How does Colorado's Fourteeners: From Hikes to Climbs fit into this unsolicited opinion? When I purchased the book, I worried that it would cater only to the bedpost-notchers, and disregard the qualities which separate the truly classic routes from the chaff. In fact, the opposite is true: Roach points out the best routes with a *Classic* label. I tried two *Classic* routes - the West Ridge of Quandary Peak and Kelso Ridge on Torreys Peak - and they were both fantastic. While both summits were uninspiring, with crowds of unruly dogs and people, the climbs were solitary and truly memorable.

Roach organizes the book by mountain range. For each peak, he provides seamless color photocopy collages of the USGS 7.5-minute topographic maps which contain the peak and all described trails. He annotates each map with the described routes up the mountain, color coded by difficulty (Yosemite Decimal System). The route descriptions are accurate and very thorough.