Nevada Books

Nevada is a fantastic adventure travel and people photographer who has a keen insight into how to make great images. This is the best travel photography book on the market! Period! Lots of information and advice on how to pack, what to pack, how to deal with the locals and gain their confidence, etc. The only caution I would give is that Nevada's film advice (specific type/brand name, etc) may be a little out of date because new films are introduced each year. However, her general film advice is great. Sit back, have a glass of wine, open Nevada's book (and your mind!), and get ready for some adventure from a great lady.

Nevada Weir takes the reader to remote villages and other remote locations frequently using indigenous modes of travel. Her exploration and photography pick up where the buses and tour groups left off. Good ideas of both technical and thought process of finding and coming back with the images. I've just about worn mine out having read and studied it over and over.

Professor of Historic Preservation and Anthropology Donald Hardesty presents The Archaeology Of The Donner Party, an extensively researched history of an ill-fated expedition to California in the winter of 1846-1847. Trapped by snow in the uppermost reaches of the Sierra Nevada, half of the Donner Party perished from starvation; the remaining half had to cannibalize their dead to survive. The tragedy became fuel for legends, folklore, and stories about westward expansion; but what truly happened? The Archaeology Of The Donner Party turns to the science of archaeology to unravel long-standing mysteries. Contributions by Michael Brodhead, Donald Grayson, Susan Lindstrom, and George Miller aid the author in gathering as much raw data as possible, some of which is offered in the form of charts for the reader's perusal; the result is an astute cross-examination of the telltale footprints of history. A handful of black-and-white The Archaeology Of The Donner Party is welcome not only for its meticulous reconstruction of a devastating tragedy, but also as an example of how archaeology can aid in the study of relatively recent history as surely as the history of civilizations from thousands of years ago.

Read this book after reading "Frozen in Time" (about the Franklin expedition lost in the arctic) and "Alive" (about a 1972 plane crash in the Andes), both terrible and true tales of people forced to fight death and starvation.

This book is as stunning as the other two!

The book is well researched. Dramatic. Brings to light details and hypothesis of how these people coped in the face of death.

It is interesting seeing this team piece together the Donner party's activities.

Fantastic read if your into human adventure & spirit!

And, as one of the photographers who did "Watchable Birds of the Great Basin" (also available through Amazon), I should know. Much of my knowledge about the distribution and physiology of Great Basin birds, and of the history of ornithological discovery in the region, comes from this book.

I was a fan years before I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Dewey, high atop the Goshute range on the Utah/Nevada border while volunteering for a raptor banding/migratory count project. In fact, she was largely responsible for encouraging me to pursue publishing my own writing and photography.

So - full circle. This book has given me much over the years, my ace-in-the-hole when answering questions from Elderhostel participants in birding classes taught in the SE Oregon portion of the Basin, and at other times in the field.

So it gives me pleasure to give something back, by recommending this book to those who are interested in the bird life of this region.

And the rest of this series is good, too...

Part of an outstanding natural history of the Great Basin series published by UNR. All are very good guides for the interested observer, but Ryser's book is the best in the series. It is written with an emphasis on behavior and adaptations to the stresses of living in the arid Basin. Too heavy for the field, and the detailed text does not lend itself to quick searches.

Mr Piatt spent a lot of time researching for this book and it definately shows and is very informative of the history of mining in Bodie with great photos. A must have definately.

This is an excellent book, obviously a work of intense research and profound appreciation for the town and people of Bodie, California. The author touches upon myriad aspects of the town's development and decline, including anthropology, technology, and geology. The book also deals with the human side of this hard-scrabble community, and includes many personal reflections of actual Bodieites. The author also infuses the book with a unique sense of humor, which perfectly suits the subject matter. Highly recommended!

Mary Sojourner has the unique talent for taking us, with just a few strokes of the pen, into the stark, cold underbelly of human greed and arrogance, then flinging us into the heartbreaking beauty of the natural world. As a lone warrior and guardian of that natural world, she stops at nothing to protect it, facing arrest and the lawyers of multi-million dollar corporations with the same unyielding stance. Her essays are a testament to the best--and the worst--of the human spirit and this world we live in.

This is a collection of fifty-one personal essays about living (and dying) in the southwest that will leave you angry, sad, happy, disillusioned, and hopeful. But beware: if you are looking for a touchy-feely, I'm OK-Your OK collection, this is not for you. These essays are opinionated, sometimes in-your-face, always passionate critical critiques of living in the contemporary southwest that are a sheer delight to read. In pieces ranging from aging, gambling, land development and nature to the demise of local businesses and the joy of shopping in downtown Flagstaff, AZ., the reader is treated to one woman's opinions in a thoughtful, clear, and highly readable manner. Sojourner is destined to be a major player in the environmental, activists' genre. Highly recommended.

I helped build the community college system in Nevada from 1970-1975. This paperback was published in 1973. Employees from the house came to our college to take course in psychology and business. Sitting along madams in airplanes was a common event. The book serves as a piece of local history.

gene ritchie disappeared although sen. schofields body i understand was discovered murdered.it had some connection with genes then wife and prostitute known as sherrie.id like to know what happened and have some info to share,it has been a mystery for a # of years and need some answers.

