Arizona Books

The vastness of the American West is apparent to anyone who travels through it, but what may not be immediately obvious is the extent to which the landscape has been shaped by the U.S. government. Water development projects, military bases, and Indian reservations may interrupt the wilderness vistas, but these are only an indication of the extent to which the West has become a federal landscape.

Historian Gerald Nash has written the first account of the epic growth of the economy of the American West during the twentieth century, showing how national interests shaped the West over the course of the past hundred years and how America's hinterland became the most dynamic and rapidly growing part of the country. By addressing subjects as diverse as public policy, economic development, enviromental and urban issues, and questions of race, class, and gender, he puts the entire federal landscape in perspective and shows how th West was really won.
--- from book's back cover

This is a beautiful book that not only explores the Canyon through words and watercolors but also our place in the world as human beings. Jordan introduces one to the rythyms of life on the river and shares with us her ability to interpret the daily wonders that make the Grand Canyon so majestic. She has created not just a journal but a moving piece of prose that carries the reader from the widerness of the Canyon to finding meaning in our daily lives. A wonderful journey.

I used this to visit a few sites in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Directions were right on the mark!!! As long as you know which way is north it's easy to follow the diagrams. The only tricky part is getting to one of the starting points if you're not familiar with the areas, but mapquest or google can help you with that. I loved that it organized all the Arizona sites for the shortest trip and made it posible to see them all in one day!

This is a great trek through the history of the Arizona basketball program. Lots of kewl pictures of Coach Lute Olsen and his team.

For most travelers Flagstaff is merely a motel stop on the way to somewhere else. But when you learn that Flagstaff is in the middle of the largest ponderosa pine forest in America, and the largest continuous volcanic field including the tallest mountain in Arizona, it figures that Flagstaff should have some natural attractions of its own. For years these attractions were local secrets, even secret from the locals. Then the Mangums published this book, which is THE guide to hiking in northern Arizona. The Mangums are a 19th century northern Arizona pioneer family, so they know the territory as no outsider can. They know the history of trails and sites too, and offer many historical nuggests that make hiking more fun. This guide book offers a wide range of hikes, and its maps and driving and trail descriptions are quite reliable. Most importantly, the Mangums hike for the right reasons, not as an exercise in gonzo athletics, but for the joy of discovering the beauty of nature and the trail of history.

If anyone were to gather names for the top five western writers of all time, Richard S. Wheeler would undoubtedly be among them. His tale spinning genius and esteemed talent with language unfolds again in FLINT'S HONOR, Wheeler's third book detailing the adventures of warring journalist, Sam Flint. Flint arrives in Silver City Colorado-a town wedged between the walls of a rocky gulch-to defend the honor of a prostitute, whose death had been treated smugly in the Silver City Democrat. Searching the boomtown for a place to set up his press, Flint finds no vacancies, and against his better judgment has to settle for a room in a house of ill repute. Rather than recognizing Flint's new Silver City Sentinel as a worthy competitor, Digby Westminster, the editor of the Democrat plays Flint's positioning for all it's worth, and dubs the new paper The Bawdyhouse Bugle. Flint soon learns that the licentious editor has another foe, Achilles Balthazar, a powerful and despicable mine owner known for his ill treatment of workers and ability to read peoples minds-especially idealists like Flint. Flint finds himself amidst the politics and greedy maneuvers of both men, having only the power of words as his defense. Ready to sum up his losses at any moment, Flint is joined by a gypsy printer, Jude Napoleon, who not only adds spice to Flint's conflict, but provides him with the extra energy and wit needed to help bring down the two men, who like the mammoth walls that parallel the city, hold the whole town captive.

This is my first read book by Richard Wheeler. I was very moved. The accounts of the West for this gold rush town seemed vivid in my mind as I read. Very emotional ending. Sadly Fabulous! This book speaks to a person's heart!

(Planeta.com Journal) - This massive 700-page tome is the culmination of more than a quarter century of research in the magnificent Sonoran Desert by an eminent desert botanist. The study of more than 500 species of plants includes innovative identification keys to the families, genera and species. Common names are given in English, Spanish and the native O'odham languages. Abundant illustrations make this book a work of art.

This is not an "edible plants" field guide. It is an in depth review of Arizona, Sonora, and Baja desert plants useful as food and for other purposes. It is useful for building short term survival skills, for adding desert plants to ones diet, and as an ethnologic look at the indigenous population of the Sonoran Desert. It is an excellent book and one I am very happy to own.

A "Country Doctor" shows sophistication through uncommon compassion, excelling dedication, and overwhelming faith in, Fool's Gold: Chronicles of a Country Doctor: The Story of Dr. Delmar Mock.

An action-themed biography of Delmar "Doc" Mock, M.D. leads us through the conscious decision he made to spend his adult life as the physician to a small, southeastern Arizona community called Patagonia. After graduating from the Seventh-Day Adventist "College of Medical Evangelists" (today's Loma Linda University), he settled in Patagonia with his wife Cleo, to start their new family and career.

As Carolyn Rathbun-Sutton chronicles the career of "Doc" Mock, Fool's Gold gives a keenly insightful ride through the life of both Dr. Delmar Mock, and the Patagonia community he served. Carolyn unfolds how several decades later, he is still as beloved as ever, having placed his indelible mark on the culture of Patagonia.

Through Carolyn Rathbun-Sutton's winnowing insights, she demonstrates how she and Doc Mock are of one accord, by following Doc's admonition toward the end of the book to "fall at the Savior's feet" and "let Him straighten out our thinking." Before you are finished reading this engagingly woven story, you, too, will find your own mind being honed toward the example of selflessness Delmar Mock models for us all.