Nevada Books

The reader (at least this one) sympathizes with both sides of a cultural divide in the stories that have a wide range of Latinos in or having been in New Mexico, southern Colorado, Texas, or southern California. There are Guatemaltecos, Salvadoreans, Chileans, Colombians, unacculturated (to Anglo America) Mexican immigrants, and monolingual English-speaking scions of families long in the US.

There is considerable humor, although oftentimes of a quite forlorn form ("Pickup," in particular), hardly any magic realism (just hints in "Archangela's Place"), some Spanish words and expressions that might stump some readers (especially the youthful vato slang in "Eloy"), no graphic sex or violence.

Some of the stories (e.g., "Cosas, Inc." and "Tongue") have what I consider firm endings. Some others, especially "Age of Copper" and "Weeds" have interesting and complex characters I'd have been interested to follow further. That is, some of the stories seem embryonic novels.

A careful reading of Joe Skinner's work would show that much of the sincerity present in his writing comes from the fact that he is racially Anglo and culturally Latino. But that doesn't stop readers from projecting their own hang-ups upon the text in their reviews, does it? A great book from a great writer.

Jose Skinner will become a household name in American Literature -- and NOT because he is of color. This is an honest, but polished work -- unlike so many first books by authors who have been published only due to their minority status. Skinner is a writer, and he proves it through deft manipulation of the reader through his prose and plotting, and his tireless invention of new stories. Like vitamins, I was taking one story from this book a day on my subway commute, and was sorry to see it end. You don't find gems like this every day!

I thought I knew Vegas until I started thumbing through this book. It has all a beginner needs and if you are a vetran like me you will love this book. The gambling chapter is excellent. I made a lot more out of my trip with this well written book. I highly recommend it.

I purchased this book to help me plan out my upcoming trip to Las Vegas. I have only been there once and it was about 10 years ago. It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book and I was extremely pleased at the way it is written (think cliff notes, not novel). At the beginning it gives short itineraries for various Vegas target groups (ie, beginners, families, high rollers). It rates nearly all the hotels/casinos, numerous restaurants, and many of the shows. As well as providing pricing information for all the aforementioned activites. The book offers great gambling advice for the novice including rules and tips on such games as craps, blackjack, roulette, slots, and even sports wagering. It covers the strip, downtown, and other attractions in the area such as the Hoover Dam. The book really offers a comprehensive review of everything Las Vegas. It also includes great tips and strategies for saving and winning money. I strongly encourage would-be travelers to pick up this easy to follow guide before touching down in sin city. Fodor's beat the house odds with this gem.

The best guide ever. It covers everything you want to know about Vegas: the casinos, restaurants, hotels, shows, shopping, clubs, even helpful links to websites and pull out map and much, much more! It also briefly describes the side trips from Las Vegas such a Hoover Dam, Lake Mead or even the Grand Canyon. And oh, if you are new to gambling gives you some lessons, tricks and tips for enjoying the casinos.

"It's a very readable book. These are comfortable histories."

--Dr. Otto Ravenholt, Former Chief Health Officer, Clark County Health District, Las Vegas, Nevada

"Annie Blachley's elegantly written Good Medicine offers a compelling look at how the medical profession has changed over the years, but more than that, it presents a fascinating picture of early-day Nevada and of the country and world during the war years and afterwards. Blachley's eye for detail is outstanding. This is one of the best books ever about how Nevada and Las Vegas came to be." --Larry Henry, former political editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal's 6/7/00 article by Ben Rogers captures what this book is all about; excerpts from his article follow. "It was an era predating Medicare, Medicaid, HMOs and malpractice insurance, a time when doctors practiced the art of healing--a cheaper, simpler and more personal version of modern medicine....The 'Golden Age' of medicine ran from about 1940 to 1990 and was characterized by a more personal approach to patients. 'If you ask people today about their biggest problems with HMOs, they say that they never get enough time with their doctor,' said Blachley, a Nevada medical history enthusiast and author of Good Medicine. 'The majority of doctors practicing today are overburdened by paperwork and restricted reimbursement amounts, all brought about by the powerful medical insurance industry. Doctors used to have time to sit down and become friends with their patients.' Blachley decided against a traditional oral history approach to the book--which she said can sometimes turn aimless--and tried instead to tell a focused tale. "I...made it more of a story, a narrative of their lives,' she said.

