Arizona Books

Although you don't have to be going down the Grand Canyon on a raft to get the most out of this guide, this will greatly enhance your experience if you are.

This book is jam-packed with the information you want. If you've ever been on a raft and wondered "Hey, what's up that side canyon?", Williams tells you all you need to know, from what mile marker the hike starts at, to where to park your boat and camp, to how long and difficult the hike is and what you'll see.

The book includes maps and gorgeous photographs to augment the text, plus background information on the Grand Canyon--geology, history, politics, and folklore--that's just plain good reading.

If you're one of the lucky ones who gets to paddle down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon each year, DO NOT GO without this book to take that experience to a new level. And if you're one of the many folks who explores the Canyon by hiking in from the top, here's a book with a bunch of information you don't want to be without.

Author Tyler Williams has written an easy to use and beautifully crafted guide to hikes in Grand Canyon. The routes presented range from simple jaunts to more strenuous overnights and lead you to the must see and lesser known destinations from the river in the Grand Canyon.

Clear maps, concise route instructions and hike difficulty ratings help you to plan what to wear and what to carry on your hikes. I really liked the information on best time of year to undertake the hikes in different locales as temperature extremes in Grand Canyon coupled with remoteness, can turn a fun walk into a survival epic.

I have used this guide on my Grand Canyon river trip and it will be the first thing I pack in my ammo can for that next trip. The beautiful photos throughout the book are something I look at again and again and they stir the memories I have of sandals gripping on polished limestone, narrow passages leading to cool, green waterfalls, and hot trudges climbing across desert landscapes that give way to heartstopping views.

Renowned author and illustrator Wendell Minor takes readers on an extraordinary journey in the picture book GRAND CANYON. Minor, who has graced book covers with his art for more than twenty-five years, is also one of the most revered children's book illustrators around. He's done collaborations with Newbery Award-winning author Jean Craighead George, including EVERGLADES, ARCTIC SON, and the soon-to-be-published CLIFFHANGER, as well as critically acclaimed books with Eve Bunting, Anne Turner, and Charlotte Zolotow. Now, he tells of his experiences in one of America's most celebrated natural treasures, with lyrical text and stunning watercolors. For twelve days he spent time on the South Rim of the canyon, sketching and painting the huge rocks, the dramatic skies, and the abundant wildlife in the area. The colors are rich and intense, yet at the same time peaceful, perfectly complementing the words. You feel as if you're right there, standing over the canyon with space all around you. This is an excellent introduction for kids to a magnificent place, and even if, like me, you've never visited the Grand Canyon, you'll feel as if you were taking the journey and living the experience, too.

This is a thoughtful look at the wonders of the Grand Canyon as seen by a noted American illustrator who took his time to look carefully at and sketch some of that space. The gorgeous watercolors painted from his sketches convey the beauty and the color of the Grand Canyon and the accompanying text from his journal help put the images into perspective. Minor makes the spaces come alive.

It's almost as if there are two Grand Canyons. There's the one on the calendars and post cards, the big view from the rim. Then there's the inner canyon, the one experienced only by river runners and hikers. And sometimes--rarely--by readers. Rarely because it's hard to do justice to the canyon. The canyon is all about Time, and it takes a lot of time to even start to get to know it well.

The University of Arizona's Desert Places series teams up leading authors and photographers to offer personal explorations of famous landscapes. Yes, in its desert climate too the inner canyon is quite different from the cool, pine forest rim. The team for the Grand Canyon is Ann Zwinger and Michael Collier, both of whom have spent a great deal of time getting to know the canyon. And it shows.

In the course of the river trip in this narrative, Ann Zwinger offers us her usual graceful exploration of wonders large and small. She is a careful naturalist who notices the smallest patterns, yet she is also ready to find the largest poetry: "I work my fingers into the interstices of this cool rough rock that contains all earth's hopes and dreams. I think that if there is any place I can ever come close to glimpsing the age of this earth, the forces that formed it, the heat that melded it, the seas that overlay it, the time out of mind of sand grains formed, raindrops fallen, breezes wafted, sunshine shafting, all that went on and on in dogged perseverence, millennium after millennium--it is right here, right now."

Grand Canyon photographers seem prone to the same syndrone as canyon painters. You can usually tell which ones have spent too little time here: they've learned the rules of landscape painting in art school, and now they try to force those rules onto the canyon. But the canyon has its own unique rules, rules made of light and shadow and subtlty. Most artists and photographers aim for grandeur, not even grasping the concept that the inner canyon is an intensely intimate place. Fortunately Zwinger's intimate prose is matched by Collier's intimate photos. A rim tourist wouldn't even recognize many of them as being the Grand Canyon: there are slot canyons, flowers, rock formations. But best of all, half of the photos feature people, usually small figures against a sinuous landscape, often only shadows, shadows pondering, shadows that are not anyone in particular but universal human shapes. Shadows that evoke some of the mystery of canyon and time, life and earth.

A work of impressively accessible scholarship, Grand Canyon: Little Things In A Big Place, knowledgeably authored by Ann Zwinger (Adjunct Professor, Colorado College) and illustrated with black and white photography from Michael Collier offers an intimate and descriptive survey at the awe-inspiring spectacle of the Grand Canyon including the rare beauty and striking imagery of one of the world's greatest natural wonders as well as a comprehensive and brief exploration into its more precise recreational and geological complexities. Grand Canyon: Little Things In A Big Place is very strongly recommended for all readers searching for an overall introduction to the Grand Canyon, as well as those aspiring to vacation in exploration of the great wonder for its remarkable detailing and timeless perspective of the panoramic sight.

