D. J.‏ ‎(David J.) Cook

author

D. J.‏ ‎(David J.) Cook

1840–1907

A frontier lawman turned memoirist, this American author wrote vivid firsthand accounts of detective work in the Rocky Mountain West. His stories draw on decades spent chasing outlaws and keeping order during Colorado's rough early years.

1 Audiobook

Hands Up; or, Thirty-Five Years of Detective Life in the Mountains and on the Plains Reminiscences by General D. J. Cook, Chief of the Rocky Mountains Detective Association

Hands Up; or, Thirty-Five Years of Detective Life in the Mountains and on the Plains Reminiscences by General D. J. Cook, Chief of the Rocky Mountains Detective Association

by D. J.‏ ‎(David J.) Cook

About the author

Best known as a western lawman, he also left behind a lively record of life on the nineteenth-century frontier. Born in 1840, he went west during the Colorado gold rush era and later served in several law-enforcement roles, including Denver city marshal and sheriff of Arapahoe County.

His long career in policing and investigation shaped the books associated with his name, especially Hands Up! or, Thirty-Five Years of Detective Life in the Mountains and on the Plains. Written from experience, his work blends memoir, adventure, and local history, offering readers a close-up look at crime, pursuit, and everyday danger in the developing American West.

He died in 1907, but his writing remains of interest to readers who enjoy true-life frontier stories and early western history.