Arizona Books

I used this to visit a few sites in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Directions were right on the mark!!! As long as you know which way is north it's easy to follow the diagrams. The only tricky part is getting to one of the starting points if you're not familiar with the areas, but mapquest or google can help you with that. I loved that it organized all the Arizona sites for the shortest trip and made it posible to see them all in one day!

This is a great trek through the history of the Arizona basketball program. Lots of kewl pictures of Coach Lute Olsen and his team.

For most travelers Flagstaff is merely a motel stop on the way to somewhere else. But when you learn that Flagstaff is in the middle of the largest ponderosa pine forest in America, and the largest continuous volcanic field including the tallest mountain in Arizona, it figures that Flagstaff should have some natural attractions of its own. For years these attractions were local secrets, even secret from the locals. Then the Mangums published this book, which is THE guide to hiking in northern Arizona. The Mangums are a 19th century northern Arizona pioneer family, so they know the territory as no outsider can. They know the history of trails and sites too, and offer many historical nuggests that make hiking more fun. This guide book offers a wide range of hikes, and its maps and driving and trail descriptions are quite reliable. Most importantly, the Mangums hike for the right reasons, not as an exercise in gonzo athletics, but for the joy of discovering the beauty of nature and the trail of history.

If anyone were to gather names for the top five western writers of all time, Richard S. Wheeler would undoubtedly be among them. His tale spinning genius and esteemed talent with language unfolds again in FLINT'S HONOR, Wheeler's third book detailing the adventures of warring journalist, Sam Flint. Flint arrives in Silver City Colorado-a town wedged between the walls of a rocky gulch-to defend the honor of a prostitute, whose death had been treated smugly in the Silver City Democrat. Searching the boomtown for a place to set up his press, Flint finds no vacancies, and against his better judgment has to settle for a room in a house of ill repute. Rather than recognizing Flint's new Silver City Sentinel as a worthy competitor, Digby Westminster, the editor of the Democrat plays Flint's positioning for all it's worth, and dubs the new paper The Bawdyhouse Bugle. Flint soon learns that the licentious editor has another foe, Achilles Balthazar, a powerful and despicable mine owner known for his ill treatment of workers and ability to read peoples minds-especially idealists like Flint. Flint finds himself amidst the politics and greedy maneuvers of both men, having only the power of words as his defense. Ready to sum up his losses at any moment, Flint is joined by a gypsy printer, Jude Napoleon, who not only adds spice to Flint's conflict, but provides him with the extra energy and wit needed to help bring down the two men, who like the mammoth walls that parallel the city, hold the whole town captive.

This is my first read book by Richard Wheeler. I was very moved. The accounts of the West for this gold rush town seemed vivid in my mind as I read. Very emotional ending. Sadly Fabulous! This book speaks to a person's heart!

(Planeta.com Journal) - This massive 700-page tome is the culmination of more than a quarter century of research in the magnificent Sonoran Desert by an eminent desert botanist. The study of more than 500 species of plants includes innovative identification keys to the families, genera and species. Common names are given in English, Spanish and the native O'odham languages. Abundant illustrations make this book a work of art.

This is not an "edible plants" field guide. It is an in depth review of Arizona, Sonora, and Baja desert plants useful as food and for other purposes. It is useful for building short term survival skills, for adding desert plants to ones diet, and as an ethnologic look at the indigenous population of the Sonoran Desert. It is an excellent book and one I am very happy to own.

A "Country Doctor" shows sophistication through uncommon compassion, excelling dedication, and overwhelming faith in, Fool's Gold: Chronicles of a Country Doctor: The Story of Dr. Delmar Mock.

An action-themed biography of Delmar "Doc" Mock, M.D. leads us through the conscious decision he made to spend his adult life as the physician to a small, southeastern Arizona community called Patagonia. After graduating from the Seventh-Day Adventist "College of Medical Evangelists" (today's Loma Linda University), he settled in Patagonia with his wife Cleo, to start their new family and career.

