Utah Books

This is the first of two books by photographer David Muench about Utah, each entitled "Utah". It is the better of the two, because Muench hadn't yet come to rely so completely on photographih tricks and overuse of the telephoto lens. In this book as opposed to its successor, the traveler/reader will actually see some photos of things he or she will recognize when the traveler arrives at the site.

The photographs are all in color and emphasize the touristic draws of the state, e.g. the National Parks, particularly Zion , Bryce Canyon, and Arches, and the national monuments.
Little attention is paid to more out-of-he-way places such as the Escalante canyons and the San Rafael Swell. Good pictures of Monument Valley and the Temple Square in Salt lake City are also present. Again, however, the reader is cautioned that Muench's use of the telephoto lens may result in a pretty picture, but that the sight depicted will never be seen without one.

Hartt Wixom's companion essay is a compelling, evocative portrait of the courage and determination his Mormon ancestors used in making Utah their version of the Promised land. It is well worth reading.

This book is worth having if picked up at a reasonable price. It is a fine coffee table work.

This is the book I use to entice friends and family to come and visit! An absolutely stunning portrait of an incredible landscape.

This is the second work by David Muench that I have purchased. I happen to be a native Utahn and looking at the photographs in this collection made me realize that I really don't get out much! Every picture contained herein has inspired me to visit these places.

Utah has some of the most spectacular national preserves in the country and David Muench shows us why they are considered national treasures.

This is a great book for not just tourists, but also locals. I have lived in Utah almost my whole life, and I had never heard of half the stuff listed in this book. I have already made a list of everywhere that I want to visit. In fact, I just went to Ray's Tavern and the John Wesley Powell River Rafting Museum this weekend!

Once in a lifetime, every American should visit the state of Utah, known for its great skiing, glorious scenery and national parks, but most people will never discover another side of this interesting state unless they bring along a copy of this delightful book which is full of historical factoids as well as descriptions of unusual sites and places well off the beaten track. I highly recommend it.

Awesome Book. Everyone is borrowing it to plan short day trips and vacations. Wish I had bought all my family and freinds one.

Not being a history buff, I stumbled on this book while healing a broken bone and with nothing I could do but read. I found it to be a fascinating adventure. I would never have believed that I'd enjoy a history book so much - it's as much a study of the human mind as of historical events. Mr. Topping is brilliant and a fine fine writer.

"Utah Historians" is a study by a Catholic (imagine!) scholar of five writers whose careers revolutionized the practice of Utah and Mormon history. Indeed, the quirky, craggy faces of Bernard DeVoto, Dale L. Morgan, Juanita Brooks, Wallace Stegner, and Fawn McKay Brodie on the book's cover are a Mount Rushmore of native brilliance, sculpted from salt flats and starvation.

First, a word on what "Utah Historians" might represent. There is always the question of what roles a minority, whether religious, ethnic, or otherwise, will adopt within a community overwhelmingly dominated by another group. In Hollywood, which was invented by the Jews, Catholics found niches as censors and gossip columnists. In the State of Utah (a concept debunked by Federal Judge Willis Ritter as "a figment of your imagination"), invented, owned, and operated by Mormons, Catholic historians have made disproportionate and invaluable contributions to the annals. Aside from the afore-mentioned DeVoto, Utah's first Pulitzer winner, these have included Fr. Robert Joseph Dwyer, a skilled editor who vouchsafed several landmark volumes of Utah Historical Quarterly; Polly Aird, an expert on mass movements to and from Utah; and the author at hand, Gary Topping, archivist for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Topping implies this contribution is possible because of the Catholic sense of irony, which (let's face it) is foreign to Mormon thought.

Although Topping respects and reveres his five subjects, he is sufficiently conversant with and perceptive of not only their writings but also their sources to know in each case when they were fudging and how, when, and why they did so. For example, while Topping admires Brooks's tenacity and skills of persuasion in tracking down original documents, he can demonstrate instances in which she "altered," "invented," or even "falsified" certain factual materials when it suited her. It is staggering to contemplate the erudition by which Topping saw right through his subjects, as it were. As was also said of Brooks and The Mountain Meadows Massacre, this may be a book that Topping was born to write, as it must needs be written with a clear head, absent a vested interest in whether Joseph Smith and Brigham Young spoke as God's mouthpiece.

