Arizona Books

Every now and again a book is destined to become a classic. This is such a book. To describe this reference book as monumental is not using too strong a word. This is indeed a singular effort to provide scholars, collectors and interested readers with a must-have resource to understanding the origins and intricacies of some sought-after works of art.
For centuries collectors have coveted the hand-woven blankets, sarapes and ponchos of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Spanish American artists of the Southwest.
Indeed, the popularity of these objects is increasing, as evidenced by the long line of cars and attendant crowds gathering in the high school auditorium in Crownpoint,N.M., on the third Friday of every month.
Collectors, buyers and speculators meet at the school to examine hundreds of handmade rugs created by native artists. These would-be buyers vie for the sought-after items in a high-speed auction. These monthly sales are testimony to the never-ending popularity of Southwestern textiles.
As for this book, where to begin?
The author became the first curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum in 1953. He remained at that post until his retirement in 1986, and later became interested in the history of Southwestern textile development.
His exhaustive research led him to visit dozens of museums and painstakingly study thousands of 19th century textiles. He supervised chemical tests of dyes from hundreds of yarns and spent years conducting research in both renowned and obscure archives in an effort to document the material and basis for textile development.
His work resulted in a classification scheme for Southwestern textiles that established a baseline for understanding, identifying and dating items of unknown origin. This book is the result of that research and will be the standard by which all future efforts will be judged.
The book contains 115 black and white figures, line drawings that demonstrate weaving techniques, edge finishes and corner tassels as well as 191 gorgeous color plates that enable the reader to visually determine the distinct traits of the three textile traditions of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Spanish-American blanket weaving art.
There are chapters dealing with fibers, yarns, dyes, fabric structure, tools, weaves and finishing techniques as well as 97 pages of appendix, chapter notes and an index.
This is a monunmental work that will appeal to scholars, collectors and general readers with an interest in the history of this Southwestern art form.

Luci Tapahonso delivers another beautiful collection of poems and stories centered around her Navajo culture. Like most of her works, her emphasis is on family and community, and on the ties that bind us invisibly and lovingly to each other and to our homeland. The stories and poems are at times touching and funny, revealing the human being behind the sorrows and joys of everyday living. If you like happy endings, family values, and good old-fashioned heartfelt love, this will become your favorite book. It is at once beautiful and familiar -- these are your experiences and emotions as much as the poet's, whether you are a Navajo or not. Don't skip "In Praise of Texas," in which the narrator reflects the thinnest hopes and dreams which live in all of us, and which "blossom without any urging on our part" (13)

This is a double book written by one of Arizona's greatest ranchers. Set in Northern Mexico in the 1930's and Northern Arizona in the 1940's, it tells of some of the great old ranches. Some of these old Cowpunchers are still around after all these years! A great read.

I read this book a while ago. I read alot and especially on spiritual topics. I had read Children's Past Lives a long time ago and then I just read Return From Heaven - both by Carol Bowman and she had mentioned this doctor and her book.

It is a wonderful book! Gladys McGarey doesn't condone abortion but is sensitive to a women's feelings on the subject and has different ideas to consider. I remember wishing that I had read this book before I had my abortion many years ago. Talking to your baby's spirit is such a beautiful idea! And perhaps I would have gone a different path with more insight!

Gladys McGarey's experiences through her practice shed a whole new light on a very tender subject - abortion. This was not the only thing that she writes about in her book. Her whole spiritually on children is a very positive read!

I will loan out my copy to my friends and family who are having a baby. I believe her ideas round out other ideas nicely.

The Bounty Hunter's Daughter is an incredible book and I didn't want it to end. Delphinia Estes is a strong heroine, with all the odds against her. What I thought at first would be a basic revenge western, became an intricately plotted novel, that keeps unfolding all kinds of hidden secrets. Phyllis de la Garza is an amazing, gifted writer. A classic western novel!

This is not only a beautiful hard bound book (with very nice high quality matching black dust cover) for the hunter's library; it is a great bowhunting reference tool. The book has nearly a dozen stories by successful Arizona bowhunters and state record holders, a listing of the current Arizona bowhunting records for all species, and numerous very helpful charts, tables and graphs. The charts, tables and graphs show exactly which hunting units have produced the most record entries on a species by species comparison. Additionally, various graphs and charts show (by species) the most successful times of day to hunt, best hunting methods for each species, and average shot distances based upon all of the record entries in the book. You could not find a better source of this type of information for the would-be Arizona bowhunter!

Anyone wanting to know more about the history of the Grand Canyon and river running in general will love this book. The Kolb brothers are truly amazing people. Their courage, vision and entreprenurial skills made them unique individuals in the history of the Grand Canyon. The writing style is sometimes difficult to get through it is well worth your time because of the wonderful history it reveals.

If you are ever on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, take time to visit their studio. It is like taking a walk back in time. Also, I highly recommend seeding the video they shot of their riving running exploits. Although it is very grainy you still get an idea of what an accomplishment it was to both run the river and make a film of doing so. Lots of fun!!

Incredible story of a difficult struggle to gather support for the creation of our national forests. I learned that people don't change. It is ironic that the book covers how over 100 years ago, many miners, land developers were so violently opposed to any land being protected-I see the same thing happening today with sprawl.

A MUST READ. It made me really feel fortunate that we have our national forests to enjoy because we almost didn't. I had trouble putting this book down. It is very long, but oh so good if you have any interest in conservation.

This Author was my Grandfather and it was wonderful to see his work. I love Amazon for the fact you can find obscure written works. Isn't the internet grand?
Very interesting book. Arthur Woodward was a Historian, Anthropologist & archeaologist. He was the Curator for the Los Angeles County Museum for 25 years. He lived his retirement years (although he never truly retired)in Arizona. His studies & specialty was Southwestern American Indians and the Anthropology of the relations between the Native Americans and the people emmigrating to the Southwest United States and Mexico.
He was a brilliant man and foremost in his field. The book is a gem. Thanks Amazon.

I really enjoyed the book. There were many photos, and they were over a long period of time. I found the book to be accurate as I was born in Buckeye in 1938 and lived there through high school graduation in 1956. I have visited my family,the Narramores, many times through the years and the book brought back many fond memories. It serves as a good history to the new comer.