Arizona Books

Building The King's Highway: Labor, Society, And Family On Mexico's Caminos Reales 1757-1804 is a scholarly social history of the road construction labors who worked in late Bourbon Mexico. The importance of the silver trade for the Spanish colonial effort is thoroughly documented, but the efforts of those who created the roads upon which trade moved is much less well-known. Building The King rectifies this imbalance by meticulously scrutinizing patterns of the road workers' lives, transitions from draft to free-wage labor, notable events during the construction of individual roads, and much more. A focused and in-depth analysis, and a welcome addition to college library and world history shelves.

Interesting book about a couple walking in the desert with burros in western U.S.. It tells about the problems they had an how they solved them with many different experiences. It might help if you have an interest in burros while reading this book.

Marty Kreipe de Montano has modernized one of the classic characters found in the oral tradition of many Native American cultures.

In this story, Coyote leaves the Potawatomi reservation and heads for the Big Apple, where he gets a job as Rodent Control Officer in the World Trade Center. But he never really gets used to living in Manhattan, with its noise and crowded streets. Homesick, he finds comfort in looking at the stars. One is so beautiful, he falls in love with her. They dance together in the sky. But he gets cold and lonely and begs the star to let him go. And so she does: for four days and nights, he tumbles to earth, where he lands in the middle of Central Park, creating what is now the reservoir. Now, when you hear the coyotes howling at night, know that they are hollering at the star which dropped their ancestor.

The charming illustrations are done by Tom Coffin. The author has also included several pages of information about the Potawatomi people (both she and Coffin are members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi). She also includes information on Coyote as trickster-hero. The story line of this book was adapted from the Klamath traditional tale of the origin of Crater Lake.

I recommend this book for young children.

The author has captured the essence of what it was like to be a broadcaster in a small town in the . . . 50's or 60's, perhaps? To anyone who survived working in radio before and during "Top 40", or in the early days of local television, this will ring a bell. Whimsical, funny, sometimes belly-laughing. Thompson evokes an era and reveals some behind-the-scenes hilarity. Read it with laughter but . . don't wake the neighbors!

UNDER HIS WING...
The assignment - protecting a witness to a brutal murder - was the thoughest of Detective Graham Redhawk's career. Because the witness was Caitlin Cassidy, the woman who'd long ago decided that a half-Navajo renegade like him wasn't good enough to spend her life with...

At the same time, he was entangled in a bitter custody battle for his adopted son. And his only hope of winning was a marriage - in name only - to this woman he couldn't stop loving...

a beautiful book that captures the awesomeness of this important landmark of phoenix..read it before the climb and then again afterwards and found it so much more meaningful. a great gift for any climber .. it will wet your appetite to make the ascent... wonderful history on preserving this mountain too...

Actually, this book is not written by Durwood Ball; he wrote the Foreword. The "et al" refers to pencil sketches by a Private Joseph Heger, and an Introduction by editor George P. Hammond, then of the Bancroft Library of the Univesity of California.

I say "Worm's eye view" because when the content of this book was written, Du Bois was a 2nd Lt. in the Mounted Rifles, later to become the Third U. S. Cavalry regiment. The author's experiences were a long series of "alarms and excursions" chasing and usually not catching Indians, interspersed by marching from New Mexico to Utah to participate in the so-called Mormon War; a non-war which
was very trying to most of the U.S. soldiers involved.

Three things are notable. First, Du Bois'disgust with some of his commander's actions, particularly Colonel Benjamin Bonneville. Du Bois thought that Bonneville at age 63 was an old fool -blustery but fearful, uncertain, and not fit to command. He was right, too.

Second was the smallnesss of the army and the closeness of the officers, most of whom were West Point graduates. Du Bois thought it important to note which of his friends or at least fellow alumni he met on his or their travels between various posts, and to note their deaths when such happened.

Finally, one cannot but be impressed with the hardships of the campaigns in which the author was involved. Active duty in the field was often dangerous, often in foul weather over difficult terrain, and often without enough water for the men and their horses. Returning from Utah and reaching Guadalupita, New Mexico, Du Bois wrote that this was the first night he had spent in a house in six months. He, as did others, made do. Even when annoyed, his humor is evident and his actual enjoyment of life in the saddle is notable.

After that six months and a journey of over 1,700 mile on horseback and foot, Du Bois wrote "I have enjoyed my summer very much. I have seen the saints and passed over a section of country worthy of examination."

This book gives the reader a glimpse into a part of army life and a thin slice of history that is not that often available. It is a good read.

"Canyon Country" is a short (quarterly magazine format) but highly informative and extremely well-written overview of the geology of Grand Canyon and other areas of scenic/geologic interest in northern Arizona and southern Utah. All you need to really enjoy "Canyon Country" is an enquiring mind! A good deal of information is imparted in a very low-key but well-organized way, unobstructed by obscure technical terms. You can learn a lot, the b&w and color pictures are nice, and Mr. Ranney brings a quiet but obvious love of the region to his writing which makes "Canyon Country" a pleasure, as well as an educational experience, to read.

Of all the books I have seen on Canyon de Chelly, this is hands-down the best. Far from being a compact travel guide, it is a full-sized paperback textbook. (It was so informative, I stuffed it into my suitcase for my visit to Canyon de Chelly). The book gives a detailed overview of all aspects of the canyon, from geologic formation to prehistoric canyon dwellers and then proceeds into the present. Major historic events are covered too. Lots of intricate pen-and-ink illustrations as well as photographs. It's an academic piece of literature, but I do not want to scare off potential readers, because it is also a riveting and fun read!

You will, I believe, be fascinated by the side-by-side comparisons of photographs taken in 1923 and 1991, and the remarkable degree of change or lack of change in many of them over the span of 68 years. If you have run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, or hiked it extensively, you will undoubtedly recognize many of the river and rock features that are depicted in this relatively slim volume (167 pages). A favorite of mine is plate 17, Nankoweap Ruins, taken high above the river. This must be one of the most photographed scenes in the Grand Canyon below the rim, and I know that many river runners have their own shot of this same down-river vista in their personal photo albums. There are 45 sets of photographs in the book, and each set comes with a description of the shot, any significant changes that may have occurred, and other information useful for appreciating the photographs.

The authors achieved a nice balance between text and photos, and provided informative historical summaries of both Grand Canyon river running and the 1923 Birdseye Expedition that produced the original photos. Of possible interest to reader/photographers are overhead maps of locations of all of the shots. With the maps yet more "rephotography" can take place in coming years.

If you love the Grand Canyon, especially at river level, I think you'll love this book.