Nevada Books

When I was a graduate student in anthropology several decades ago, Levi-Strauss was close to God and structuralism was the most modern method yet created to perceive other societies. My fellow students and I dreamed of being able to apply structuralist principles to the societies we would research. Some of us did, others did not. Yet the fascination with discovering ýunderlying organizational principlesý in any society still tickles all these years later. The anthropological world in general has moved on. I still have a sneaking admiration for somebody, like Sandra Ott, who could, in a relatively brief period of field work, uncover and document structural patterns in a society and language far from her own. One question, I believe, that young anthropologists of today might pose is, having discovered those principles, what do you do with them ? Culture, or just human life, is so complex, so diverse. Motivations are so multilayered. Is this the best method of description possible ? Especially since the society in question, one of the most isolated of French Basque villages in Soule departement along the Spanish border, has no doubt changed greatly in the 23 years between her research and when I read the book. Are those principles still operational ?

THE CIRCLE OF MOUNTAINS is a carefully-written, no, painstakingly-written volume which reveals an ethnographer of great skill. Although I would by no means recommend it to a casual reader, it is good anthropology. Like many lesser books of its type, it is full of incredible ethnographic detail, thickly studded with Basque terms and phrases, which will be useful only to Basques or to people who study them professionally. These terms also persuade readers that Ott knew her stuff, a definite plus for her academic supervisors, not so pleasant for others. Teachers of anthropology, if they are looking for a structuralist work, may find THE CIRCLE OF MOUNTAINS just the thing. If anthropology, structural or not, is the art of description and if capturing descriptions of disappearing worlds is important, then Ottýs book is praiseworthy. Aldikatzia and üngürü, two Basque principles of social organization, found in many different contexts in the village society, are neatly defined and described. Aldikatzia or serial replacement ýorders relationships and roles within systemsý while üngürü or rotation ýis a principle by means of which systems are orderedý. The former is visible to all, the latter is more abstract. The village itself is seen as a circle, neighborly relations similary circular. In addition, there is a marvelous parallel drawn between conception and birth of children and the making of cheese. The Basques saw their special cheeses, made in the mountain huts by male shepherds while they cared for their flocks in the high pastures in summer, as similar in a wide variety of ways to the babies produced by women in the village below. The shepherds were inordinately proud of these mountain cheeses, which were strictly differentiated from cheeses made in the home proper. Rennet curdled milk to form a cheese, they thought, just as human semen ýcurdledý red blood to form an infant. The cheese maker up in the mountains was even called the ýhousewifeý at the times when he made cheese. The analogy is continued in far greater detail. The men recreate the female reproductive role up in the shepherding huts, and re-enact the birth process by making cheeses. It is a reversal of roles, not unknown in other parts of the world, though the cheese/baby analogy was a first for me.

Douglassý book on Basques, ýDeath in Murelagaý will not satisfy many readers, even dedicated anthropologists. Kurlanskyýs ýA Basque History of the Worldý is readable, but lightweight and diffuse. Perhaps for those seeking knowlege about the Basques, Ottýs book, in the tradition of Goldilocks, is ýjust rightý, though it may prove too detailed and narrowly-focussed for general readers. 4 stars for anthropology, 3 stars for readability.

This book takes a close look at a long neglected area of both Civilian Conservation Corp history and Arizona history. Moore's effort will be of interest to anyone seeking a scholarly but down-to-earth account of CCC work in the western United States. (By "scholarly," I mean that Moore's work includes footnotes, a useful bibliography, and index, which should make it a boon to other researchers of the CCC. By "down-to-earth," I mean that Moore's book isn't written in some long-lost scholarly vernacular that only college professors can decipher. To me, it's historical storytelling at its best.)

Moore knows his subject and he knows the region, delving deeply into individual camp histories and providing intimate glimpses into the lives of the men who lived and worked in those camps. The illustrations - rarely, if ever seen elsewhere - are an asset in their own right. If you study New Deal-related subjects, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

This is a worthwhile statewide history of the CCC that should appeal to both the leisure reader and the scholarly researcher. Anyone who's undertaken to research just a single CCC camp knows what a daunting job that can be; imagine researching CCC work across an entire state! Utilizing a range of source material Kolvet and Ford detail CCC work under every technical service that operated in Nevada from 1933 to 1942. Of particular interest is the camp listing at the rear of the book, which lists Nevada's CCC camps in groups by designation: Division of Grazing (DG), Bureau of Reclamation (BR), Biological Survey/Fish & Wildlife Service (BF/FWS), National and State Park (NP/SP), Navy (M), Forest Service (F) and Soil Conservation Service (SCS or PE or P for camps on private lands or for work done for a private entity). Often long on statistical data, this book is nevertheless a must-have for any CCC or New Deal library, as it includes the personal memories of men who will not be around to tell their story too much longer.