In his final pages, Topping laments that despite the appearance of new source material, no Joseph Smith biography subsequent to Brodie's 1946 No Man Knows My History has "put forth a compelling alternative interpretation." He supposes this is because "no non-Mormon scholar has been willing to master the materials, while Mormon scholars are aware of the fate of [writers] who were rebuked by [their] Church and may be afraid to propose a bold interpretation that could challenge Brodie's." The solution would seem to reside in Topping himself, who has obviously mastered the materials and who, as a friend of the Mormons a la Wallace Stegner, is inclined to write with fairness.

Gary Topping attempts a summary and evaluation of five Western historians, all associated with Utah and Mormonism in some way (Bernard DeVoto, Wallace Stegner, Juanita Brooks, Dale Morgan, and Fawn Brodie), in this fairly broad but somewhat shallow book. All the historians receive both praise and condemnation for the histories they wrote. Morgan, for example, is praised for his factual thoroughness, but criticized for allowing facts to speak for themselves and for refusing to interpret these facts. (When one looks at the extreme psychoanalytical interpretations Fawn Brodie made regarding her subjects, especially Richard Nixon, one can appreciate Morgan's hesitation to go beyond the facts themselves.) Sometimes Topping's criticisms seem petty and academically self-serving as when he faults Juanita Brooks's lack of training in formal psychology when she writes of hysteria and mob violence at the Mountain Meadows massacre. Also occasionally a waft of political correctness filters through the text, as when Topping, referring to chapter 7 in DeVoto's ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI, praises him for acknowledging "the vital role of the Indian women who took up with the trappers not only as wives or concubines but also as business associates." I reread DeVoto's chapter again and failed to see the Indian wives described in any way approaching "business associates." Regarding DeVoto (and also Stegner, but to a lesser degree), Topping is right to criticize him as interpreting history often as overblown caricature, but he's also correct in applauding DeVoto's (and Stegner's) superb literary skills and boldness in advancing generalizations, attributes sorely lacking in the works of many historians writing today. Topping can also be repetitious. But he's especially good at showing how Mormonism, about which they all wrote at some point, effected each of these historians either directly or obliquely. Despite its faults, I still found this book thoroughly compelling and well worth the time spent in reading it.

I have the Utah book "4WD Adventures" printed in 2000 and I have been using it since then every two years for a two week drive in the desert. Spot on. I've tried the rest and this is the best. It's hot and you haven't seen another vehicle in the past eight hours but with Massey Wilson telling you to turn left in the wash, you turn left in the wash. My book is well worn but it has never lead me astray. My only walkouts are when they describe a place six years before and I try to cross. Guess what? The desert changes. So I'm buying the new edition.

ps. I'm out here right now after visiting Wild Horse Mesa east of Capital Reef. This is the first time in 15 years I have seen boulder crunching gully washers. These books describe the most amazing places in the world. Get off that tarred road. But bring water.

Many of the 4WD roads in the Moab area are notoriously unmarked, with numerous false roads going nowhere. Moreover, most maps of the area are incomplete or, even worse, erroneous, regarding 4WD roads. This book makes it simple and easy. The maps are perfect--just enough detail to be clear. The descriptions are succinct. The color photos are excellent. But it's the route directions that make this book so useful. They keep you from getting lost, but they don't deprive you of feeling like you're actually doing some exploring and route-finding. This book is really indispensable. (One odd omission: Trail #26 (Willow Flats Road) does not even mention the dinosaur tracks (at 3.3 mi. from U.S. 191), the primary feature of this road.)

We took this book on a trailbike tour this summer, and it was indispensable. The Moab area is crisscrossed with many trails, and it's impossible to tell what they're like until you've ridden them. Although written for 4x4s and ATVs, with a little reading between the lines we could find the trails most appropriate for cycles. When looking for a trailhead, it's very important to read his step-by-step directions first. The trail synopsis will mention where it is, but a little too vaguely sometimes. I will say the author definitely has no fear of heights, because some of the trails he mentions as being "steep" are in fact terrifyingly close to very, very long drops. Assess your level of acrophobia before choosing a trail!

I was so impressed with the content and writing style, I have made 3 of my friends read it so far. It is written with such description and clarity, I absolutely loved it. Thank you for educating the public collective on such an important subject.

