he brings to his study a familiarity with and love for the area. His primary sources include memoirs, oral histories, correspondence, park archival materials, and newspapers."
—Choice
“Pickering carefully, yet entertainingly, provides background on many of the familiar places and names in one of Colorado's most beloved tourist towns.”
—The Denver Westerns Roundup