Arizona Books

This is a fabulous coffee table book makes a great gift for any nature lover. David Muench does a wonderful job of capturing the desert & bringing home for you to enjoy.It is in stunning full-color on glossy stock.

Photographs encompass landscapes of endless sands & rocks of many different hues. Impressive natural sandstone sculptures are also displayed. You even get a glimpse of the petroglyphs & ruins of ancient peoples.

I fell in love with a spectacular waterfall flowing into most gorgeous turquoise waters I have ever seen. Meadows of golden prickly pear cactus flowers & fields of brilliant orange poppies took my breath away.

The text includes many fascinating facts about America's deserts. There is also a great map of the region. Captions including quotations from Van Dyke's "The Desert" fit the photography perfectly.

The best movie EVER! The straight script, I had hoped to stumble onto some dialogue that wound up on the cutting room floor but to no avail. Being interested in screenplay writing I was curious how the Coen's conveyed all of the sight humor into their screen play. If your looking for screen play examples (the how to write a screenplay books are worthless) this has been very helpful to me. Too bad their aren't any story boards to go with it.

This book has worn well, traveled far, and still offers good advice to trial lawyers whose ethical aspirations are as high as their trial skills. To quote the author, "trial lawyers who have no character or who are perceived by society as unprincipled are without ethics." Nothing has changed since the first edition release in 1994. Trial lawyers are still at the top of the profession, still controversial, and still serving both sides of the courtroom with consumate skill and high professional standrds. This book has helped many, including this reviewer, to meet both goals. Every profession has its best season. They say May is the best month for physicians, while engineers do their best work in January. Trial lawyers have the other ten.

From the cover: This book explores traditions guiding the medical arts of Yaqui, Anglo, Black and Mexican American Communities and points out the relationship between alternative and scientific medicine. Beliefs prevail that illness may be punishment for sin, or caused by witchcraft or overwork. Treatment may include dreams, herbs, massage, or prayer.

Ronald Watkins' account of this horrible crime was written in a most compassionate and considerate way. While he informed the reader in detail the senseless and depraved manner in which Suzanne Rossetti died, he did so with an obvious caring for Suzanne's family and friends. As a resident of Arizona, I have had the opportunity to visit the crime scene and have followed the demise of Jesse Gilles, one of Suzanne's killers. To my relief, he was finally executed in Arizona in January of 1997. I hope for more books by Mr. Watkins on other true crime subjects.

These are reprints of the observations of The Marvelous Country: Samuel Cozzens' accounts of his experiences in New Mexico and Arizona Territories during the mid-1850s. My review of that book is lengthy and every word of it applies to this one as well.
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The Cozzens experience describes an ancient land during the final years before discoveries of gold, Apache wars, the Civil War and a focus of interest from California and the east changed it forever. He visited Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, Mesilla, Tucson and Sacaton and describes them as they'd never be seen again. He saw the Zuni Mountains as an old-growth forest. He met and stayed spent a long while in the Apache camp of Cochise, where he had dealings with Mangas Colorado.
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I love reading Cozzens because I love history and I love the southwest. If those interest you, even a little, I believe you'll love reading him as much as I do.

For anyone who is tired of the same old "tourist traps", this book is for you. There are a wide variety of treasures to be found in Arizona and Rick Harris has drawn maps for many of them. My friends and I have spent many days exploring the seldom seen sides of Arizona and have seen many things that most travelers will never dream of. Whether it's caves, mines or Indian Ruins; Ghost towns, quartz crystals or cliff dwellings, this is the book for you. I carry this book with me whenever I'm in Arizona because you never know when the fever for a good adventure will hit.

I was very impressed with the layout of this book. It shows the talent of Goldwater's photography, using his favorite subjects, scenery of the state of Arizona and his family.

I gave this book as a gift to my mother, who was raised in Arizona and knew the Goldwater family. Since she now lives in Virginia, she longs from time to time the landscape of red rocks and the dry desert. This book gave her reminiscence, and she throughly enjoyed it.

As a resident of Arizona for many years, I have always been interested in Father Kino. His travels and his mission come alive in the pages of The Far Side of the Sea. I enjoyed the premise of the book in which the reader alternately joins Father Kino on his journey in 1693 and a modern-day archeologist who is searching for Father Kino's grave.

The descriptive language is simply beautiful. On page 223; "Clouds with dark cores hung at the peak as if they were tethered to it with invisible ropes. To the west the sky was a hazy gray and I could feel moisture building in the late afternoon air. I pulled the collar of my tunic tighter against the cold, glanced at the little cross again, and thought of a hundred reasons why I should climb the mountain."

I could imagine a twinkle in Mr. Clevenger's eye when he wrote of "a rich miner from Sinaloa who had never suffered, to anyone's knowledge, from an excess of ethics or an overabundance of good reputation."

The book leaves the reader with admiration for the strength and courage of Father Kino. An added bonus is the fascinating trip through the desert of the Southwest.

I highly recommend The Far Side of the Sea.

Janice Emily Bowers writes from the heart, taking an unflinching look at nature - and herself - reflected in the ecology of Arizona: desert, mountains, peaks and canyons. I felt that I was right along with her on these explorations, and I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy outer - and inner - exploration.