Steven K. Madsen co-authored In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829-1848 with the late University of Utah Professor C. Gregory Crampton. He was also the coauthor of Boating on the Upper Colorado and The Navigational History of Bear River and author of A Union, Utah, History. He served for several years as the historian of Washington, D.C.'s National Independence Day Festival and Parade and has written numerous articles, including for the Old Spanish Trail Association, the Utah Heritage Foundation, and the book Trailing the Pioneers. He now works for Salt Lake County's Granite School District.
Madsen’s latest book, Exploring Desert Stone has thrilled historians and general readers worldwide. Published in January 2010, it can be found and referenced in libraries throughout the world (see worldcat.org ). In October 2010 Exploring Desert Stone came in at #10 on the list: Best Sellers in Geology for 2010. It was also chosen as a Top Pick for Southwest Books of the Year, Best Reading of 2010.
See what other reviewers had to say about his work:
“...Madsen presents the most important elements of the venture's documentary record, making this fascinating study and significant contribution to our understanding of the southwest also a valuable resource for anyone who loves the American West.”
-Will Bagley
“This new book informs, excites, confirms, and expands our vision of the Old Spanish Trail and enriches our sense of this part of the nation… Author Madsen wrote succinctly and efficiently. He gave us a broad view plus many fascinating details. He chose very well from a mass of information that he uncovered. Readers will enjoy the good, clear writing style. The superb drawings and photographs enrich our understanding tremendously.”
-Douglas M. Knudson
-Spanish Traces, Summer 2010
“[Exploring Desert Stone] is a 'must have' for serious students of the Southwestern trails and exploration."
-Bruce Dinges
Southwest Books of the Year
“Madsen has resurrected and compiled an outstanding report on the expedition...”
-Patricia Etter
Southwest Books of the Year
"Well–researched, written and referenced, this is a must for Western Americana collectors."
-Frank Pester
Book Talk, Sam Weller’s Bookstore Newsletter, April-May 2010
“This book will greatly interest historians of the Westward expansion as well as many general readers.”
-Book News Inc., 2010
[The achievements of the Macomb expedition] "are now available under the deft and painstaking historical scholarship of Steven Madsen... 'Exploring Desert Stone' is a seminal and invaluable contribution, and should be a core addition to academic library 19th Century American History collections..."
-Wisconsin Book Watch
March 2010
“...every reader and collector of New Mexico and of Utah books will want to own it... Once out of print, probably soon, its value will shoot upward. We all have Steven K. Madsen to thank for this very pleasing and important work. “
-Dave Remley
The Glenwood Gazette April 2010
“Madsen paints descriptive biographies of the primary people involved with Macomb's expedition.”
-J. Sherman Feher
Mormon Letters 2010
“Steven Madsen, author of many books about Utah history, has written a definitive and exhaustive researched account of Captain John Macomb's 1859 expedition into the Four Corners area of the United States.”
-Christopher J. J. Thiry
Center for Colorado & the West
“Exploring Desert Stone succeeds well in calling attention to this important early expedition... It complements the information in the original report as well as more recent reports on the geology and history of geology of the greater four-corners region. It also adds to the ever-growing body of literature addressing the mapping and exploration of the western United States in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.”
-Joseph T. Hannibal
Earth Sciences History, v. 29, no 2 (2010)
Of In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829-1848 reviewers wrote:
“…The comprehensiveness and historical value of this volume are indeed impressive.”
-Ray Boren
Deseret News, 1994
“Greg Crampton and his less-grizzled historian sidekick, Steven Madsen, have done the job beautifully here, retracing the trail with great care and describing it in a text that will satisfy both arm chair travelers and high-energy history buffs…”
-Richard H. Dillon
True West Magazine, Oct. 1995
“It’s a handy guide for weekend explorers, as well as trail buffs and professional historians.”
-Jason N. Swenson
Deseret News, Jan. 1995
“‘In Search of the Spanish Trail, Santa Fe to Los Angeles’ provides a thorough and detailed guide that any one today will be able to travel.”
-The Bakersfield Californian
January 1995
“It’s a book every devotee of Southwestern history and every traveler with a sense of history and adventure will want to have. Really.”
-Ollie Reed Jr.
Albuquerque Tribune Sept. 1994
“…Crampton and Madsen, after years of research found a way to map the trail. They used passenger cars, pickups, four-wheel drives and sometimes light aircraft to get an overview… ‘In search of the Spanish Trail, Santa Fe to Los Angeles’ provides a thorough and detailed guide that anyone today will be able to travel.”
-Elk City Oklahoma News, Dec. 1994
[In search of the Spanish Trail, Santa Fe to Los Angeles] “is the first study to locate and map the historic Spanish Trail., the first major thoroughfare across the southwest.”
-Courier Times Telegraph, Tyler TX, Nov. 1994
“To appreciate the experiences of early travelers in the American West, an understanding of their travel routes is of primary importance, and Crampton and Madsen have now filled a significant void. In Search of the Spanish Trail is a welcome addition to the un-crowded literature of the Spanish Trail and to the history of the American Southwest. “
Peter H. DeLafosse
-Utah Historican Quarterly, Winter 1995
Madsen’s first book, A Union Utah History captured local attention:
“This book is most informative and should not be overlooked as source of local history.”
-Linda Thatcher
The Sunstone Review, April 1982
Continue to look for Madsen’s future publications in the years ahead.
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