Nevada Books

An epic thriller of unmatched profundity! The debris-slope has never been so slippery, the carbonate never so fine grained! While Sheehan more than "deposits" his prose, we would be truly remiss to ignore the writing contributions of the eclecticly-minded "et al," who makes us question our very basic assumptions about the Devonian Age, especially undermining our generally held beilef about the so-called "Antelope Peak." After reading this work you'll be looking forward to enjoying the best days of the antelope, disabused of your notions that the antelopes better days had passed.

As for the climactic ending, I won't spoil the surprise, suffice it to say that Isolated Carbonated Bodies do not stay isolated forvever, especially those composed of stacked debris-flow!

One of the great weaknesses in the teaching of history, by and large, is to believe that we need not be creative in how we go about it. With this book, Gibson has researched and documented a collection of Nevada stories from ancient times to the late 1990s.

These thirty quick reads are arranged chronologically and cover events ranging from Anasazi times to the Comstock Lode to the modern speed record attempts at the Salt Flats. The array of topics touched upon is too broad to list here, but ranges from aboriginal to judicial to economic to industrial to political and beyond. In addition to a lengthy bibliography, a nice collection of Nevada-related facts wraps up the book.

I find Gibson's approach to debatable historical topics (such as, for example, the fate of Butch Cassidy) to be refreshingly dispassionate; I do not get the impression that she was ever predisposed to any conclusion, and was open to whatever she might discover--an approach too many historical writers fail to emulate. The result is high credibility for that which she presents to us.

Maybe some of the greedmongers who run Las Vegas can give a little back to their state by purchasing enough of these for every school in the state of Nevada--it would be a welcome way to interest children in history. Recommended, in any event, for those who appreciate Western history presented with hardly a preconceived notion or bias to be found.

Musical genius meeting improvisational photography; two artists coming together as one to capture the spirit of jazz and its energy on film.

Carole Bellmyre's photo exhibit of Jazz artists in Las Vegas.

John P. Marschall (Emeritus Professor of History, University of Nevada, Reno) presents Jews in Nevada: A History, a scholarly volume that indubitably lives up to its title. Chapters cover 1850 to the modern day, evaluating the history of Nevada's Jews more or less chronologically; especial interest is paid to "Antisemitism in the Twentieth Century" and "Civil Rights and Uncommon Causes". "Nevada has a chance to shape a revival of Jewish culture and religion in the West at a time when prophets of doom point only to national decline. Las Vegas's recent growth and expansion of a Jewish infrastructure and its ability to exert a supportive influence to northern Nevada will be the tipping points of success or failure. Proponents of a more robust Jewry in Nevada may be comforted or perplexed knowing that Las Vegas once had a Jewish major who prayed as well as he cursed and who, on the feast of purim, may not have known the difference between the villain Haman and Mordechai the hero." A welcome addition to Judaic studies shelves, as well as Nevada state history shelves.

This collection of amazing images is uplifting and powerful. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and Larry Pesetski's book showcases all of the colors, seasons, and wonders that make up the Tahoe experience.

As a genealogist, I found this book to be a treasure...as a history buff, I found this book to be very informative and interesting...leaned a great deal. I am mystified that Juan Baustista de Anza is never given more credit than he deserved in the history books...I highly recommend this book, it is well written and very insightful into not only the man, but the times and locations as well.

Some travel writers become overnight experts when they "parachute" into unfamiliar county. Author Jim Moore, former editor of the Tahoe Daily Tribune, is the antithesis of this. He's as close to his mountainous beat as the moss is to the north side of its biggest trees. You're in skilled, safe, knowledgeable hands when you have this guide on the car seat or in your backpack. Moore's no slouch, either, when it comes to steering you to restaurants that serve man-sized portions, saloons that pour honest shots, or Sierra waters where the trophy trout lurk.