"Just what the Doctor ordered. Well written and very informative. But wait - doctors saw the same patients more than once? I guess in the days before HMO's, treatment was less of a gamble"

a very entertaining and well written book. i love all the background on my fav. city. i recommend this book if you are like me and love to visit the haunted places you read about.

I have read many "haunting" books and would rate this book the best!! Janice Oberding is a historian and a ghost hunter and really provides the reader with a well rounded view of her experiences. A honest account of haunted and historical sites in and around Vegas. Loved it!

The beginning has many short but complete stories of several areas in Las Vegas. I love how the author has a creative way of writing. This book isn't just about hauntings, although they are well researched and some of the 'ghosts' don't show up and the author isn't afraid to admit it. The background history of Las Vegas with the locals lingo makes one feel they are part of Las Vegas. It's an easy book to read that keeps the reader entertained.

I have been savoring this book since I got it. Some years ago I saw Tom Killion's prints at a small gallery in Carson City, NV and they are well reproduced here. The text is quite interesting too and the prints and stories work together beautifully to capture the spirit of this most magnificent place.

hop up and down in your Teva sandals. Wade the great streams as they roar over round stones down from ancient peaks... dance the silver dance of the wild rainbow... but find a place in your ultralight backpack for this book. It deserves a place next to that bag of peanuts, your titanium cup; worth its weight in gold dust from the river, split pea soup from the pouch. Ancient shaman tales and woodcut journeys... yamabushi of the mind, and lots of white space for taking your own cryptic outerspace trailnotes...

This book is stunning the woodblock prints are so beautiful they almost make you cry. We spend a lot of time in the sierras and this book shows the beauty of these mountains better than any photographs. Get the book
look at the pictures then do your family a favor and go spend time in these incredible mountains.

My love for the Sierra Nevada mountains goes back to the days of my youth when we made family trips to Yosemite and Sequoia. Later as a teenager filled with wanderlust, I returned to explore them on my own terms. Despite having made many trips to the Sierras, I never really read much about them until recently when I read several books covering the subject by early explorers of the area like William Brewer and Clarence King. Readers of those books are referred to Farquhar's History of the Sierra Nevada by amazon and others, so I bought this and found it a thoroughly enjoyable read.
If you want a broad overview of the history of the Sierras, particularly the High Sierras, then this is the book I would recommend. Farquhar's history is a very useful primer that touches on all important aspects of exploration of the High Sierra and the progress made from mere exploitation to preservation and recreation. Note that the focus is on the high country as the history of the foothills has been much more extensively surveyed.
The book covers the period from the first tentative Spanish penetrations, to the arrival of trappers and hunters from the east, then on to the settlers and further to the establishment of the National Forests and Parks in the region. Farquhar covers Jedediah Smith, John Fremont, Brewer, King, John Muir, and others who contributed so much to the exploration of the Sierras, the discovery of the important passes, the climbing of the peaks, and the naming of the natural features. He also writes of the subsequent struggle between those who wanted to exploit the mountains for all they were worth and those who felt that posterity had a stake in their partial preservation. Additionally, he discusses the politics of the exploitation/preservation debate and the many political battles in both Sacramento and Washington DC that have made the High Sierra the place we know today. The once dominant mining and logging industries are of small importance compared to the great importance placed on the waters and watershed of the Sierras by most Californians today.
Most thrilling to me are the descriptions of the backcountry and the tales of finding paths through previously uncharted territory. Francis Farquhar's history is well written, extensively footnoted, and relatively fast-paced. His enthusiasm for his subject is evident throughout. Since this is an overview, he doesn't bog you down in the minutiae of the events about which he writes. If you are a lover of the Sierras, but have a hazy knowledge of their history, then I highly recommend reading History of the Sierra Nevada.

As the author says in the preface, this book "deals with human experiences in the Sierra Nevada from the time the Spaniards first saw it in the latter part of the eighteenth century to the present, when its economic and recreational uses serve several million people." Chapters are numerous, concise, and specific to event or persons, and include sections on the early Indians, Jedediah Smith, Joseph Walker, Fremont, Yosemite, the giant Sequoias, the coming of the railroad, important surveys, John Muir, and Mount Whitney, to name just a handful of the subjects dealt with. Arranged chronologically, the book is an excellent history of the region. Farquhar has consulted and presented information from original sources, and although chapters are relatively short, they are packed with interesting and important details. The book is also well illustrated and contains some excellent maps. It's a handsome overview of the history of the Sierra Nevadas and is a good starting place for anyone interested in the subject.

