Nevada Books

Emma Sepulveda emigrated to the United States from Chile in 1974, a young college student who had supported President Salvadore Allende and thus was in some degree of peril following the coup that left Allende dead. She learned English, became a U.S. citizen, eventually earned a Ph.D. in Spanish language and literature, won prizes in photography, poetry and for literary criticism, and became extremely involved in community activism to improve the lot of Latinos in her adopted city of Reno, Nevada. She also traveled back to Chile to help Las Arpilleristas, the mothers and wives of those who "disappeared" under the Gen. Pinochet reign of terror and who were trying to locate the whereabouts (or remains) of their loved ones. These women made tapestries to both publicize and raise money for their cause. Sepulveda helped make a documentary about these women, and it won a Peabody Award.

Twenty years after she arrived in the United States, Sepulveda ran for the state senate from her local district. In a grass-roots, pavement-pounding, door-knocking campaign, she got first-hand glimpses into not only the lives of recent immigrants but others among our society's disenfranchised: children and senior citizens in poverty, single mothers and divorcees working low-paid jobs. Her encounters with disaffected gun nuts and others are a bath of cold water, although a measure of humor is included. Sepulveda visited the halls of power not only in Nevada but in Washington, D.C., to raise money for her campaign against a well-heeled, white Republican male, Nevada political insider. The reader may end up feeling as if he or she has run a political campaign.

Sepulveda's blow-by-blow account of her campaign - dirty campaign tactics and all (including phoned death threats) - is a captivating chronicle of present American society and our democratic election process. It also spins a compelling tale of an immigrant's journey (early chapters describe life in Argentina and Chile and the Allende saga), and paints a portrait of the slowly emerging clout of Latinos in our country.

Since our home is in the Motherlode area of California, the stories in this book are particularly meaningful. But they will also be of interest to anyone curious about life in the wild, wide-open days of early California.

All of the text, except for photo captions and brief asides, are transcriptions from newspaper articles, letters, journals and other documents from the period. The stories are often hilarious - relating tales of adventures and misadventures by miners, politicians, families, muleskinners, shopkeepers, saloonkeepers, sherriffs, lynch mobs, judges and a variety of ne'r-do-wells who populated the Sierra foothills during the time of the gold rush. There are also many tales of tragedy as greed, accidents and recklessness claimed the lives of many people unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or who happened to look at the wrong person in the wrong way.

As entertaining as the text is (and the some of the writing reads almost like poetry), this book is greatly enhanced by the many beautifully restored black and white photos from the 1850s to the early 1900s. They include wonderful images of everyday life in the area, amazing feats of engineering, and the tough conditions in the mines. If you've visited the now-sleepy villages along Highway 49 from Plymouth south to Oakhurst, you'll be amazed at what thriving, busy places they used to be.

In total, the collection paints a vivid picture of the lives...the excesses and extremes that the Americans, Mexicans, Indians, Chinese and others from all over the world faced in trying to extract riches from the ground, or from each other.

I would like to have seen a set of maps with the historic and modern names of the towns, mines, roads and gulches. These would be a handy addition for those of us who like to visit such places and see what remains today. My only complaint with the book itself is with one of the font choices. For me, some of the sidebar text was a little hard to read.

Despite these minor concerns, I found this book to be enlightening and a delightful read. All of the stories are short so I could read for a while, then put it down and pick it up later - just the thing for those of us who can't often sit and read for long stretches of time.

Craig Sheumaker
Co-author of the history travel guidebook America's Living History-The Early Years
America's Living History - The Early Years (A Traveler's Guide)

Dear Dave, Loved the book! My main comment is "I know you have more to tell". Give me something. There's only a finite amount of time to fish, live, and then die - not in that order. I hope you can write something with a little more soul. Speak to the flyfisherman with more than "this is where to go, and how to do it". I've gotten to the point in fishing - as I'm sure you have - where the circumstances, and feeling of the environment mean as much to the fish story as the end resulting "big one caught". Go for it! Tell me about the iced guides, the hellish 4wd road to get in, the unusual presentation. In short tell me a story. This book was a great start, but I - because I can only speak for myself - would like to feel what it's like. Due to the perameters of a book of this type I didn't expect more than what was offered, but encourage you to go the next step. Die-hards don't know any better. Thank you.

When you think of Montana, perhaps you think of the Wild West. Then the book's subtitle about Montana literature could evoke images of trashy western pulps. However Egan deals with serious literature, prose and poetry. Some of it does hail from frontier days, often dealing with the relations between settlers and natives. A literal cultural clash.

Plus, there are more modern themes. Of a still sparsely settled region, imbued with class struggles between workers and big business. The writers look at such issues thru a Montana perspective. Quite different from accounts set in large industrial and urban centers.

The book is a useful summary of Montana writers of the past century. Many are perhaps not prominently known, which in part is why Egan's monograph is instructive.

People familiar with Laxalt's work know that he mostly writes about the Basques, which is his own heritage. This book is a moist, sincere, heart-warming ramble around the Basque countryside, based on Laxalt's stay in Basque country in the early seventies. It is not a novel; it is rather a series of vignettes of traditional Basque life, with an eye toward revealing something of the Basque character. Sometimes Laxalt himself is a character in the action, such as at the slaughter of a pig or when some French bikers create a stir in a Basque tavern; more often he is an anonymous observer, such as in the singing contest or the meeting of the three poets. Some of the chapters are less than a page long, and might be described as prose poems.

The book is disarmingly short; I think I read it in two hours. But you can't resist how it makes you feel good, and makes you want to spend your next vacation in the Pyrenees. If you're a Basque enthusiast, it's a must read.

Las Vegas is a unique city in the history of the world in that it was founded by those seeking escape, and exists as a place for those seeking to escape. The latter has created a city built on catering to the desires of other people, which is the topic of this short book. Whether it be gambling, shows, sex, or exotic animals, no other city in human history has so excelled at providing entertainment of so many forms and types in one place at one time. The book examines the different spectacles offered by Las Vegas, with a close eye on the appropriate history, business aspects, and ironies. Each chapter focuses on one specific spectacle; such as art, wildlife, and dance shows. In each, the author traces the development of that spectacle from its origins in Western history to its growth in American culture, and final establishment in Vegas. For each, the author also shows how private and public actors interact to create the final product seen by tourists. All in all, a very interesting and good work. This reviewer has visited Las Vegas twice, and after reading this book, I more fully understand it now and appreciate when went into creating it.

I love the fold out maps in this guy. Also cool that it comes with a mini ink pen and a mini guide book. This is a multipurpose item.

Or numerous other natural phenomena? Come browse Muir's collection of books. Yes, browse the 1,030 pages which comprise his writings. This book is excellent for the student of nature because his descriptive writing takes you to the high Sierra, the redwood forests, the 1,000 mile trek through Florida to the Gulf of Mexico. You are there and you want to be THERE! While much of the description was written over 100 years ago, the magnificence of a Sequoia, the humidity of a Florida swamp and the curiosity of a Douglas squirrel is still REAL today. A true travelogue for nature lovers and mountainmen wannabes alike

All of Eyewitness top 10 guides are great and this one is no exception. It clearly lays out great places to eat and shop. I do disagree with some of the choices and as a person who goes to Vegas many times a year I would do a few things different. Despite that it is still worth its four stars.

This book is very informative and really tells a lot about the total history of Vegas. Different parts are more interesting than others based upon interests. Overall a good book.