Utah Books

I have never read a book that made me feel quiet and humble like this book did. The author was very good at description and bringing the reader "into" his life. I went through the highs and lows of being a farmer and a father. Very moving, very enriching, and very memorable.

This is a very special tenderly written book about living...loving...working... and dieing. Every one can find something to relate too with Harvey in this book. I would highly reccomend it.

This is a wonderful book, beautifully written and immensely touching. The author interweaves vivid descriptions of his farm and its inhabitants -- both past and present -- with his observations on cider-making, the care of apple orchards, his wife's art, and his memories of his late, much-loved daughter. He doesn't gloss over the irony that, after he spent years working on nuclear testing, his daughter should contract breast cancer; but he isn't polemical about it, and by the end of the book his personal tragedy is subsumed into the rhythms of the seasons and the ongoing life of the farm. The timeline of the book is circular -- it's not a straightforward history -- but I felt that this further emphasized the cyclical nature of life in the orchard. I recommend the book unreservedly.

Ryan plunges you into the middle of an exciting period in history and puts you inside the changes surging through the world. This series is not only a great read, it's a close up look at some of the more controversial aspects of LDS, including the particular challenges faced by mixed religion marriages and changing church doctrine. Ryan pulls no punches, and his examination of the issues through compelling storytelling has a message for readers of any faith. I'm waiting impatiently for book #3, and sure hope that's not the end of it. More books, Deseret and Ryan -- MORE.

Mr. Ryan has the wonderful ability to make the characters real to the reader. I feel like I know Tom and Katrina and the family. Excellent handling of a few of the differences between the LDS and Catholic Faiths. Excellent portrayal of a faithful LDS woman married to a good man tho not of her faith. Her faith that the Lord will provide and her patience makes her an extremely lovable lady. Tom's personality certainly will appeal to most men and I think women. He is faithful yet a still a "bit of the Irish" in him. All the characters are very human in their actions and emotions. While reading the reader feels those emotions and hurts and feels the joy of the characters. Tom's Anger at himself and taking it out on his young son and the results of that are real and the reader can learn from Tom's mistake. Can't wait for volume 3.

It's not very often that a sequel comes along that matches the excitment of the first book. I loved the first book, "Destiny" and was anxious to read the second to see what would transpire with Tom and Katrina. I was not disappointed. I not only grew to love them more, but developed a love for their children as well. I look forward to the third and know that the author will keep me up into the wee hours of the night once more!

I can't say enough about Jane Springer's debut--this collection transcends the academy, brings smart and witty and deeply sad moments to life, all with a voice that is resonant and fresh. Her poems are literary, yet comic, serious, yet innocent. This is one of the best collections this year (possibly this decade) and can be appreciated by both the literary scholar and the poetry neophyte. It's a stunner, people. Get in line.

A teacher of English in the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Jane Spring's poetry anthologized in the pages of "Dear Blackbird," won The Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry for 2007 and documents her impressive flair for free verse lyrics that are not restricted to the boundaries of ordinary stanza sequences or formats but are as original in their composition as they are in their content. Lovers of language and appreciators of poetry will enjoy the originality and engagement of Springer's deftly crafted verse. 'Quilts in a Pattern of Flower Gardens': Our grandmother cut/her patterns from/brown paper sacks then fit//flowers the size of/camels through/her nimble-swift needle//& Lord, what do you think of that/thimbleful of miracles?....

This collection introduces a new voice on the contemporary poetry scene, in particular a fresh addition to the Southern literary tradition. Springer writes with verve and wit and sometimes deadly pathos; her palette is largely drawn from small towns and small lives of the rural south, from Kentucky to Arkansas, and her imagery is arresting and decidedly unique. The "Dear Blackbird" poems serve as sort of markers through the collection (which does have a nice sense of cohesion) moving from despair, dissolution, to a kind of surreal redemption.