This book was written by a mountaineer and editor who knew the Sierras well first hand and even knew some of the people involved in the discovery and preservation of the High Sierra of California. He takes us from the initial European discovery and naming by the Spanish, to the gold miners, early visitors to Yosemite, and Sierra Club and mountaineering explorations around the turn of the 19th century. Highly recommended for those interested in California history and the outdoors.

This book was purchased for a college course. I am thoroughly enjoying this collection of literature by Californians! I love the different perspective of each piece. I recommend this to anyone who lives in the state or anyone who wishes they did.

Haslam does a wonderful job capturing the many illusions of California. It's a good book to jump around reading because you'll always find something you like. All California-philes should own a copy!

Many Californias, edited by Gerald Haslam contains a teriffic, eclectic collection of writing about the Golden State. The name "California" is like Kevin Bacon to the wide universe of writers and poets who ever lived, wrote or were associated with it in some way. Haslam ponders, " Where is California? What is it?," then offers, "California remains at least as much state of mind as state of the union."

This collection is a great place to start to answer Haslam's questions and contains not only bright essays about this fabled island but also reveals some darker points in its history. From early accounts of California before the gold rush days, to Beat poets and Fresno poets, readers will enjoy what so many have had to say about the state, whether real or imagined. Subjects as diverse as Mark Twain's story of blue jay speech habits, Joan Didion's evocation of the southland's Santa Ana winds to Bukowski's ride in a red Porsche all add layers to such a rich subject. An added bonus is the selected California bibliography at the end.

This is book 2 in the Wagon's West series.

The wagon train is now heading into new territory for them. They are on the way to Oregon and are leaving Independence, MO behind. They are also now being led by Whip Holt. They are traveling through Nebraska and continuing westward.

This is the story of their struggles against the British & Russian forces trying to keep them for making the trip as well and the environment and Native Americans.

This book is one of the 6th printing from back in the late 70's. If you are interested in the settlement of the American West this is one series that you need to revisit.

This is a book I keep reading again and again. It just is a terrific read. If you're interested in the history of early America, then this is THE series for you!

"Nebraska" is Book 2 in Dana Fuller Ross' magnificent "Wagons West" series. In 1837 the United States was experiencing its first financial depression. Banks were failing, factories closing, and farms were being foreclosed. US citizens were increasingly hungry and dispossessed. Out of a population of 16 million, a quarter of a million were unemployed. People by the thousands were moving West to settle the wilderness and make a new start in life. Former US President Andrew Jackson, new President Martin Van Buren, and financier John Jacob Astor decided to assign mountainman and weathered veteran Sam Brentwood and his partner Michael "Whip" Holt to form the first wagon train of pioneers with the purpose of crossing the North American continent and settling the Oregon Territory. Imperial Russia and Great Britain were also determined to claim the Oregon Territory for themselves and planned to do everything in their countries' power to sabotage the United States' effort.

The caravan now included 500 people and their horses, oxen and prairie schooners. Having reached the frontier town of Independence, Missouri, Sam Brentwood and his new wife leave the group to open a trading depot to supply future pioneers and wagon trains. Wagon scout Whip Holt now takes over as wagonmaster and the legendary group begins to move across the Great Plains to the Rockie Mountains on the second stage of their journey. They are set upon by hostile Indians, British and Russian spies, accidents and illness, and the petty bickering that comes from interacting with the same people day after day, along with the monotony of the trail. Relationships and rivalries are formed which prove to be every bit as exciting as the journey itself.

The characters are outstanding and extremely realistic. The author vividly brings history to life in "Nebraska," as in the other books in the series. And the politics behind the settling of the West are fascinating. As one would expect, the novel is chock-full of adventure, hardship, courage, love, loss, tragedy and triumph. Many details have been taken from actual diaries and journals of early pioneers. Once you start this book you won't be able to stop until you have read all 24 novels. The next one is "Wyoming," and deals with the third leg of the trip -wintering in the Rocky Mountains and the move to Oregon. Very highly recommended!
JANA

Great book. My husband is a history junkie and he thinks it is a wonderful book!

