Arizona Books

This is a superb text whose editors have done yeoman duty coalescing the work of the best scientists in the field. The articles within this tome are remarkably accessible to the layperson, such as myself, keenly interested in astronomy, its history, and its current research. The authors of the articles in this encyclopedic work have exercised commendable care in documenting their sources, back to and including Galileo's pioneering work to discover that, contrary to the doctrine of the time, the Sun's disc isn't free of "blemishes." This is the first work (of many) I've studied which made crystal-clear how the variation in sunspot paths across the disc during the year served to support some conjectures and refute others concerning the Sun.

Wonderful poems and interviews exploring oral tradition and poetry, and staying grounded in Native American culture in the midst of the modern world. Includes a good sampling of contemporary writers, including the prolific Paula Gunn Allen, and N. Scott Momaday, author of the classic House Made of Dawn. One of my all-time favorites.

This is a book I would have been proud to have written, but Kathy M'Closkey has done it exceedingly well. She has told a long overdue and in-depth history of Navajo weaving that binds together themes usually glossed over or ignored in most academic texts--both art historical and ethnographic--and sets the record straight. One of her central and most telling points is that, given the past (and still current) Anglo-dominated marketing and auction systems, the more Navajo women wove, the poorer they became.

The author also addresses the problem of knockoffs of Dine' creativity and design seen today in the increasing number of overseas copies (from Mexico, India, Europe, and elsewhere) of Navajo weaving designs being marketed in the U.S. and sold worldwide.

Richly documented from the records of traders, trading posts, government, and other original sources--especially the testimony of the Dine' (Navajo) weavers themselves--the author gives voice to a history too-long hidden from the general public and now made clear and plain. "Swept Under the Rug" reveals how the weavings were severed from their makers' stories and how, because of this, the prevailing and standard "history" of Navajo weaving does not reflect Dine' values, but rather those of an externally controlled access to the public and marketplace. Fair-trade grassroots indigenous initiatives and cooperatives such as Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land, Sheep Is Life, the Dine' College Navajo Textile Project, and others, are starting to bring about change and empower the Dine', through the work of their own hands, to reach the market directly, reclaiming the present and a future for the wool and weavings at the core of their culture and economy.

This book is a must-read complement to the few books in print about Navajo weaving that give voice to the Dine' themselves, such as in "Weaving A World: Textiles and the Navajo Way of Seeing," by Roseann S. Willink and Paul G. Zolbrod, and in parts of "Woven by the Grandmothers: Nineteenth-Century Textiles from the National Museum of the American Indian," ed. by Eulalie H. Bonar.

TAKING CHARGE: NATIVE AMERICAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND FEDERAL INDIAN POLICY, 1975-1993 provides a sequel to the author's TO SHOW HEART, but no familiarity with the prior book is needed to appreciate this survey, which focuses on the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1875. TO SHOW HEART analyzed the act and its results through 1975: TAKING CHARGE continues the survey since, offering a blend of analysis and historical developments and using unpublished presidential papers and other archives for its foundation of events. An excellent guide any college-level Native American library should have.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The Tale of Two Rivers: Pioneer Settlement in Arizona is just the kind of book we relish. The area it describes is full of great histories, and the author has brought everything up-to-date with current descriptions, and directions on how to get there... It's clear that this is not a book of undocumented tall tales but rather a book of utterly fascinating histories, carefully researched and described.
We especially appreciated the Indian history woven into the narrative-- so tragic and yet fascinating. Among the many places described we'd love to visit; we are especially intrigued with the descriptions of the Mazatzal Wilderness and the pueblo ruins near Payson. Since we probably won't be able to see these places, the book is providing us with great images--ones that help us feel like we are part of innumerable scenes and the histories.

Compiled and edited by Joanne Stuhr (Curator of the Tucson Museum of Art) and featuring contributions by Eduardo Gamboa Carrera (Instituto Nacional de Arte y Historia) and John Ware (Amerind Foundation), Talking Birds, Plumed Serpents And Painted Women: The Ceramics Of Casas Grandes offers an informative, beautiful, enthusiastically recommended presentation showcasing the Native American ceramics of Casas Grandes. Flourishing from approximately 1300-1450 A.D., the Casas Grandes culture of Chihuahua in Norther Mexico is currently the focus of an archeological renaissance with excavations offering superlative new discovers every year. With its 75 full color photographs of truly exquisite potteries and bilingual essays, we are treated to Casas Grandes cosmology with depictions of Macaws, snakes, birds, transformational imagery, complex geometric designs, all contributing to an improved understanding of the ritual and cultural life of this ancient Native American MesoAmerican culture.

This book was recommended to me by the owner of a well known Native American Arts gallery as possibly THE best book on the subject, and it completely lives up to the recommendation. Based on a series of interviews with prominent potters from each pueblo, it not only gives an overview of the history of the different potteries, it is filled with personal thoughts and views of the various artists about their work--not only the processes of creating pottery, but their feelings about how they as modern potters fit into the "history" as well. If you are at all interested in Southwest Pueblo Pottery, you MUST read this book. It's not a "picture book" like so many others, though it does have many great photos, but it's not a scholarly text book either. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I cannot thank my gallery owner friend enough for recommending it to me.

A Taste Of Arizona is a spiral-bound cookbook of easy-to-make traditional Arizona taste treats. From Broken Arrow Bean Dip to Phoenix Grapefruit Salad, Rillito Beef Burritos, Hopi Blue Corn Bread, Santa Cruz Cranberry Relish, and Patagonia Rice Pudding, these flavorful creations allow one to experience Arizona culinary life without leaving the kitchen. Notes on the history of certain dishes round out this mouth-watering collection..

Gus Palmer Jr. is an anthropologist who was raised in a traditional Kiowa family. In Telling Stories The Kiowa Way, Palmer informatively examines the art and culture of storytelling among the Kiowa, throughout history and in the modern day. From the close-knit environment of family and good friends in which tales are shared; to the encouragement of group participation; to the value of teasing and joking; and the legacy of retold tales, Telling Stories The Kiowa Way is a thoughtful, scholarly, and fascinating study which is very highly recommended for students of Native American Studies and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Native American cultures.

I got this book as a gift, having never heard of it before. I'd never heard of it before, but am a fan of southwestern stories and about Glen Canyon in particular. Contrary to what I expected from the title, it's not just about the author's experiences rafting the Glen Canyon of the Colorado River. In fact, it's a collection of many essays covering about 30 years of his life in the desert southwest.

The essays are very personal and fairly emotionally charged. And yet, I didn't get turned off, because the author has a very conversational tone. There's lots of humor in here too, mainly in his descriptions of the strange people he's met in the desert. All in all, it was an easy and delightful read.

The first essay (which is where the book gets its title) alone is worth the price of the book, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing. And here's something that REALLY made reading the story about the Glen Canyon rafting trip a special treat for me. ...