Arizona Books

Like most wildflower books that are not tools for keying out species, content is arranged by flower color. Unlike most, the images in this book are taken with sensitivity and grace. It's worth purchasing for the photos alone, which afford easy identification of the flowers as well as a pleasing aesthetic.

Towns and regions are fortunate if they have a local historian who devotes years to researching and writing their history. Northern Arizona is fortunate to have Richard and Sherry Mangum, who grew up here and have a strong personal interest in and enthusiasm for the region. In this book they've brought to light a fascinating part of Grand Canyon history that barely gets mentioned in other history books. This book is more than just a history of the stage coach line between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. It's a great history of Grand Canyon pioneers, the first whites to live at the canyon and open up tourism there. It includes lively characters like John Hance and Pete Berry and Ralph Cameron. Some readers may be surprised to find that the first tourist facilities at the canyon weren't at the current south rim village but at the Grandview area, where there were several hotels and other facilities. The stage coach line may have been brief in duration but it did intoduce the world to the Grand Canyon, bringing up famous writers like John Stoddard, Charles Lummis, and Harriet Monroe, whose reports helped shape public interest in and perceptions of the Grand Canyon. The stage line also turned John Hance into a legendary character. The stage line itself quickly became famous, showing up in Baedeker guide books. It's a bit surprising, then, that it should be thoroughly forgotten. The Mangums have brought this story back to life, digging into obscure sources and puzzling out the missing links in the story. They've also assembled a gallery of seldom-seen photos, such as one with John Hance and Thomas Moran and a donkey. The book offers a portrait of Flagstaff in the 1890s, and details the building of the stage road and the way-stations along the way. For today's explorers, the book offers detailed maps of the old stage route, much of which can be followed today. The book closes with two sections on early bicycling to the canyon, and the arrival of the automobile age. This is a unique and rich contribution to Grand Canyon history.

This softcover book is full of color photos. Includes information about the geology, biology, Indians, recreation, and history of the Grand Canyon. This would be a great field guide to take with you to the Grand Canyon.

Although short and concise, this book captures the essence of the Grand Canyon. Both the writing and the photography are interesting and beautiful. This should be an essential part of anyone's collection who, like me, is truly in love with the Grand Canyon.

Well organized information covers topics such as the formation and history of the canyon as well as the composition of the rocks. Unique book design looks like signs posted with thumbtacks on top of identical background photographs. Then it has some photo on top of the signs that add to the three dimensional look. Most of the photos are exceptional. Contains glossary, index, and a list of two web sites. Karen Woodworth Roman, Children's Science Book Review

It's the first book I've seen that truly captures the spirit of the Canyon. The photography is superb; the text is readable and informative.

If you are looking for a tasty sampling of writings about the Grand Canyon this may be your book. In its 253+ pages you get the flavor of writings by dozens of authors, and enough of each flavor for you to decide whether you've had enough with that one taste, or if you need to digest that author's entire work. The writings range from serious to the silly, from inspirational to scary, and from experiential to philosophical. There's probably something here for everyone - a vast variety of perspectives and experiences from canyon rim to beyond the river's edge. None of the selections are over 16 pages (and many far shorter) so even if you're less than delighted with any of them you're quickly on to the next. This is a surprisingly quick and delightful read, and you'll probably get to the end wishing for more.

This book is designed to give you enough interest in the Grand Canyon from an armchair perspective to induce you to actually go there. Accordingly there are 14 pages of information devoted to The Next Step - what you need to know to visit and safely enjoy the real Grand Canyon.

Read the book and then go!

I found the book to be very informative and well written. I enjoyed the genealogical connections; the obituaries and the plat mat of the cemetery were very interesting and useful as were the pictures of the people residing there and their tombstones. With the Charlotte Hall Museum nearby the book will be a useful reference when doing research there. It also can be used at the state capitol museum archives in Phoenix as well.
If you want to dig up the dirt on a Prescottonian you need this book as a very useful guide going down the information highway. I think my money was well spent in purchasing this book and hope the author will do further research on other cemeteries in Arizona.

The seller's comments about the book were very accurate. They are a trustworthy company.

This is a lovely coffee table book, and also makes a wonderful gift to out of town visitors. The photographs are truly breathtaking, and applaud the talents of the contributing photographers. It shows what a remarkable city Phoenix is. The author Hugh Downs has written an excellent description of the city. I love how he describes the intensity of our summer season. This book is a must have either on your coffee table or display book shelf.