I was raised in Southwestern Idaho with an interest in the history of the Native Americans of my area. Finally, I have encountered all of the information that I always wanted but had never found: IN THIS BOOK. This book is not limited to the "Weiser" Indians, but includes all of the cultures that traded or traveled through this area. It tells of a gathering area where an annual regional rendezvous allowed peaceful cultural and material exchange from the West Coast to the Great Plains. And it tells of a band of Shoshoni who had the foresight to quietly embrace the forces of change and thus avoid the genocide that destroyed so many others. It brings together historical accounts which are carefully annotated, and it includes the lives of numerous important historical persons. Thank you, Hank Corless, for providing this delightful book. It is good, readable storytelling, organized by timelines. This book combines readability with academic research, and it avoids romanticizing. I hope it gets reprinted. At the time of this review, it is out of print and only available used, but still well worth buying.

A fascinating study of how land molds people and forges alliances between groups who should be enemies. My sisters and I grew up in the Weiser Valley, never knowing of the existence of this group. When we studied Idaho history, we never learned about this hardy band who walked where our parents settled dozens of years later. The steep, formidable mountains which rise from the Weiser Valley still provide remote shelter to hardy souls who can survive in a non-electronic world. It pleased me to read this story and know that the white settlers in the upper mountains made their own alliances with the Weiser Indians and helped them keep their whereabouts unknown for many years.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument comprises a large area of Southern Utah, west of the Colorado River and Lake Powell. Easily worthy of a national park status, the monument was created from BLM lands by President Clinton in 1996. At present, the monument has very few paved roads, and this writer hopes that it stays in that condition. This fabulous book demonstrates why.

The present work is just simply the finest photographic essay I have seen on the monument, and is one of the very best on any area of the West. The pictures are uniformly displayed in excellent, clear color and quality, and readily demonstrate the beauty and grandeur of the countless hoodoos, arches, slot canyons, qnd other geological marvels that festoon the entire region.

A sparse, but very informative, well-written text discusses what the skilled photography highlights. Plainly, areas like this monument might be explored every day for a lifetime, and the same sight never seen twice. It is that good.

Kudoes to the author and photographer. They have produced an absolute masterpiece about a place that was saved for all of us just in the nick of time. If only the same had happened in Glen Canyon, but that is the subject of another book and review. What is portrayed here may be one of the most outstanding natural areas left anywhere.

The book is an an absolute jewel. Buy it, and love it. My recommendation is off the scale

Unlike the previous review, the book contains excellent photographs but superb essays by Taylor. Taylor is no Abbey wannabe, in his own right he is a more accomplished essayist, book author and magazine editor. The essays are personal, intimate and written by someone who knows the land better than 99% of reviewers. His book sandstone sunsets won critics acclaim and was named best contemporary non fiction book of the year by the Western Writers of America.

If anyone is curious to see what the new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument looks like, Anselm Spring's photos are terrific! However, Mark Taylor is a pretentious Edward Abbey wannabe. All in all, a nice coffee table book though.

There aren't many species of herps in these two parks; they're cold and fairly far north. The book list 12 definite species and four or five possible species. However, the book covered them very well, dealing with their role in the parks ecology, how fires have helped shape their habitat, and so on. It's a really good refernce for how reptiles are distributed in the park, and how they interact with the other species. There are better sources for info on the various reptile species mentioned here, as the author's field of interest is narrow. Still, an execellent book on the herps of those two parks.

I laughed, I cried; two thumbs up! A science-based book, complete with citations of all the current literature, coupled with a readable, flowing style of writing. An important repository of all the scientific knowledge of these species in this region and issues affecting them (e.g., fire, climate change), yet engaging even to younger amateur herpetologists. Or, of interest to anyone who simply loves Yellowstone and the Tetons.

There are occasionally characters that stick around in my head, some for a while, some forever. Ghosts of fiction that won't leave, who comment on, inform, or even complicate my life. Some I love like dear friends, others not so much. Greta - Christine Allen-Yazzie's protagonist in "The Arc and the Sediment" - is still with me, she shows no sign of leaving, and she is as lost, erratic, and gritty in my head as she was in deserts of southern Utah, the book's setting. This is an intimate book, the kind that connects you to the author and the character she's created. I read it over a weekend. That weekend now feels like a sordid, but worthwhile, affair.

