Nevada Books

Let's concede at the outset that Gilman Ostrander's 1966 history of Nevada is a well-documented and oft-times nuanced book.

Unfortunately, his own prejudices against Nevada (and the Great Compromise contained in the U.S. Constitution) leave him chattering nonsense on more than one occasion.

Ostrander seems to believe that the frontier economy of the American West (as counterposed to the earlier agrarian trans-Appalachian frontier) must be characterized as "capitalist authoritarianism." It sounds nicer than "fascism," I suppose, but after flinging such phrases Ostrander never follows up with any analysis to backup or explain such a charge.

Hard to believe a San Franciscan trained at UC Berkeley and Reed could be such a social prude on divorce and gambling. I think he was mad because he believed that Lake Tahoe was being destroyed by Nevada. But that Lake is still here, and to the extent it remains imperilled one might credit that danger as much to the Golden State as to the Silver State.

Whether or not the US Senate should have been created or not - Ostrander is agin' it - it's hard to hang an indictment of the Great Compromise on a cartoonish rereading of the history of Nevada as he has attempted in this book.

It's also a shame some of Ostrander's successors remember the extreme characterizations in this book while forgetting the nuanced hedging that Ostrander includes out of his inherent intellectual honesty - for example regarding the character of such men as H.M. Yerington and George Wingfield.

I don't think this book is so much bad as buffoonish, and I think Ostrander conducted his scholarly investigations with some integrity. Perhaps if he had refrained from carelessly tossing so many stinkbombs, he could have done some useful teaching.

"Notorious" by Janet Dailey

The description on the back promises a story with western adventure, action and "breathtaking romance". If you are thinking of this book for strictly the romance aspect, I would say take a pass on this one. Although there is some steamy romance,and the tension and anticipation of it builds through the sparks between the main characters, there's not much and it doesn't happen until around Chapter 20 or 21, which was almost the end.

Having said that, if you are a lover of Westerns with a little romance thrown in(lucky for me, that is my case), you may find this an enjoyable summer read. It's got all the elements that make a good western. Ms. Dailey does a good job of paying homage to the traditional western. It's action packed with an old-fashioned cattle drive, a stampede,a land grubbing boss and his band of bad guys,shoot-outs,a saloon setting, a hero to die for and a gal in trouble. It's a modern day Western setting, but the story could take place in the old west as well.

A mysterious stranger, only known as Kincaid, pulls into a small Nevada town to have his pick-up repaired. Right off the bat, he has to rescue a beautiful girl from a deadly situation. The girl it seems is the owner of a cattle ranch that is barely holding it's own. At the chatty town bar, Kincaid gets advice from all sides on his stay there, the most telling coming from a tough guy telling him to "stay away from Rossiter". Eden Rossiter, the girl he saved. Naturally he does not heed the warnings and immediately gets a job on her ranch. As the story unfolds, we find trouble at every turn for Eden Rossiter, as Depard the land grubber tries to take over her little piece of heaven. Even her own brother seems to be suspect in the sabotage.

Kincaid, helps thwart off the dangerous situations constantly arising, but Depard already has it in for Eden for killing his son years earlier, and makes things mighty tough. Eden meanwhile has a deep secret about the day she shot Jeff Depard. And what is Kincaid's reasons for being there? Is he out for some sort of revenge for past deeds himself? Will Eden trust Kincaid over her own brother? There are a few surprises along the way, as the relationship between them runs hot and cold.

I thought the story dragged in a few places. The dialogue at times was a little dry, and the relationship between Kincaid and Eden took too long to develop. There were a couple of characters, who I would have liked to get to know a little better. A barmaid named Star, with a teenage son, were characters I became interested in(actually kind of hoping Kincaid and Star would get together at first),but their story line kind of fizzled out early on. There were some fun characters, the cook who's hooked on vanilla extact, and Rusty the cowhand who became Kincaid's sidekick.The bad guys were worthy of any good western. I did enjoy the western/adventure aspect and the little romance there was. So mostly I would recommend this to those who enjoy a good western.

There is an unabridged audio edition - Notorious [Audiobook] by Janet Dailey [Unabridged] - if you are looking for something to keep you company on a long drive(it's nearly 13 hours)

So good summer read for western lovers only.....Laurie

THE OX-BOW MAN by Jackson J. Benson is a rambling wreck of a book, but admirers of Walter Van Tilburg Clark will feel compelled to struggle through it. The flaws are egregious,the prose especially so. "Considering Clark's work habits, it is quite possible that rather than working from the draft, he had the material so firmly in mind that he didn't need to consult it." Aside from its faulty parallelism and pronoun reference problem, this typically atrocious sentence exemplifies the lack of coherence--Clark's work habits have little to do with his grasp of particular material--which subverts whole paragraphs and chapters. Also, THE OX-BOW MAN is the most sanitized of biographies. Benson cannot write an unflattering word about any of the Clarks, perhaps because they control the writer's papers. Benson insists that his subject was not an alcoholic, but Clark's letters are overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Benson exalts the Clarks' marriage but rarely quotes Barbara Clark or her diaries and cannot convincingly explain the couple's frequent separations. He stoutly maintains that Clark was "always true" to his wife, but even Clark's son has his doubts, noting that the writer's fame, good looks, and fiercely masculine presence won him female friends wherever he was. Still--Benson's information, though incomplete, is often fresh and very interesting, at least to us Clarkites. Justly he stresses Clark's heroic teaching, from which this writer and thousands of others greatly benefited. And in the last third of the book Benson blessedly interpets less, narrates more, and lets Clark speak through his letters, in which this important writer elucidates his most terrible burdens: a tragic writers' block and a tyrannical superego.

I approached this book hoping for an analysis of the impact of emptiness and isolation on the human psyche. No doubt my expectations were influenced by my nationality -- Australian -- where our "playas" (which we call claypans or saltpans) are nearly all isolated and deserted, and the impact of human activity is minimal.

Fox provides graphic descriptions of the multiplicity of activities which take advantage of the US playas, ranging from military to counter-cultural festivals. He's clearly very well acquainted with his subject.

I found it generally depressing to read about the military use of playas. (Here in Oz, we had the Brits testing atomic devices at Woomera several decades ago.)

An interesting book, but too focused on American issues to satisfy my more general interests.

This is a look at the life of lawyer Mead Dixon. His early work with gaming properties of Nevada is interesting, but his counsel to Bill Harrah's properties make the best reading. Some good tid-bits here that may not be know to the readers. More life history than gaming history, but R.T.King and Ken Adams present an enjoyable book.

Rudimentary if you know Word but I found the guide a quick way to look up three categories I didn't know.

Riders of the Silver Rim was entertaining and at some parts suspenseful, but i've also read Bodie Thoene's ZION COVENANT, ZION CHRONICLES, and SHILOH LEGACY. Riders of the Silver Rim could have been so much better if the plot had been more developed. The book seemed too rushed. One page something drastic happens and then you turn the page and it ends. The main plot was interesting to read, but(like i said)if it had been more developed it would have been a really great plot. Besides this, the book was fun to read and it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Bodie Thoene you're doing an awesome job!

We are great fans of Robert Laxalt's writing but this is definitely not one of his best. His description of rabies and its effects on animals and people is good and, we think, probably accurate, and the description of the area and of the Basque sheepherding culture at that time and in that area are excellent. But the details of the plot contain too many improbabilities and it's too bad because Laxalt could do better. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading.

I paid way too much Tom Terry Sells the WHOLE set of 10 for less than I paid for this one volume MY BAD

This is a very funny book title. Imagine how the good people of Utah must feel. How insulting!