Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart:  True to its name, Montana is home to miles upon miles of snow-capped mountain peaks, but the lure of this state often begins beside the meandering blue-ribbon trout streams and in the saloons, (yep, we still have ‘em) ghost towns, and hot spring that appear along countless lazy back roads.

The past is well preserved in the dinosaur digs, Western art museums, and generations-old farms and ranches that dot the landscape; and along the many cool, forested trails and the clear, quiet rivers, it just might seem like time has come to a halt.  Montana Icons: Fifty Classic Symbols of the Treasure State illustrates the quintessential symbols that make Montana so fascinating and unique with 50 stories, and 100 photographs.

Profiled here are fifty classic symbols of this extraordinary western state, revealing little-known facts, longtime secrets, and historical legends.  From cowboy poetry and Native American powwows to whitewater rafting and breathtaking hikes, here’s the inside story about the very things that give Montana its character.

Did you know that the first cover photo of Life magazine was taken in Montana?  That the only existing physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is preserved in a sandstone outcropping along the Yellowstone River?  That the Treasure State has the world’s largest collection of Tyrannosaurus rex fossils? Or that one of Montana’s first territorial governors was an Irish revolutionary who fled his home country to escape a death sentence?  For Montanans and newcomers alike, Montana Icons will be a treasured keepsake of Big Sky Country. Book measures 7×7 and includes 102 pages.

 

 

The book is illustrated with 50 full-page images and an equal number of smaller “spot” photographs.  The text is written in essay form and the quality has been shaped through the years that Bert has contributed to many of the country’s major magazines, including Field & Stream, Smithsonian and Travel & Leisure. Airstream Life Magazine also uses his work, and one traveler and state aficionado wrote Bert saying:

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING : *I just finished reading your latest book “MONTANA ICONS” yesterday and you outdid yourself. The photos are great (wish there were more) and the stories about the “icons” were wonderful and made us feel we were right there. Tom and Sandi Palesch (Airstream travelers and magazine contributor)

*What a great gift! When I unwrapped our copy of Montana Icons, I knew we were in for a treat – as is always the case with a Gildart book. Every traveler will appreciate the stories and photographs that capture the awesome and unique character of this state and its’ inhabitants. Every turn of the page takes you to a place where you’d rather be! Adam and Sue Maffei

 

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You can buy Montana Icons: Fifty Classic Symbols of the Treasure State right here, from the authors. We’ll send it to you by USPS, and we’ll even autograph it for you with your choice of inscription. We use PayPal to allow us to take credit card orders. You don’t need to have a PayPal account, you can use any credit card, and the merchant (Bert and Janie) never sees your card number. And PayPal is very secure.

• 102 pages ~ 100 photographs ~ 50 Montana locations
• Hardcover
• Get an autographed copy of Montana Icons
• $16.95 plus $2.50 shipping

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2012 at 1:28 pm and is filed under Books & Stories, Montana Photography, Natural History/Conservation, Photography, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.