Below Grass Roots: A Novel (Volume 2)

by Frank Waters, Joseph T. Gordon (Contributor)

In Below Grass Roots , the second book in Frank Waters’s Pikes Peak saga, turn-of-the-century Colorado Springs is prospering with the mining boom and a growing tourist industry. Patriarch Joseph Rogier becomes ever more obsessed with the treasures of the towering mountain and tries to enlist his son-in-law Jonathan Cable in his mining schemes. Cable instead leaves for Navajo country with his young son. Rogier, convinced that new wealth lies deep within the mountain, below grass roots, sinks his mines and what remains of his fortune ever deeper into the mountain’s granite. As in the other two novels in this semiautobiographical saga, Waters’s masterful narrative draws on his own keen perception of the human condition to bring us this compelling tale of struggle and hope in the American West. Pike’s Peak is composed of three condensed The Wild Earth’s Nobility , Below Grass Roots , and The Dust within the Rock .

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2002

About the author

Frank Waters was an American novelist, essayist, and cultural historian best known for his profound explorations of the American Southwest and Native American spirituality. Deeply influenced by his Cheyenne heritage and early experiences on the Navajo Reservation, Waters wove themes of indigenous identity, mysticism, and the clash between tradition and modernity into much of his work. His celebrated novel The Man Who Killed the Deer (1942) is considered a cornerstone of Southwestern literature, offering a powerful portrayal of a Pueblo man’s internal struggle with cultural dislocation. Over the decades, Waters produced an impressive body of work, including both fiction and non-fiction, such as Book of the Hopi, Mexico Mystique, and The Colorado, which blended mythology, history, and esoteric thought. A strong advocate for the arts, he held various editorial and academic positions and was honored with several awards. His legacy lives on through the Frank Waters Foundation, which supports writers and artists in the spirit of his creative vision.