I picked up The Arc and the Sediment hungry for fresh modern fiction, and that's what I got. The narrative is not tidy; instead, it is complex, literary, real, and relevant. Gretta is a working Caucasian mom married to a Navajo man, Lance, who has left her--ostensibly because of her inability to stop drinking. But nothing is simple; Lance's leaving has also necessarily occurred against the backdrop of family resentments; the couple's location on the margins of the Utah politico-religious culture in which they live; and Gretta's struggle to find any sense of sustainable identity as a feminist wife, mother, and writer. This is a travel story, describing Gretta's road trip across the southern Utah desert to attempt to bring her husband back from the reservation and his family to their two children, a project about which she feels tremendous ambivalence. Drunk, weary, broke, and divested of hope for any morality but her own, Gretta is exhausted with the contortions of deciding what that might be. Thus, the novel takes on the messy themes of ethnocentrism, colonialism, and the crisis of inhabiting a postmodern identity. Allen-Yazzie's stark, understated prose provides the right tone for unfolding a story which feels sometimes tender, sometimes bludgeoning, and sometimes eerily barren. It's a book that deserves academic attention but also kept me rapt throughout my casual read. I'll definitely be watching for more from Christine Allen-Yazzie.

Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by Stephen H. Lekson (Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Anthropology, Museum of natural History, University of Colorado--Boulder), "The Architecture Of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" focuses upon the Native American structures of Chaco Canyon built between AD 850 and 1130. These magnificent ruins are numbered upon the most compelling buildings constructing in the pre-Columbian world of North America. The various contributors concentrate on the Chaco Great Houses in terms of three overlapping themes: studies of technology and building types employed by the ancients; analyses of architectural change; and readings of the built environment. Informed and informative, the text is enhanced throughout with the inclusion of more than 150 maps, floor plans, elevations, and photographs (both black-and-white as well as color). "The Architecture Of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" is a work of superb scholarship and a highly recommended contribution to any academic library's Native American Studies and Pre-Columbian Archaeology Studies reference collections.

I, along with my daughter who is a successful New York City architect, have long been fascinated with Chaco Canyon. Being native New Mexicans it's easy for us to visit the park when she is home to visit. This book is a great reference addition to my library and very helpful in the studies of this wonderful mystery.

Robert Irvine has created a detective named Moroni Traveler who has a love/hate (perhaps mostly hate) relationship with the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. The author, in creating the setting for his novels, takes us into the history of the Mormon Church and its relationship to Utah political power. The characters are interesting and likable and the background is interesting. In Baptism for the Dead, the detective is hired to find a missing person and winds up, somewhat unwillingly, assisting the Mormon Church in its battle against a local cult. Robert Irvine can be counted on to deliver a well-written and enjoyable mystery. Baptism for the Dead is worth reading.

I've long been of the opinion that the distinctive feature of the great hard-boiled private eye story is the hero's vulnerability. He's physically vulnerable because both the crooks and the cops distrust him. As a result of which, he frequently ends up being beaten and battered. He's emotionally vulnerable because he's alone and prey to falling in love with clients or other women he meets in the course of the case, or at least caring too much about the people whose lives he finds himself involved in. As a result of which, he frequently ends up heart broken. Such are the Quixote-like characteristics that have defined the genre.

Unfortunately, in recent years there's been a tendency on the part of authors to give their detectives permanent girlfriends and overeager allies in law enforcement, which serves to allay both vulnerabilities. Call it the Robert Parker effect. This trend has been so pervasive that only a very few really good writers have been able to buck it : Loren Estleman, Jonathan Valin, and a few others. Meanwhile, the most interesting new detective fiction has featured investigators in authoritarian countries, where their vulnerability is greatly magnified : Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series and Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series spring to mind, the one set in the USSR, the other in Nazi Germany.

Which brings us to what I think is one of the best, and most unusual, private eye series of the modern era. Robert Irvine managed to create a fairly traditional private eye, an ex-football player, ex-soldier, with the unlikely name of Moroni Traveler, and only gussy him up with a few emotional ties : a father who may not be his biological dad, and a couple of street characters for friends. Then he borrowed a page from Smith and Kerr and set the stories in Salt Lake City, where Moroni's investigations often run afoul of the Mormon Church, which essentially controls the state. In addition to providing dramatic tension, this setting in the land of the Latter Day Saints offers Irvine, himself of Mormon descent, an opportunity to work Mormon history and beliefs into the narrative.

The resulting books are really fascinating, though I find them a tad too anti-Mormon, and Moroni and his cronies are immensely likable. They aren't all still in print and, though I couldn't find much information online, I believe I recall reading that Irvine died a few years ago, but if you can find the books, they are terrific.

GRADE : A