Miller's fond remembrance of Rothman and his scholarship tells us much about our current circumstances and the larger boom-and-bust cycles of the West. Many of Rothman's works are available to read in the Western History & Genealogy Department.

Likewise, Miller's new collection of essays by other regional historians, Cities and Nature in the American West (University of Nevada, 2010) is also worthy of a read. Like so many other historians of the West, Miller and his colleagues are interested in a West not merely of rural spaces, but urban settings and experiences.

And what better city to feature on the cover of their Cities and Nature in the American West? It's Denver, of course, in an iconic skyline pose ...