Arizona Books

It is not often one can read of the intermingling of cultures so successfully combined as in Eva Wilber-Cruce's work. It is remarkable for its objectivity, its vivacity, and as a lesson of how best to get along with one's neighbors. Eva's recollections as a child and woman are remarkable and is a person easily taken to one's heart. Her considerable life is a valise which contains a portfolio of memories of the most meaningful sort. I would compare her book with Mari Sandoz' Old Jules; both about frontier life, one in the SW, the other in Nebraska. The reader has the added benefit of increasing his or her Spanish vocabulary that reflects the lifestyle in which Eva was raised. Beautifully written. An added plus for me was the reference to Archbishop Salpointe who was the heir to "Lamy of Sante Fe." It's a treat when a book ties in with another source written by a respected historical author like Paul Horgan.

Eva Wilbur-Cruce describes memories as far back as when she was three, and captures the wild yet captivating valleys of the Arizona/Mexico border, painting word pictures of Mexican ranchers, Tohono O'odham Indians and many other cultures intermingling. It is a story of how to live life to the fullest, as she learned it from nature, her family and those around her. She has learned well what the beautiful cruel country has to teach and she passes it on through artistic imagery.

As an avid off-roader, I look for remote, under-the-radar types of places. Fortunately, my home state is one of the best places for 4x4 wandering. Anybody can hook up with some Glamis types and rip-it-up a local sand dune. For me, wilderness means getting far out of Phoenix, driving long distances on dusty back roads and eventually finding that perfectly lonely camp site. Enter the Benchmark Maps' "Arizona Road & Recreational Atlas." For browsing alone, it has been the impetus for multiple back country trips. When used with Google Earth and a guidebook, this tool has been perfect for triangulating locations and showing routes. The DeLorme Atlas is the obvious comparison. The DeLorme is also a really good atlas, but I really appreciate the "readability" of the Benchmark. The colors are in harmony with desert esthetics while better expressing elevation. This atlas shows tons of back roads, GPS grids, a recreational guide for the newbies and legends that are clear to read. As an added plus, it shows additional maps for getting around in urban Tuscon and Phoenix. When exploring the desert or getting around in the city, Benchmarks Maps' "Arizona Road & Recreational Atlas" is about all anyone will need to get around in the Grand Canyon State.

As an enthusiastic motorcyclist, I am always searching for new and interesting roads to travel. I love back-roads and this atlas has enough detail to let the 'inner-explorer' in me discover places I never would have thought to look. In a car, on a bike, or stretched out on the living-room carpet, this atlas delivers. Benchmark makes a big deal of the "3D like" shading effect on their maps, and rightfully so. Not only can you find the mountains, you can also find the hidden valleys nestled away in their depths. The only drawback of this series is that there isn't enough. California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Arizona have their own atlas...where's the rest of the states? Come on Benchmark, get printing, I have serious exploring to do!

The author is justly proud of his brother "Bernie Whitebear". The book provides many facts and stories of Whitebear's accomplishments in fighting for Indian rights. Many of these facts can be be authenticated by going on-line and reading newspaper articles from that time.

I knew Bernie Whitebear while I was a teenager in Seattle and he was the first Urban Indian leader I had met. Over the course of time, I found him to be a person who mentored youth and he was a visionary in a very enlightening period for Urban Indians in Seattle. His perseverance and dedication is a testament to his character and reading the book written by Lawney, his brother, about their upbringing makes all the pieces in the puzzle fit and make sense. He came from a humble background (perhaps "poor" as far as wealth) but also one that was rich in morals, values, traditions and culture. This book was a very good read.

Imagine being able to invent one of the great natural wonders of the world. This was practically the opportunity of the first park rangers to live at the canyon. Famous explorers and scientists had come and gone from the Grand Canyon and written their reports, but they seldomed stayed there any length of time. The rangers who came with the establishment of Grand Canyon National Park in 1919 were the first naturalists to live their lives there, and there was still plenty to explore, plenty of unknown geology, biology, and botany. Within a few years after 1919 these rangers were writing down their discoveries and experiences at the canyon, basically figuring out what this place was all about and how visitors could best experience it. 1919 was also much closer to the age of Humboldt and Muir, when natural historians were adventurers and heroes and seers, expected to speak both science and poetry. The "notes" in this book are the record of those first park naturalists as they come to terms with a great natural wonder, and they are also notes in the sense of musical notes, a song of celebration.

If you love the Grand Canyon, you will be delighted with this selection of naturalists articles written in the first half of the past century (!). Easy to read, most of the writing consisting of articles of a few lines to a few pages, you can open the book anywhere and transport yourself on or below the rim, at a time when a lot fewer tourists visited the canyon.The book is divided in three parts, Earth sciences (geology, river, sky and seasons), Life science (flora, fish, birds, mammals,) and Human history (archaeology, ethnobotany and history). Nice little B&W drawings throughout the book, this is a very good complement to a visit to the Grand Canyon or to any coffee table picture book on the Grand Canyon usually thin on writing.

...and I needed this book. As an author coming to town for a world-wind 24-hour tour, this guidebook was a gem. Everywhere I needed to go and whatever I needed to have was here. Highly recommended if Phoenix is on your next vacation or even your business trip list.

