Jack Rittenhouse

”[O]ne of the best biographies I have read in a long time.” * LunaSea *
“Complete with admiring reflections and lively prose, this is a solid tribute to a celebrated bookman.” * Publishers Weekly *
“David Farmer has written the first-ever biography of Jack D. Rittenhouse, most certainly the dean of letters on the history of the American West. The many readers of his books have been waiting for such a work.” – T. Lindsay Baker, author of Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America’s Mother Road
“David Farmer’s Jack Rittenhouse: A Western Literary Life takes the reader on a nonstop journey through the biographical pages of one of the Southwest’s most distinguished and beloved bookmen. From the East to the West Coast, the Rittenhouse story is paved with adventures in a dazzling spectrum of the world of printing and publishing, a story that would one day earn him the title ‘Dean of New Mexico Bookdom.’ A true literary feast.” – Pamela S. Smith, author of Passions in Print: Private Press Artistry in New Mexico, 1834-Present
“This lively biography tells an implausible story. Put aside what you might imagine about the sort of man who collects old type, prints his own books, edits major scholars, and eventually becomes a leading dealer of Western Americana. Jack Rittenhouse spent part of his boyhood in a home without electricity, rode the rails with hobos in his twenties, and found his way into publishing by way of a career in advertising. David Farmer, a great bookman himself, has tracked down the scattered archives of Rittenhouse’s work to create this remarkable account of a man who loved books.” – Martha A. Sandweiss, author of The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West
“As readers turn the pages of this comprehensive account of Jack D. Rittenhouse’s life, they will invariably ask what was there that the man didn’t do? From riding the rails as a Depression-era hobo to penning and publishing the first guidebook to Route 66, Rittenhouse’s full life included a stint as a magician and as an oil industry publicist before his passion for books led him to become a printer, an editor, a publisher, a rare book dealer, and a historian. Farmer’s biography will bring long overdue recognition to this significant figure of the West whose devotion to books enriched—and continues to enrich—the lives countless many readers.” – James McGrath Morris, author of Tony Hillerman: A Life

David R. Farmer is the former director of DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University, with previous positions at the University of Tulsa, the University of Houston, and the University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center. He holds BA and MA degrees from Trinity University and PhD and MLS degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

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