If you enjoy the work of Larry Levis, Mark Strand, Rodney Jones, Wallace Stevens, or nearly anyone in the Southern poetry tradition (R.P. Warren, James Dickey, Donald Justice, Wyatt Prunty, etc.) then this is a collection to check out. It is no mystery why The Southern Review has championed her as their protege and best new poet from the South.

Or, if you love arresting images, idiosyncratic narrative, if you simply love language, a turned phrase, the music of words, then there is much to enjoy here.

I daresay if you simply grew up in a small town in the American south, you will find yourself in this collection. If you didn't, read on and find out what it was like.

I will recommand this book to everyone out there. This very well writen book will make you rediscover something that we have all lost at some point: Ourselves and the connection that we have with the nature itself. Karen is a true spirit, and I admire a lot not only her spirit but also her courage. This book will revive something in you and/or even melt your heart, if you take the time to read between the lines. Great job Karen and wonderful book. love it

Karen Chamberlain's exquisite memoir captures Utah's red rock wilderness in all its harshness and sensuality. Her human and non-human companions are unforgettable and her love for all things wild is present in every word. Part essay, part love story, this book invites the reader to experience a true western adventure arising from the joys and struggles of living alone in canyon country.

Picked up this book on the recommendation of our local bookstore. The writing is beautiful, poetic while still being entirely readable. Never experienced such exquisite writing. Normally exquisite writing gets mired down, and I can only handle a page a day, but this is beautiful AND compelling . . . page after page after page. I didn't want to leave it. Explores the desert, a unique habitat, and the soul of being human. I can't rate it high enough. Not only beautiful, but an intensely brave and beautiful story. For women who have gone through the need to be alone to learn about yourself, to be in wild places, and/or feel an affiliation with animal friends, DO NOT PASS THIS UP! Bravo, Karen Chamberlain

This book was very helpful in seeing as much as possible in a short visit. Lots of information - worth the price to have on your vacation.

I bought a few books on Bryce Canyon and Zion while planning our family vacation and this book was the most useful and helpful. We just returned from the trip and were very happy with this guidebook.

The book provides all the information needed to plan your trip to the parks, including when to go, what to take, and any permits needed. There is also information on where to stay and camp, and also where to eat - though we ended up bringing most of our food with us and cooking on a camp stove.

The book has great guides on best day hikes. This was particularly useful since we have two young boys - 4 and 6. We did a lot of day hikes. Our favorite hike was the Queens Garden Trail. We did that one twice - it is only about 2 miles round trip with great views!

Overall, this is an incredibly useful book that easily fits in your backpack!

This guide proved to be an excellent resource during our recent trip to the Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Highlights of this book include how comprehensive it was despite its relative brevity, the easy-to-read writing style, and its off-the-beaten-path recommendations.

The authors discussed all the subjects I was looking for in a travel book. They covered the usual "where to stay" and "where to eat" topics very well, including reviews of the campgrounds in the parks. We were very satisfied staying and eating at the places recommended by the authors.

A particular strength of the book was its overview of the numerous hiking trails of the two parks. The trails were organized by length, and the authors gave good recommendations about which trails to do. One hike that they recommended as a "find" was a beautiful, short stroll to an icy cave, but because of its location off the main park road, we were completely by ourselves. The authors even discussed some of the backcountry hiking, if you are inclined to strap on your pack and head off into the wilderness.

The chapter on the natural history of the parks was also excellent. There was a description of the geological events that formed the parks, the flora and fauna, and the diverse ecosystems. The geological discussion in particular was especially helpful for understanding how the layers of rock were laid down over millions of years.

The authors gave good sample itineraries for experiencing the park in a day or two. Recommendations on seeing the sunrise across the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and on visiting some of the less traveled sections of Zion were very worthwhile.

Nice bonuses in the book included information for kids, RVers, and people with disabilities. The book also had information on practical things like where to get gas, buy supplies, do your laundry, etc. There is even a section on places to visit near the national parks such as some of the Utah state parks and nearby national monuments.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone heading to Zion and Bryce Canyon. It definitely enriched our experience and made planning a whole lot easier.