This is a great introduction to the games that you can play in Vegas, the odds that the house has on each game. There's also good information about almost every casino in Vegas -- what's good and bad about each one.

Vinson has a nice writing style. He's humorous and informative.

Get this book if you've never been to Vegas, or if you've only been there a few times. The only strike against this book is that it's a few years old (published in 1996, I think), and things to change.

This book is great...it has Every number of every hotel in las vegas...which is great for finding out prices and attractions for the casinos at particular times, the author is a great writer...he kept my attention the whole time, and that's not easy to do! The most important thing is that he supplied the secrets and how-to info on most of the games in casinos...limiting the house edge to basically nothing, i'll be trying his methods in april and carrying his book!

I enjoy all of the Midnight Louie mysteries. I love cats and if you do too, you will definitely like these books. Makes you wonder what our cats really do on their own time!

Petite PR pro Temple Barr is chagrined when she fails to get her annual invite to submit skits for Las Vegas' annual Gridiron show - and not much happier when she gets a grudging request from the sleazy Crawford Buchanan for some help with the finale. But she can't resist - fabulous show stopping skits are her special forte. And she comes up with a winner.

But soon after her script is submitted, strange and threatening things start happening, including a boobytrapped stair rail that sends Temple and her signature high, high heels hurtling down a flight of steps. As the new PR person for the Crystal Phoenix Hotel, in charge of transforming the place into a casino that reflects family values (a tough assignment for Vegas!) this earns her a phalanx of fabulous Fontana brothers as bodyguards, much to her chagrin. There are at least nine Fontanas, all large and given to picking up petite Temple, who is not only sensitive about her tiny stature but accustomed to operating on her own - with a big assist from Louie. But Louie is also an independent operator and rarely interferes with Temple's routine. The Fontanas - who are a united family personified - overhelm. (But entertainingly.)

Meanwhile, neighbor Matt Devine sets off in search of his stepfather, Cliff Effinger - but he gets a late start. Before the PI he hires can give him his first clue, the body of Effinger falls onto a blackjack table from the casino ceiling. Soon Matt is under suspicion by Lieutenant CR Molina - who is also unhappy that Temple and Devine have discovered her alternate identity as the sultry cafe singer, Carmen.

Biggest problem - Matt is asked to identify the body and can't. He hasn't seen Effinger since the guy deserted Matt and his mother many years before - and time and the netural changes that death wreaks have rendered him not quite recognizable.

Matt wanted the satisfaction of getting some kind of revenge on the cruel stepfather - and instead may be in trouble without having the chance to act.

Suspicions of mob activity abound, especially given the content of Temple's skit, which alludes to the former dominance of the Mafia in Vegas history. But the show must go and - and does, despite a giant heist at the casino down the street that draws any police protection away from the show's arena.

But leave it to Midnight Louie - largely absent from Temple's apartment these days since he is avoiding the petite Caviar, who claims that her true name is Midnight Louise and that she is sworn to get revenge on her dear old dad who deserted her at birth. (Shades of Matt Devine - although Louie has wisely kept his name from his alleged offspring so far.)

Louie has been hanging around the periphery of the Crystal Pheonix keeping an eye out for his dear roommate. On a tour of the dressing rooms he finds a mysterious hidden door that leads to a set of tunnels that suddenly make the dangerous doings that have surrounded the show so far quite clear. Louie manages to lure Temple to the tunnels despite the fact that her big skit is due to begin in moments - and a wild chase through the underground begins - culminating in a crowded ride in a UFO and a grand entrance onto the Gridiron stage by several assorted criminals, hoofers, actors, the fabulous Fontanas, Temple herself. Finally, to huge applause and yet more media attention - Midnight Louie, the hero of the hour steps down from the top of the UFO and into the spotlight. (He can't help it - he simple attracts those cameras.)

The plot is fast paced and filled with tension - and enough comic relief to keep things going. But all is not fluff and fur here. Underneath the entire book is the pervasive theme of family values - those that the Crystal Pheonix wants to display, those that Matt Devine was deprived of because of his stepfather's cruelty and those that Midnight Louise feels that Louie failed to show her family.

The Pheonix comes through - and Louie and Louise come to a wary truce. Only Matt Devine is left dissatisfied - except for a new and blossoming relationship with Temple - and the acquisition of Midnight Louise as a roommate of his own.

The most charming thing about these books is not the fact that Louie speaks - but what he has to say. He talks tough - but he speaks sense, and always has a message that goes surprisingly deeper than one would expect from a mystery of this sort.

Not only does this book contain an immense amount of information about the gorgeous and fascinating state of Nevada---but it is all presented in a personable, idiosyncratic, witty and winning style. As with most guidebooks, you'll probably be interested in reading only those sections relevant to a planned trip. But the book is so informative and fun, you might find yourself---as I did---reading sections about areas in Nevada you have no plans to visit. Highly recommended.

Amusing and useful, well-laid out with honest reviews of both wilderness areas and the glitter gulches--I have used this book for several trips to Nevada and it is indespensible