in 1882 cook published a memoir titled "hands up! or thirty-five years of detective work in the mountains and on the plains", either writing it himself or dictating it to another. it is rumored to have been ghostwritten by thomas f. dawson, editor of the denver times and personal secretary to senator henry teller. although a purported autobiography, it is written entirely in the third person. it remains the sole major source of knowledge about cook's life and accomplishments.