Between this book and Hintze's similar book, Utah has some really good geology books that make the landscape come alive. Stokes helps you visualize what Utah looked like during different geologic periods and also highlights areas where the geologic record is absent such as the middle Triassic.

I wore out my first book driving around the State for my work and had to purchase a replacement copy. I highly recommend this book.

This wonderful book is not only the leading and best introduction to the geology of Utah, but it is also an excellent introduction to the long, strange history of the Earth; so much of what makes Utah geology exciting is that it reveals patterns and processes that were operating globally. Yet there is an excellent argument for its localization: the Wasatch Front, an anomalous structure that is clearly present since the Precambrian and persists to this day, as evidence in the contrast between the flat landscape of western Utah and the precipitous rise of the Wasatch Mountains. Demarcated by earthquakes, hot springs, and abundant evidence of geologically recent vulcanism, the Wasatch Front amounts to a complex fracture zone that runs in a line, north to south, for hundreds of miles. The book begins, brilliantly I think, by placing the puzzle of the Wasatch Front before the reader; thenceforth the chapters are organized (as is the geological custom) by geological epochs. But in every chapter Stokes is mindful of what is known and what is not. For a non-expert reader, and I am among them, one of the rewards of this book is precisely this author's honesty: He not only tells you what we do not yet know, but also why what we think we know is almost certainly wrong. For example, it is abundantly clear that, during the Cretaceous period, the North American plate west of Utah must have been greatly elevated, for the general trend of erosion was from west to east, and enormous amounts of sediment were deposited over Utah's shallow seas. Yet the volume of sediment deposited is far greater than could have been produced by any known conception of western North America during this period. Adding to the mystery is the subsequent subsidence of western North America -- now called the "Great Basin" -- and its confused, convoluted geology. In comparison, east of the Wasatch Front, one finds the Colorado Plateau, one of the few areas in the Earth where sediments remain very much as they were deposited, in undisturbed, horizontal beds that accumulated sequentially. These beds, some of them thousands of feet thick, run laterally across the landscape for hundreds of miles.

What makes Utah so special, geologically speaking, is the wondrous fact that relatively recently (geologically speaking, of course), the Colorado Plateau was pushed upward -- a mile upward. With a persistently arid climate, rivers coursed through the soft stone and carved majestic canyons. The scenery is very beautiful, but it is all the more amazing when one realizes that this scenery showcases the history of the known Earth, from the time of the first living creatures right down to the present.

The story is magnificent, and Stokes' careful, cautious telling of the story lends it credibility and authority. This is a magnificently well researched book, written by a geologist who must have been the world's leading expert on the subject at the time. Of course, there have been new discoveries since this book was written, but geology isn't a field in which rapid progress is made overnight. A few minutes with Google Scholar will suffice, should you wish to make sure you're up-to-date on a particular subject.

This book represents a compilation of lecture notes and illustrations that the author put together for his course at the University of Utah, which was titled Geology and Scenery of Utah. Not surprisingly, it was consistently among the most popular courses offered. I wish I had been among the students waiting in the classroom when Professor Stokes walked in and said, "Geology is the study of the Earth, and rocks are its basic documents. Few areas of equal size are more rocky than Utah." If you can get a copy of this wonderful book, you'll feel as if you had been in his classroom. Any reader who loves geology will be proud to own a copy of this extraordinary, wonderful book

A thorough discussion of the geology of Utah, from Precambrian to Quaternary. The state of Utah is unique in having representative strata of every era, so the book from front to back is a more or less seamless journey through time. On the way Stokes gives excellent reviews of the fossils, mineral deposits, and scenery, along with the mandatory topics on sedimentary and igneous rocks. The entire state of Utah is covered region by region as well as through time, and special attention is given to the Wasatch Range faults, hot springs, and theoretical formation. Excellent photos and exact locations are provided for most of the rock layers, so you can check out the strata yourself. Highly recommended for anyone interested in geology. And, if you're not interested, this may kindle the flame.

all titles on eco of Lake Powell should be noted there are activists seeking to REMOVE the dam! See E Magazine, Sierra Club on Dave Foreman, earth first

I love this book.