This collection of Norman Clyde short topics from the 1920's and 1930's captures, in Clyde's refreshingly unassuming style, the very essence of life in the Siera Nevada- through the eyes of the man who spent more of his life there, made more first ascents, and knew the high country better than any man before or since. While modestly illustrated by modern standards, the work covers many aspects of the region which can not be found elsewhere. A must-have for all who have felt the almost spiritual draw of this rugged and beautiful mountain range.

Ok even though there are numerous copies for sale it seems no one has read this book. I have, so I will tell you what I think. First off I have read almost all the great fire books from the Circus Fire to Triangle Shirtwaist company and the Chicago theater, Chicago itself, Ou lady of Holy Angels school.

This book does two things. One it flatly tells the story as expected from a bunch of flat writing newspaper writers. There is not much for personal stories or vivid images of what happened inside the burning building. It is not graphic or gripping by any means. But it does tell the story.

Second this is the only fire disaster book that shows the fire department in a good light. It tels a lot of stories of rescue and how the fire department actually had the opportunity to save lives.

Good for the collector but not a great read by any means.

Two Richards, Lingenfelter & Dwyer, edit this 1988 collection of "Classic Tales of Fantasy, Adventure, and Mystery." They compile them from sources that kindled the public fascination with this supposedly inhospitable, magically hidden, stupendously lucrative, yet utterly fatal place. So the legend was printed, to paraphrase John Ford. Forty-niners gone astray, John Brier & William Lewis Manly, provide their own powerful narrations from when they found themselves trapped there, the first white men to witness its terrifying and dispiriting sights. Prospectors like Shorty Harris and promoters like George Graham Rice share their polished, yet engaging, accounts, as do editors of newspapers from the camps. They're joined by a host of flimflamming publicists eager to cash in on the crazes in the later 19th and earlier 20th century surrounding hoaxes, self-dramatizing forays after lost mines, Death Valley Scotty's mendacity, and the Bullfrog discovery. Yarnspinners and poetasters-- the best being Paul DeLaney surviving the summer's heat and Sydney Norman's debunking of Scotty-- round out the breathless array of selections.

It's a handsome volume, but it would have benefited from a more detailed map than the dated, single inset one prefacing the book. I also wish more period illustrations had been interspersed throughout, instead of only at the start of each chapter. Also, the editorial material's very slim, a short introduction to the collection and brief notes prefacing the selections offering not much explanation or context for the entries. While these do often speak for themselves, the editors could have assisted the reader who does not know fact from fiction here.

For the truth, Lingenfelter's standard 1986 history, "Death Valley & the Amargosa," gives you in exhaustive but not exhausting detail a well-told in-depth survey; John Soennichsen's "Live! From Death Valley" entertains with a personal travelogue that captures the sense of the terrain from a modern perspective. (Both works reviewed by me on Amazon and this blog recently.) This subsequent anthology, on the other hand, revels in the rather dated, inflated and hyperbolic styles of the past. These types of stories made the impressions on those who never came within a thousand miles of the desert what it "must" have been like, in all its romance, horror, and hyperbole. Some of these impress-- the harrowingly detailed yet efficiently sketched forty-niner Manly or Brier's eloquence humbles you, when one realizes the limited formal education such men likely had, and how well they used their ability to tell a gripping first-person survival account better than any "reality" t.v concoction.

John Brier sums it up: "One tires of writing about yielding sand and impeding scrub, so effectual in stretching distance and consuming strength and time." (33) Either the teller begins to risk tedium by being honest, or conceit by being imaginative. Endless pages of despair don't hold one's attention; ghosts, skeletons, glitter, and wild Indians do. These rhetorical flourishes, set to separate elsewhere fools from money, or at least audiences from spare change for a paper, may wear down the contemporary reader, but they do provide an insight into how the popular press plays upon fads and puffs up trends. C.C. Julian (surprisingly absent from these earlier reports, but see Lingenfelter's history) and Death Valley Scotty foreshadowed Tony Robbins and Donald Trump, relentlessly and inventively selling themselves as they sold you for decades on end still more of their secrets of success. They never let you peek openly into their hoard, but these early promoters know how to keep you hoping to learn more. Much of the stock market frenzy, seller panic, and buyer lust can be seen in today's e-commerce and globalized markets no less than the semi-fictitious boasts by inside traders and secrets whispered by PR spinners over a century ago from this place that still haunts dreamers and provokes schemers.

