Author David R. Farmer discusses his book Jack Rittenhouse: A Western Literary Life. Jack Rittenhouse was a multi-dimensional scholar for whom books were a way of life. Based in New Mexico, Rittenhouse was a pioneering writer, printer, publisher, Western historian, antiquarian bookman, and chronicler of the golden age of Route 66. In Jack Rittenhouse: A Western Literary Life, David Farmer tells the story of a man recognized for his knowledge, scholarship, and devotion to the history of the West and to the books that brought it to life. For his research, Farmer relied heavily on the Jack Rittenhouse papers, part of the NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections.

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 is the author of several Western literary biographies.