It has gorgeous and historical pictures of Glen Canyon on every page.

"Defiance House" is one of the many points mentioned- this is where ancient Anasazi Indians lived once ago. Shown are kivas, dwellings and rockart.

The historic old Lone Star House is fearured in the book.

So is Smith Fork- where there is an extensive panel of beautiful Anasazi petroglyphs.

Also shown are: old miner's cabins, old gravestones, ruins, Rainbow Bridge, Klondike Bar, Dungeon Canyon, Wild Horse Bar. Rock Creek, Last Chance Creek, Gunsight Pass, Indian Trails, The Crossing of the Fathers, Navajo Creek, Wright Bar (a wall filled with TONS of ancient old petroglyphs), Galloway Cave, Sentinel Rock, Wahweap Canyon, Tapestry Wall, Moqui Canyon, The Stanton Gold Dredge, Hall's Crossing, and much, much more!!

66 sites are talked about in great depth and detail. The pictures are just amazing!

Now that Lake Powell is in a severe drought -and its water level is decreasing rapidly-- it would be fascinating to go see and explore the historical and ancient remains that were once completely under water!

For anyone who visits Lake Powell, yet still cares about all the things flooded beneath it, this book is a must-have. The book opens with a large map of the lake, with numbers on various points of its shoreline. Turn to any of these numbers, and you'll find historic photos, great facts, and a good basic overview of what was lost beneath the lake...and what's left.
I took a six-and-half month canoe trip around Lake Powell's entire 1,960-mile shoreline, and this book was my Bible. I used it daily, and it always taught me something.
The book's author was on many of the final fact-gathering explorations that were done in Glen Canyon--before Lake Powell covered it--and he and his crews documented thousands of now-submerged ruins, artifacts, and natural wonders. Many of their finds are in this book.
"Ghosts of Glen Canyon" is not a complete record, but it doesn't profess to be. It's merely a very simple attempt to give visitors to Lake Powell a basic idea of what's beneath them. Use it with Gary Topping's very complete "Glen Canyon and the San Juan Country." Use it as a guide, and use it as a reference--it works well for both...though I've often wished it had a better index.

Pratt's memoir is one of seven in a series of frontier diaries written by women called Life Writings of Frontier Women. The two other volumes from this series I read were also by early 19th century Mormon women. Pratt's is by far the most interesting because it is not just diary entries, but a cohesive narrative of her decision to join the Mormon church and how that irrevocably effected the rest of her life. Pratt illuminates many of the hardships American pioneers faced, and the added grief of following a faith persecuted throughout its early history is eloquently portrayed in her writing.

Pratt's is a great example of both pioneer life, and the life of an American swept up in the Second Great Awakening, all the while espousing (surprisingly) women's rights and proving a great example for female self-reliance in a time when that kind of behavior was far from celebrated. An interesting and unique autobiography.

I am Louisa Barnes Pratt's great-great-great-great granddaughter and my mother gave me this book to read a while ago. It is not only inspirational but it is a fascinating description of LDS History.

This book follows a strong woman through a fascinating life filled with trials, tribulations, joys and surprises. It gives a view into the pioneer life from a, most of the time, single mother's perspective. Louisa Barnes Pratt is a testament to her faith in God and her will to follow her convictions and beliefs at any cost. I would recommend this book to anybody interested in history and women's issues!