Well I really didn't know what a diverse place Phoenix is, until I read this book! Now I know that Phoenix is not just an airport hub for our state, it is a great destination in its own right. This is an excellent and complete guide of all the highlights! I recommend it to all Arizona natives.

This is a superb book,in my personal estimation.
It gives me what I was searching for, a review of the artist's work,excellent pictures,and information on the artist's personal history.I am happy when I read what inspired the artist.This book is full of info, but very delicate in handling what he has to say,and when to say it(some works are inspired from Hiroshima,for example.)
I am partial to figurative work,I look at Akio's figures and realise that there is a lot of power to the meaning of "less is more" I am so glad I have it in my personal library,it is a help in conducting myself in where I want to go in my own artmaking.He seems to prefer stoneware,and the thousand year old recipies for glazes.It is daunting to me,but I appreciate his personal history,and dedication to old techniques.This is one artist that will go down in History.
If you love figurative work,I think he is one of the most successful artists in the genre.

I thought this book was a great collective of Akio's work from his past work with the vessel to his current figurative sculpture. I would highly recommend it for any ceramic artist.

I found Beyond the Four Corners of the World to be an excellent piece of work on two levels. On the surface it's a biography; one woman's journey away from - then back to - her roots and her homeland. On a deeper level, it's a rare glimpse into the religion, culture and lifestyle on the Navajo reservation. Upon completion of this book, I felt that I had gained insight not only into the mind and heart of Ella Bedonie, but also into the beliefs and values of the Navajo People.

The story of Ella and her struggle with illness and how it intersects with her spiritual and cultural world is at once fascinating and very sad. To read Benedek's account is to travel by literary horseback deep in the rez, and meet the residents of a different world, one which is changing, one which is struggling to hold onto traditional ways at the same time. I recommend this book to anyone with interest in native people, anyone interested in cultural perspectives on illness. And anyone else! Benedek is academic and personal, she takes you there.

An Unbelievable book! Having biked parts of this trail myself, The attention to detail that Ms. Lankford has supplied is astouding! I have read many guidebooks covering many topics, and this is one of the best, from the mileage markers, to the detailed maps, to the great photos. Additionally, the book doubles as a great adventure story of two slightly crazy, but totally ambitious girls! I reccomend this book without hesitation.

I just got Andrea Lankford's guide and getting my hands on it is bittersweet: I love the book... but really could have used this guide a couple of months ago. In November and December of 2002 I became the first solo thru biker of the Arizona Trail (AZT) and the third thru biker ever. During my journey I relied on photocopied maps, second hand advice, and a crumpled road map-certainly not the thorough guidebook that is available today. Lankford supplies us long distance adventurers with a guide complete with accurate trail descriptions, exact mileage, humor, an easily readable text, maps, and photos. Lankford is truly adept at writing a guide after thru biking the AZT, thru hiking the 2160-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and serving as a National Park Service EMT/Forest Ranger. They said Andrea Lankford and her partner Beth Overton could'nt hack this 800-mile mountain, canyon, plateau, and desert route, but they were wrong. And if anyone ever said that a great guide could not come out of their expedition, they were clearly incorrect as well. As being the only other person to bike this gorgeous and challenging trail besides Andrea Lankford's friend Beth, I can tell ya one thing for sure: this baby gets 5 stars.

Houston's novel re-opens a little acknowledged but troubling aspect of World War I on the American home front; the deporation of copper miners from Bisbee, Arizona in July 1917. It was a battle as titanic as any fought by the armies on the Western Front.

Houston knows the streets, hills, and canyons of Bisbee. His original writing style transports the reader back to those volcanic days in the blast furnace heat of southern Arizona where the Wobblies of the International Workers of the World (IWW) clashed with the mine owners who in turn were backed by the county sherrif, cowboys, and the Eastern Establishment. Copper was essential to the war effort. The IWW hoped that shutting down the mines would cause a crisis in captialism, halt the war, and spark a revolution; it was all about class warfare. The mine owners feared the end of civilization or as one protagonist in the book puts it, "the end of the City of God." The reader witnesses the build-up and explosion through the eyes of characters whose personal lives and fortunes are hinged upon the outcome of the battle. For a historical perspective, the novel lays bare the insecurities and predjucies of American society during the WWI era as viewed through the prism of the West.

This novel is a keeper. After reading it, a trip to historic Bisbee, Arizona is in order.

Original! Original! I read the hole book in one day and it never got boring once. This novel of ideas and emotions deeply touched me, and its in your face attitude about a minors strike in Arizona made it the most exciting book in the Homer library...If you read just one book this is it. Thank God for that "I can read" sereis with Mrs. Johannosson

This gorgeous and unusual book should be required reading for both lovers of memoir and anyone who lives in "Indian Country" (which, really, is most of us.) Hayes layers narratives of self, land, history and tribe in an unusual way that feels utterly organic. She also offers real insight into both the brokenheartedness and the joy that characterize modern Native people's experience. Though it is not without minor flaws, I give this book 5 stars because it is amazing and unique.

Ernestine Hayes has captured what it means to grow up with one foot in white culture, the other in a native way of life she must struggle to keep alive and burning in her heart. I loved the way native stories wove in and out of her experiences. I hope she has another book in the works because I want to read more of what she has to say.