As Carolyn Rathbun-Sutton chronicles the career of "Doc" Mock, Fool's Gold gives a keenly insightful ride through the life of both Dr. Delmar Mock, and the Patagonia community he served. Carolyn unfolds how several decades later, he is still as beloved as ever, having placed his indelible mark on the culture of Patagonia.

Through Carolyn Rathbun-Sutton's winnowing insights, she demonstrates how she and Doc Mock are of one accord, by following Doc's admonition toward the end of the book to "fall at the Savior's feet" and "let Him straighten out our thinking." Before you are finished reading this engagingly woven story, you, too, will find your own mind being honed toward the example of selflessness Delmar Mock models for us all.

Anyone who has ever visited the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeast Arizona knows what a unique experience that is (first of all, you have to hike in to the fort ruins a mile-and-a-half from a small parking area off a dirt road). The feeling at the site of being transported back in time is profound. Douglas McChristian has given us a thorough history of the fort and its role in the affairs of Arizona during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Before Fort Bowie was constructed in 1862, there was a Butterfield Stage station located near the site (its ruins are still visible). Apache raids on local ranches in the area brought a military response in 1861, which was unsuccessful in dispelling hostilities. With the advent of the Civil War, the importance of Apache Pass as a viaduct to the California gold fields for the Confederates became a major concern. Union volunteer cavalry under Gen James H. Carleton rode to Apache Pass, where on July 15-16, 1862, they fought a battle with several hundred Apaches at the springs near the pass. After the Indians were finally driven off, Carleton realized the pass needed to be fortified, and Fort Bowie was soon under construction.

The first Fort Bowie was in existence from 1862 to 1868 and consisted mainly of tents inside a stone breastwork. After the Civil War, the US Army (as opposed to state units) took over and a new fort was begun about a quarter-mile to the east. Much more substantial, it contained adobe buildings and included barracks, officers' quarters, storehouses, and a hospital. By the time the fort was abandoned in 1894, 38 buildings had been constructed (the ruins of these buildings is the chief attraction for a visitor today).

A tentative peace was established with the Apaches in 1872 when Cochise agreed to occupy a reservation that included their traditional homeland. There was restlessness on the reservation, however, and some bands (most famously, one led by Geronimo) left the reservation and wandered between the US and Mexico, escaping capture for years. Finally, in 1886, Geronimo and his band were caught and sent to Florida. Fort Bowie hung on for another eight years, but with the Indian wars at an end, the fort served little purpose. On October 17, 1894, the last troops marched out of the fort for other posts.

McChristian's account of life at the fort is fully detailed. Fort Bowie was an isolated post, and life there could be pretty lonely (drinking was a big problem). Actual encounters with the Indians were rare, though scouting expeditions were never-ending. The author lists all the commanding officers at the fort (the list is long and many officers stayed for only a month or two) and all the units stationed there (the Sixth US Cavalry was there the longest: 1875-85). His approach is scholarly (footnotes are numerous and many annotated), but it's not written for just other scholars. There are also many photographs. Fort Bowie was an important military post in the West, and this book relates its story well. Highly recommended.

"Four Masterworks of American Indian Literature" has been edited, with commentaries and new translations, by John Bierhorst. The book contains a general foreword and four sections: "Quetzalcoatl: an Aztec Hero Myth"; "The Ritual of Condolence: An Iroquois Ceremonial"; "Cuceb: A Maya Prophecy"; and "The Night Chant: A Navajo Ceremonial." Each of the four sections contains primary texts translated into English, an individual introduction, extensive commentary following the text, a map, and a substantial bibliography.

This book is a superb resource for scholars, students, and people with a general interest in the native cultures of the Americas. The primary texts and supplemental materials offer a rich window into these cultures. These texts are not easy reading; I assigned parts of the Quetzalcoatl narratives to a college literature class I taught, and some of the students had trouble understanding the material. But for the attentive reader, "Four Masterworks" is a very rewarding volume. As a companion text, I recommend "Coming to Light: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America," edited by Brian Swann.