It is so often sadly the case when so many die at the same time, the impact of each individual death becomes less and less, until it becomes nothing more than padding for statistics, completely stripped of its human element. "House of Mourning: A Biocultural History of the Mountain Meadows Massacre" seeks to remedy this horrifying effect by turning a more personal look at the victims of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre, where 120 men, women, and children were senselessly executed by Mormon militiamen. Going over each individual, and using whatever evidence she could, author and professor of Anthropology Shannon Novak does her best to give each of the hundred twenty unfortunate souls justice to not just be lost in the sands of time as simply a one of a number. "House of Mourning: A Biocultural History of the Mountain Meadows Massacre" is a highly recommended addition to academic and community library Anthropology, American History, and Utah History reference shelves and supplemental reading lists.

"House of Mourning", stands alone among all other literature previously published about the tragedy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Shannon A. Novak, an anthropologist with impeccable credentials, allows the bones of the Arkansas victims to speak for themselves. This book makes no attempt to assign blame or identify motive for the murders but brings together information from oral interviews, primary record sources and other works on the MMM with the analysis of victims' skeletal remains. Novak's work gives a clearer picture of the victims and their lifestyle in the Arkansas Ozarks. The reader meets the interconnected families through Federal Census reports and family records and hears the victims' voices through the medium of scientific data. One can almost see their faces as they set forth for a new life in California, only to meet a horrible death in a formerly peaceful meadow in Southern Utah.

After studying this event for more than twenty-five years, it is exciting to find a work that focuses on the victims and exactly who they were.

Novak's work was a long time in the writing, but it was worth the wait. A very well-researched and well-written book, giving both the history of the people and the communities they left behind for their journey west.

I was impressed by the detailed research into their backgrounds and relationships.

A book like this could have easily become a dense tome of numbers, a work that was a struggle to read. But Shannon Novak has penned a very readable work accessible to a wide audience, while still presenting her data and ample footnotes; the bibiography alone is a useful tool for historians of the western trails, the Mountain Meadows Massacre or Mormon history.

I just ordered a copy to keep in my personal library...

Knowing the history of the exploration of this magnificent park makes me even more anxious to visit this beautiful country. After reading this book, when I visit YSNP, I will focus on a time long ago, when all the modern conveniences were not there. It is a great book to have read to get some of the background knowledge of this area, before you go out and explore yourself!

Today, being lost in Yellowstone National Park is as simple as turning on the wrong road after you lost your complimentary map or you can not locate the restroom in the Old Faithful complex. For Truman Everts, being lost in Yellowstone was a struggle between life and death. Everts's account details his 1870 adventure in Yellowstone after finding himself separated from his travelling companions. The separation began Everts's thirty-seven day struggle for survival in a pre-developed Yellowstone in which Everts had to find what little food and shelter he could just to survive. Readers will find this account to be a real-life struggle for survival reminiscent of Jack London's fictional work. The editor, Lee Whittlesey, does a superb job of editing Everts's story by providing the reader with additional information and the historical background of the book. The work is also illustrated with many early day photographs of Yellowstone which provides an stunning visual account of early-day Yellowstone National Park. This book will be appreciated by anyone looking for an exciting true-life adventure story as well as historians of the American West. People who have been "lost" recently in Yellowstone will also appreciate the book, even if their modern-day adventure pales in comparison to Evert's

Besides being one of those - Why haven't I heard of this story before? - adventure stories, this book offers a great opportunity to further enhance the Yellowstone experience.

I read this book while staying in a ranch outside Yellowstone National Park. As luck would have it, our first day of "touring" the park via automobile closely paralleled Truman's path, and I managed to read this story aloud to the kids later that night, in front of a big cast iron stove, while Clark's Fork gurgled 30 feet from the door. I'm not sure if it was the story or the setting, but they were captivated! They were able to tie Truman's adventures in with many of the places we had been earlier that day, and it gave them an entirely different perspective of the park. In addition to bringing the book to life (again - what a story!), it contributed immensely to their appreciation of Truman's ordeal, the magnitude of the park and the wilderness that lies 100 yards off the main roads... Highly recommended.