A visit to Pyramid Lake is a surreal experience. Given the surrounding desert terrain, a 188 square mile lake seems out of place. It is an aquatic jewel in an otherwise parched environment. The waters are filled with delicious fish while the shores are guarded by mysterious tufas. Being one of the great desert writers of his day, Sessions S. Wheeler has literally written the book on this strange place. "The Desert Lake: the Story of Nevada's Pyramid Lake" is a multi-disciplinary approach to what the author simply refers to as 'the desert lake.' Wheeler starts by looking at the lake's origins, stretching back to the time when the current body of water was the deepest part of ancient Lake Lahontan. Today's lake is surrounded by caves that once were homes to people now referred to as the Lovelock Culture. Their way of life is described, as well as the arrival of today's Paiutes. "The Desert Lake" shares the story of these peoples with the aide of anthropology, history and archeology. The inevitable arrival of European-Americans is well documented, starting with John C. Frémont's initial discovery, through the bloody conflicts and the eventual creation of the Pyramid Lake Reservation. In many respects, this could be a case study in Anglo-Indian relations. To tell the story of this special place, Wheeler uses a large number of primary sources. For starters, the book is jam packed with photos of significant places, people and artifacts. Written primary sources include the writings of John C. Frémont, Ulysses S. Grant and others. While starting with ancient origins, the scope spans through the years to ultimately cover modern times. "The Desert Lake" describes contemporary developments like the building of the dams and canals -developments which led to the extinction of the great Pyramid trout. This sixth edition contains an additional section on fishing. This new material will be tedious and overly technical for anyone with a casual interest in the lake. In terms of the drawbacks, the images are all black and white, despite being a 2001 revision. In terms of the strengths, this book is as relevant and readable as when first published in 1967. Wheeler's book can appeal to both academics as well as laypeople with an interest in history. The interesting conversation, large text and high number of illustrations make "the Desert Lake" an expeditious and enjoyable read.

This book does a great job of describing the routes up desert summits throughout southern California and southern Nevada. Basic maps, photographs, and detailed descriptions of routes make it a highly informative book. I can personally attest to the accuracy of the directions for about forty of the hikes. Additionally, mining and natural history add to the depth of the presentation. The only summits left out of this book that I've climbed myself are those within the boundaries of military reservations (and so it's fair to say that this book is as complete as is legally possible). Those who already own the first edition of this book do not need to get the updated edition since very few substantial changes were made between the two editions.

Although born and raised in Denver, one genre I have read very little is the "western" novel -- cowboys, rodeos, horse thieves, and the like. Because of this unfamiliarity, I do not know with what to compare Robert Laxalt's novella Dust Devils. In broad outline, the plot seems pat, almost cliche: teenaged boy wins Arab horse for bronco-riding in rodeo; horse thieves steal animal; boy and best friend -- an Indian -- take off after thieves and regain horse; boy shot by thieves and nursed back to health by shaman and Indian girl whom boy loves; boy and girl decide to marry in traditional Indian rite; boy's father -- a life-long Indian-hater -- renounces life-long prejudice and embraces new daughter-in-law and her tribe. And all of this in just 102 pages! What redeems this book is Laxalt's unerring gift of description and character. His world -- both moral and physical -- rings true. Having never read Louis L'Amour or any of the popular western novelists, I do not know how Laxalt's book compares. I do recommend it. (I also commend our local librarian for adding this book -- published by the University of Nevada Press -- to her collection. One of the particular gifts of local libraries and thoughtful librarians is the placement of obscure or unfamiliar books on the shelves which the community can sample for "free").

This is the US Forest Service's gospel for plant identification in the eastern Sierra-Nevada. That means that it dove-tails with Forest Service datasets on plant distribution, which are often the only ones available.

The only reason I dock this manual a star is that it--like virtually all government documents & missives--is organized & written in a convoluted, tortuous style that only other bureaucrats seem to be able to tolerate without reaction.

Don't throw out your Jepson, but this is a great addition to the professional or serious botanist's regional library.