Utah Books

With a passport in the background of the cover, the title is a play on how a passport is a means of identity allowing one to pass across borders, while denoting particularly papers students write in English courses. The college English teachers who are the authors of the 13 collected essays have seen from innumerable such papers and diverse classroom experiences how many students' uncertainties over and struggles with their identities complicate and can even devalue their college education. This is an issue which college administrators and image-makers are generally unaware of. And professors in other courses are not as aware of this state of numbers of students concerning their identity as are English teachers assigning and assaying papers depending largely on creative thinking and introspection. Overall the collected essays get at a quote from Ernest Bloch at the start of one that an individual's philosophy does not depend so much on "the kind of person one is...[but rather] more essentially on the time in which one lives and, above all, the way in which one belongs to the time." The authors are concerned that all students, especially women and minorities, have a way or find or develop one before too long to optimally--to productively and rewardingly--belong to their time at college as an irreplaceable, singularly valuable educational, personal, and maturating experience. The authors realize that they as well as other professors and college personnel, not the students alone, have a significant role in this. Besides bringing to light widespread feelings of "alienation, isolation, and frustration" among students and the reasons for these, the essays address and to some degree define ways English professors can have a cooperative role with students in substantially reducing such debilitating moods.

Aptly edited by Luisa Del Giudice and Gerald Porter, Imagined States: Nationalism, Utopia, And Longing In Oral Cultures draws from international folklore scholars who have examined the ways in which national and ethnic groups have traditionally and creatively utilized "imagined states of existence", in the construction of cultural identities for themselves and for others. The original materials examined by scholarship includes oral traditions as found in traditional ballads, broadsides, and folk lore stories. Imagined States is an impressive and highly recommended body of original scholarship that is a strongly recommended, core addition to anthropological, sociological, and cultural history reference collections.

With Indian Self-Rule, Kenneth R. Philp has assembled a compendium of first-hand accounts of twentieth-century relations of and between Native Americans and various state and federal administrations. Indian Self-Rule is divided into four major parts: The Indian New Deal; Termination; Toward Self-Determination; and Indian Self-Rule In The Past And The Future, and is enhanced further with a "List of Contributors", Bibliography, and an index. Each of the twenty-four essays comprising Indian Self-Rule are models of scholarship and together comprise a significant, seminal, and highly recommended addition to Native American studies reference collections, curriculums, and reading lists.

This book has the best non-tourist type information I have been able to find in Utah tour books. It offers 'friendly' advice and comments on what to do and where to go, and where to avoid. It is simple, concise, and comprehensive. I found the format of the book, which is divided by activities and subjects (i.e. accomodations, outdoor activities, parks, etc) rather than cities/towns to be particularly useful. It was so helpful that after borrowing from the library twice, I decided I couldn't go to Utah without it, so I bought it.

The editors cover all the bases in this chronological history of pre-Lewis and Clark western exploration. Beginning with Cabeza de Vaca's perilous journey across the southern U.S. in 1528 and culminating with the horrific massacre narrative of John Jewitt's shipmates and his eventual capture by the Nootka Indians off Vancouver Island in 1803, this book is teeming with adventure and excitement of early day exploration. The reader is lured into narrative excerpts from the de Soto and Coronado expeditions, personal accounts of Sir Francis Drake, Pierre Radisson, Father Louis Hennepin, the La Verendryes, Jonathan Carver, David Thompson, Alexander Mackenzie and many more. These men sacrificed countless nerve-racking and frightening hours of survival in the unknown wilderness from Indian hostilities, weather, shortages of food, water, etc. The book not only opens new territories in real life exploration, it also opens endless new worlds of reading possibilities for armchair exploration enthusiasts.

My Grandmother was born and raised in Utah. She is a history buff and an even a greater Utah history buff. I gave her this book about the History of Utah for her Birthday. In just 5 months she says that she has read it three times. She mentions the book to everyone who comes to visit and talks about all the stories she has read and the ones she remembers hearing about when she grew up. Over Christmas she asked that I buy her three more copies so that she could give them to her friends.

This is a great book for those looking for the inside informationn of what really took place in the develpement of the Zion State. Happy Readings!

The blurb on the back (perhaps lacking our British self-depreciation) describes the book as an "exemplary grammar" and I must say this is a fair description.

The book is admirably clear and physically well laid out.
It really, really needs an index though.(my only serious carp)

My ancestor, Jacob Hamblin, wrote this book. Originally title "My Life with the Indians" it was edited in the late 1800s. Elders in the Morman Church removed the references to his only Indian wife, a Paiute woman, my great grandmother. They were married in Utah, and moved to New Mexico, where my grandmother was born.

Other than some things that were edited out, this is one of the most accurate
accounts of life in the Southwest that I know of. They also edited how
how Jacob testified after finding an entire tribe slaughtered on a horseback ride he made back from Arizona. A valley full of woman and children who had been killed. Later, as a result of Hamblin's testimony,
three Caucasian men were hung in Utah, the ones who led the massacre on their own accord, not under any military instructions.

Jacob Hamblin was a hero in American History and for that reason, this book is important. He negotiated the first peace treaty between the Ute and Navajo tribes successfully. He is probably best known for that accomplishment.

This is one of the absolute best, most fascinating books ever written on the rhythm of daily Aztec ritual life; its massive (bloodthirsty) pantheon of gods; how the Aztec religion and its built-in fatalism maintained unwavering and absolute control over ALL of Aztec society -- from the emperor to the lowest slave: top to bottom, no exceptions.

In the book, Dr. Brundage also does an excellent job of illustrating all primary aspects and motivations in Aztec life. He goes into some detail regarding how Aztec class structure worked; how one could rise or sink in terms of status in the Aztec world, and why social ranking for nearly all was valued over absolutely everything -- even wealth.

Quite importantly, the author draws an unvarnished picture of Aztec life (without needless grizzly details) and avoids completely, irksome or politically correct intellectual gymnastics inorder to sugarcoat what was an utterly enigmatic civilization which ran on dread and fear; was completely obsessed with death -- one's own death and of others: The ritual murder of tens of thousands of men, women and small children each year -- all in a desperate, vain attempt to placate the gods -- who were insatiably hungry for mountains of human hearts and rivers of blood. Beyond this, Brundage goes into some detail regarding the importance of cannibalism in Aztec society, enjoyed particularly among the elite warriors, the nobility, and the Emperor. In contrast, the hoi polloi quite rarely (if ever) feasted on human flesh. Thankfully, the author never attempts to insult our intelligence by lamely excusing evil, inexcusable behavior, such as cannibalism and ritual murder -- of vast numbers of people -- including even small children.

Anyone serious about understanding the Aztec mind and social order should *ALSO READ* -- "Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos" by K. A. Read.

Another truly *EXCELLENT* book on Aztecs -- that should be on everyone's MUST-READ LIST -- is, "Burning Water: Thought and Religion in Ancient Mexico" by Laurette Sejourne: This is, hands down, one of the **VERY BEST** books ever written about Aztec civilization and their "peculiar religion."

FYI, Dr. Brundage has authored nearly a dozen most extraordinarily well written and researched books on Aztec life and civilization; most are (sadly) out-of-print for some time and thus, can be tough to find; try searching Amazon.

No more questions, no more boredom, and definitely no more closed window shades on the flight between Helena and Salt Lake City. This conveniently sized booklet is brimming with engrossing vignettes to enrich your flight. The stories are well selected, artfully told, and amply illustrated. The best part: the book is packed so full that after 6 legs between Helena and Salt Lake, I still have more stories to look forward to. A great way to entertain and educate kids in flight, too.