The shipping was fast and the book was in excellent condition! Thank you

The Complete Guide to the Grand Canyon by Destination Press really covers all aspects of the Park. I found the guide very "useable" as it brings you through the trails easily. There is no confusion about how to hike the canyon. The photos are spectacular as is the writing. A must for either the serious hiker/trekker or the casual visitor.

If you, like me, love Southern Arizona and the Sonoran Desert, you'll love this story. For many readers, the mystery, the adventure, and the fascinating characters will keep them turning the pages, but for me, in addition to those aspects, Hayes' depiction of the Sonoran Desert as almost a living, breathing character in the story is masterful.

As a writer "wannabe", I found Hayes' novel an excellent model. In fact, I read a public library copy, but when I finished reading, I immediately went to the computer and ordered it from Amazon.com. It is now an important part of my own writing library.

It is an excellent novel. J.M. Hayes does not disappoint.

Actually I've not yet read this book, though I hope to do so soon. In the meantime I want to point out that the previous review is not of this book. It is a review of Mad Dog and Englishman, another book by the same author. And contrary to the links on your website, The Gray Pilgrim is *NOT* the paperback version of Mad Dog and Englishman. The Grey Pilgrim is summarized as follows: (From Library Journal) Set in Arizona in 1940, this first novel follows U.S. Marshall J.D. Fitzpatrick as he tries to defuse an Indian uprising. A small band of Papago Indians refuses to register for the draft, which creates a crisis in pre-war America. Complicating matters is the presence of a Japanese infiltrator sent to keep things stirred up. Based in part on a true story, the clever plot and well-developed characters add up to a satisfying adventure. On another level, some interesting questions are raised on the nature of courage and honor by the actions of J.D. and JuJul, the Indian leader. Hayes provides lots of action but does not fall into the trap of giving easy answers. A story well worth reading.-- Barbara E. Kemp, Columbia Univ. Libs.

Finally a jokebook that makes you laugh out loud. This book makes getting older a little bit easier and is the perfect gift for anyone...no matter what their age.

Gene Perret is an experienced comedy writer who brings his talents to bear in Growing Older Is So Much Fun Everybody's Doing It. This compendium of wholesome, short humor puts a positive spin on the stereotyped foibles of older folks. Here's just a sampling of Perret's wit and wisdom: If my kids wanted me to grow old gracefully, they should have behaved better when they were young; Youth is not only wasted on the young, it's also tiring on their grandparents; I know I get on your nerves once in a while. At my age, that's a form of recreation; Every story I tell my grandchildren is either true or would have been true if it had actually happened; If older people are supposed to be forgetful, how come there are so many conventions with younger people wearing name tags?; The perfect age is when you can wear your most comfortable shoes with any outfit; When I was young I was unpleasant. Now that I'm older, I'm "feisty". Growing Older Is So Much Fun Everybody's Doing It is highly recommended reading for anyone from 9 to 99!

Just why this attractive little book should have appeared on a library shelf in central New Jersey I don't know, but it's an unexpected treasure. Convenient in size and layout, beautifully illustrated by Narca Moore-Craig and with handsome color photos of birds at the nest, this booklet will definitely be added to my own traveling library as soon as I'm back in se AZ. The brief descriptions of nest site and character should make it possible to plausibly identify even unattended nests, and the short, clearly written sketches of each of the 50-some covered species' life histories are full of precisely the information that birders (well, I, at least) so easily forget. Well done, and highly recommended.

A must for everyone who enjoys bird watching and takes pleasure in studying and observing nature. Nicely organized and easy to use. The book teaches you how to look and catergorize bird nests, creating formulas which can then be applied anywhere you travel. The basic principles set a very good standard for all future guides. In addition, there are numerous and facinating entries about various species. For instance, the cow bird, never building his own nest and laying an egg a day in other species nests who then do all the work of incubating and feeding. While some birds make layered nests with a warbler observed being 6 layers deep. The comparative facts, for instance the Anna vs.Costa hummingbirds, were very interesting and helpful for field study. Excellent for both the novice and the more expert. The information, photographs and excellent drawings only make you want more.

Harvey Green The Eating Machine is a whimsical (bordering on ludicrous) picture book by Gene Perret, about Harvey Green, a young boy who likes to eat -- perhaps too much! Wild color illustrations by Gary Bennett wonderfully enhance this fanciful tale, and a brief segment at the end teaches young folks about proper table manners. Certain to be popular reading for children K-3, Harvey Green The Eating Machine is a good choice for school and community library picture book collections.

The illustrations are fantastic and the story is wonderful! I love Harvey's rules of table manners!

I do the childrens' storytimes at our local library and I have bought this book to donate to the children's department...I don't want to wait until the library orders it!

My grand-niece and nephew will also receive a copy!

What a great book with tons of information that I bet even if you live in Arizona you never knew. Ellen doesn't miss a thing. The book includes pictures, addresses, phone numbers, hours and directions. Highly recommended.

Compiled by Ellen Robson Haunted Arizona: Ghosts Of The Grand Canyon State is a fascinating, exciting travel guide to haunted locations throughout the state of Arizona. Featuring black-and-white photographs, spine-chilling supernatural anecdotes, addresses and contact information of scary sites open to the public, and more, Haunted Arizona is enthusiastically recommended for Arizona tourists looking for something different, something metaphysical, something paranormal, something out of the ordinary, something truly memorable.

This book was intense to say the least. The author's descriptive details kept me glued.

I usually stick with authors I am familiar with. This book held my interest from the beginning. I was especially interested in it since the author is also currently a police officer. He gives it the perspective that one would expect from someone in law enforcement who is knowledgable of the facts. I hope to see more of Clyde Hayden or at least more books from William Duff! I also found this book to have an ending that I enjoyed!