Roadside History of Nevada is part of a growing series of books on roadside history published by Mountain Press. To date there are roadside histories available for sixteen states and Yellowstone Park. These books will make valuable traveling companions any time you take a trip and have time to enjoy the historical or geological sites along the way.

The Roadside History of Nevada is a well-written and interesting book. Moreno spends the first chapter reviewing the history of Nevada from its geologic and human prehistory through recorded history to the present time. He then uses the rest of the book to discuss the various roadways and the Nevada towns that were and are inhabited. The book is organized, logically, along the roadways and is divided into six chapters: Interstate 80 (The Emigrant Trail), Reno and the Lake Tahoe Area, US 50 (The Loneliest Road in America), US 95 and US 6 (The Silver Trails), US 93 (The Mormon Trail), and The Las Vegas Area. Within each section, discussion proceeds along the lines of the main highways and the other highways and byways that connect with them. A map of the roads precedes each chapter, but be careful of the Highway 50 map (page 118). It has the highway going into Idaho, not Utah! The book includes 140 photographs which include buildings still standing, ruins of buildings, and pictographs from the earliest humans in the area. There is also a selected bibliography and an excellent index which includes areas, events and people.

If you ever wanted to know how a place got its name or why it was settled, then this is the book for you. This book isn't just about places; it is also about the people who populated them. As I read this book, I found myself wishing that I had had it along on the many trips I have taken through Nevada. As I finished each section of the book, I was ready to get into the car and go exploring the places that Moreno discusses.

Who should read this book? Anyone who has an interest in Nevada and/or western history in general. And anyone who enjoys seeing where history was made. Academic and public librarians will find this book, as well as the series, a good addition to their collections, either as historical information or for description and travel information.

If you find this book interesting, I would recommend other books Richard Moreno has written on outings a person can take throughout Nevada: The Backyard Traveler and The Backyard Traveler Returns. Also consider other books in the Roadside History... and Roadside Geology... series, depending on where your travels take you. The geology series includes twenty-three titles. Unfortunately at the present time Nevada doesn't have the companion roadside geology book, but since Nevada has mining as a major part of its history, it is possible that Roadside History of Nevada and the book Geology Underfoot in Central Nevada can fill the gap for now.

Rich Moreno is one of the most talented travel writers in the West. His knowledge of Nevada's farthest reaches and the unusual history of each place may be unmatched. In "Roadside History of Nevada," Moreno captures what's best of Nevada, and shows his talents off in a remarkable way.

Dave Strohmaier masterfully paints us a portrait of wildfire in the West, drawing from a palette of sensitivity to the earth, gritty practical experience, humor, and skilled writing craft. He calls attention to the beauty of many elements of nature we take for granted, its paradoxes, and draws complex associations between these and wildfire. This book is not a primer on how wildfires are fought. It is a loving and thorough philosophical exploration of the meaning of fire, nature, and humanity.

Seasons of Fire by David J. Strohmaier is a superbly written, artistic, and thought-provoking novel on humankind's relationship to fire. Like the author, I too have "engaged" the fires of summer,which stirred deep, ontological questions about human evolution's debt to fire. The author expresses such ideas in a free-flowing narrative that bursts with imagery. Deep yet accesible (I will admit to using the dictionary at least once every 50 pages, but I admire an author who can skillfully use words that I should know, but don't).

To ape the vernacular of Hollywood producers, "it's like Edward Abbey meets Garrison Keillor!" David J. Strohmaier provides beatific explorations of philosophical questions with a smooth, down-home panache. I have never had the pleasure of attacking a fire with gunny sacks, but the author makes me wish I had:

"There is pleasure in completing little tasks--sweating your way up a hill to the flank of a fire under the sun and open sky of mid-July, then, in the company of several others, swatting out flames until either you smother all movement, or cool, moist night air tucks the fire in for the evening. This genuine satisfaction does not abdicate you from the responsibility of asking why you are doing what you are doing, and why it is meaningful. And of all the seasons of the year, summer, the summer of fire, is when these questions are cured."

Descriptions of a bygone Halloween when the author dressed as Satan himself, dancing around a fire, made me laugh out loud. A truly provocative and enjoyable book. I look forward to his next work.

Strohmaier captures the essense of what calls people from all walks of life to a world of flames and wild places.
As a veteran wildland firefighter for over 24 years,
it was a joy to read about the spirit that exist within every wildland firefighter. If you want to understand the
essentials of what motivates wildland firefighters, read this book.