Arizona Books

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.

Bought it as it is needed as a textbook for the program I am enrolled in.

Leland J. Hanchett, Jr. takes you back to the old west when the stage coach first rumbled on Arizona's dusty trails. New roads were built between Prescott and Wickenburg, Wickenburg and Phoenix and then Phoenix to Prescott via the Black Canyon to accommodate the new stage line. Hanchett uses the actual transcripts from the Prescott Miner newspaper to help delineate the many triumphs and woes of these new roads.

You'll meet true western personalities such as Darrel Duppa, Henry Wickenburg and Jack Swilling. These men are emblematic of Arizona's rich history and Hanchett does a nice job of portraying their character.

Don't miss `Catch the Stage to Phoenix" if you are even remotely interested in Arizona history. I found myself reading it twice because I was afraid I missed something the first time around. This book is also full of interesting pictures and maps. This book is a winner and will make you want to read more of Leland J. Hanchett.

"Come with me if you have time today and we'll take a little trip in north-eastern New Mexico," writes Jack Culley in the opening sentence of this book about cowboying and ranch life in the 1890s. It's that use of the pronoun "we" that signals something different about Culley's approach and style: in most similar books the author places himself somewhat at a distance from his reader as he relates his experiences on the range. Culley invites us in and there's an intimacy about his narrative missing in most other memoirs about early ranch life in the West. It at once puts the book on a higher pedestal than most other books on the same subject.

Culley came to America as a young man after growing up on a stock farm in England. Oxford educated, he was as familiar with classic literature as he was with horse breeding; his learning (of both) shows in his writing style. For five years he was range manager at the Bell Ranch in NE New Mexico, and most of this book deals with those days. He relates the hard work of the cowboy - the long hours in the saddle, the harsh weather, breaking horses, life on a cattle drive - but he also has chapters on the history of the Bell Ranch area, on outlaws (he's fascinated by them in a Sir Walter Scott sort of way), what constitutes a good horse, fellow cowboys, and town life in nearby Clayton. It's a full picture of things, multi-dimensional and interesting. Always, though, it's his warm, personal style that wins the reader over and keeps him won: "And here I'm going to relate to you a little personal happening," he writes at one point, and then goes on to explain "the value of good hands" in riding a horse. The book has great appeal, even for those who might not be overly fascinated with the subject. Of all the books about life on the range prior to the coming of the automobile, this book is among the very best.