David Lavender

David Sievert Lavender was an American historian and writer of the Western United States. He published more than 40 books, including two novels, several children's books, and a memoir. Unlike his two prominent contemporaries, Bernard DeVoto and Wallace Stegner, Lavender was not an academic. He based much of his writing on first-hand practical knowledge of the American west, traveling to the sites of his historical accounts and experiencing the historical realities directly—in the mines, on the trails, in the mountains, or on the rivers. David Lavender was a two-time nominee for the... Pulitzer Prize, and was widely admired by scholars for his accuracy and objectivity. David Lavender was born and raised on a cattle ranch 20 miles north of Telluride, Colorado, then a fading mining town. During his early years, he worked as a gold miner and a cowboy. He helped run his stepfather's cattle ranch until it closed during the Great Depression. His love of the outdoors led to his becoming an avid mountaineer and dedicated conservationist. Although raised in the rustic mountains of western Colorado, Lavender came from a family that valued education.
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