Nevada writer Robert Laxalt's "The Land of My Fathers" is a description of life in the French Basque Country in the 1960s. Laxalt -- the son of Basques who immigrated to Nevada about 1910 -- spent 1960-61 and 1965-66 getting to know his parents' ancient homeland. Making use of his family ties, he succeeded in breaching the "impenetrable wall of Basque reserve" (in Rodney Gallop's words) in a way only a few outsiders have been able to do.

The book is not a straightforward narrative and Laxalt writes about much more than his own experiences. A collection of vignettes, histories, and folk-sayings, it is an exploration of the Basque character. We read about everything from "Basque troubadours" to the humanization of German soldiers stationed in the Basque lands during the occupation of the Pyrenees. Trying to capture the essence of this ancient people, Laxalt gives us glimpses of the "poetic truth" of the Basque land and Basque history, the emotional truth gleaned from "the language of the eyes." Of course the approach is not without its drawbacks, but for a book like this, "The Land of My Fathers" is remarkably free of immigrant-son's-come-home romanticism.

In addition to Laxalt's vivid prose poetry, many of his vignettes are interesting as anthropological descriptions of life in the "Pays Basque". Here, we encounter aspects of Basque folklife such as pigeon-hunting, contraband, dancing, the unique brand of "shepherd justice", and the "bohèmes" (literally "Bohemians", they are a poorly-known group of shunned outsiders -- not unlike the Gypsies -- who have lived in the Basque country for years). A couple of these "ethnological vignettes", in fact, appeared in the August 1968 issue of "National Geographic".

Although throughout one is struck by the Basques' indomitable ability to overcome adversity, unfortunately the beautiful culture described by Laxalt is rapidly slipping away -- if it has not, for the most part, slipped away already. The Spanish sector of the Basque lands has long been one of the most heavily industrialized in Europe and the French sector, although still largely rural, has seen the same kinds of cultural changes places all over the world have seen with the onslaught of globalization. Many things have changed for the better, and Laxalt certainly doesn't claim the past was perfect, yet it is difficult not to agree with him that "something of the romantic past has been lost." For all that, his many books are even more important, small safeguards against a rapidly deteriorating humanity.

If there were ten stars, "The Land of My Fathers" deserves them.

Las Vegas
by Andreas Schmidt


Las Vegas is a city with a skyrocketing population, one defined by pavement, neon lights and a grandeur that often flirts between extravagant and gaudy. It is a city of paradoxes - a place where the homeless, churchgoers and environmentalists mingle at all hours with gamblers, drinkers and plastic surgeons.


But German-born photographer Andreas Schmidt strips away this sense of glamour and excitement by exposing a frighteningly perfect yet lonely side of this desert-sprung city. His work offers no apologies for this visual analysis but instead seeks to capture a more surreal interpretation.


This collection, therefore, offers no backstage pass to the more illicit side of Vegas. There are no scenes of an old man gambling, a scantily clad woman dancing on a brightly lit stage or a teenager wandering down one of Vegas' many dilapidated streets. Schmidt's work focuses purely on architecture and light.


The focus of his untitled photographs illuminates these quiet and simplistic moments. The idea that Vegas is a city where one's luck can change with the flip of a card, the roll of a dice, is deliberately ignored in his series of photographs. Instead, he highlights the empty spaces, the endless rows of bare hotel corridors - eerily perfect and equally indistinguishable.


There is a jarring, almost unsettling quality to this six-piece hallway series. The passageways appear to stretch forward - without an end insight. The images haunt and linger.


Similarly, a photograph of an empty street suddenly appears strange and unfamiliar without the sight of dozens of rushing cars and pedestrians. The steel panels of the window frame the stillness and highlight a moment of disquieting emptiness in a city that prides itself of never sleeping.


In a collection of endless images of bright lights, dashing cars and interchangeable hallways, a single photograph of a large willow tree becomes a compelling portrait. The neon light of a barely visible sign peeks through its numerous branches, giving it an almost unearthly glow.


Text by Christina Erb.

Absolutely the best of this architectural series. In addition to the wry wit of writer John Chase, this book has superb color photographs that match the text in style and tone.