Arizona Books

I have this book for one of my college classes, and it is really interesting to have a book that is not just a dry ethnography. I think it holds true to how it describes itself in the introduction: "We want to investigate one central and fundamental theme--the persistence of ethnic identity in the face of constant change...about groups of people who have maintained a strong sense of their own ethnic identity in the face of conquest, persecution, exile, and in some cases attempted genocide." Interesting insights and analysis. Tells of past, current issues, contact with Euro-Americans, and possible futures of these peoples. An interesting read even outside of class.

I bought this as a textbook for a class, but would highly recommend it to anyone interested in southwestern American Indian cultures.

There could hardly be a greater contrast between two men than that of George Ritchey and George Hale. Hale was a scientist, fund raiser, organizer, motivator, and extraordinarily successful at all he attempted. Ritchey was a gifted instrument maker, but a failure at human relations, organizational matters, and managed to squander most of his opportunities, particularly after he left Mt. Wilson. Osterbrock's book is the story of the great era of American astronomy dominated by the telescopes of George Ellery Hale, and Hale is necessarily prominent in its pages. However, Osterbrock tells the story, for the most part, from the perspective of the gifted mirror grinder and optician, Ritchey, who mostly received short-shrift in other documentaries of this era. Osterbrock attempts to correct some oversights of other histories which have tended to downplay Ritchey's contributions. Ritchey, for instance, was the project manager for most of the 60- and 100-inch Mt. Wilson telescope projects, and without him, arguably, these instruments would not have been the stupendous successes they were. Clearly Hale owed much to Ritchey, but after their falling out and Ritchey's subsequent firing from Mt. Wilson, Ritchey all but disappeared from American astronomy. Hale didn't overtly blackball him, but such was Hale's influence and universal respect, that if Hale didn't want to be around you, well then, nobody wanted to be around you. Ritchey spent years in France working on several telescope projects that ultimately failed, and eventually came back to the US as an old man and built the reflector for the US Navel Observatory, a 40-inch Ritchey-Chretien model. It was an exquisite instrument, but due to its location in light-polluted Washington D.C., it never realized its potential until long after Ritchey was dead and it was moved to an Arizona mountaintop.

Osterbrock points out that the Ritchey-Chretien reflector model, so ignored and disparaged during his lifetime, eventually won out and now nearly all large telescopes are built using this model.

Ritchey was a genius and well ahead of his time in many respects. It was simply his misfortune to have lived opposite the likes of George Hale, who because of money, position, and success, was able to overshadow and dominate his accomplishments. If Ritchey could have adapted to his position as optician, he could have had a sparkling career at Mt. Wilson, and later, Mt. Palomar. Instead, his hard-headedness met the immovable object of George Hale's ambition and momentum, and Ritchey ultimately lost.

Dr. Osterbrock presents an excellent behind the 'hipe' view of how large expensive telescopes were (and are!) built and who built them. Anyone interested in astronomy, engineering, and telescopes and has a desire to have a career in these areas should read this book. Osterbrock presents a reality about engineering, people and money that's true today as it was in the 20's and 30's. This book shows the result of personal styles and arrogance on techincal decisions. It also shows how easy it is to overextend your real knowledge and capability through innocent assumptions producing a disaster. Hale and Ritchey were great men in their narrow areas of expertise. The discussion of telescope mirror design and manufacture (esp. the RC system) is very interesting. A somewhat long and expensive but fasinating book written by an obvious insider.

This handy book gives excellent information on the various topics of pediatric echocardiography. The spiral bound and the weight makes it easy to bring everywhere you go. Forget about all those 300 page heavy hardcover textbooks! This book is the book for you! It contains valuable information as well as informative photographs. This book is the book for you!

So much information, all of it relevant, in so little space! The information is easy to find and clearly presented. However, the book does not teach you how to do it, only what to look for. There is only two drawbacks: the book is a bit big, and the quality of the paper is not too good. Both a pity, since you will want to bring this one along.

The definitive guide to Central Az. rockclimbing! Building on previous volumes by Jim Waugh, Greg Opland has raised the bar, and taken this guide to new heights. With development threatening many areas in this guidebook, this may well be the last chance to get the 'full scoop' on some of the best winter rockclimbing in the USA! Well written and illustrated, outlying areas have been included once again to help those with a thirst for exploration of some of the fine outlying climbing spots near the Phoenix metropolitan area. This book wins handsdown over the one sheet guides as well as the falcon press 'best of' guides.

Anxiously awaiting this authors effort on a guide to the Supersition Wilderness (if he ever does one!)

Greg Opland has raised the bar on guide book quality. Phoenix Rock II borrows information from older guides to the area, but Greg injects his own attitudes and perspectives, making this truly his own. The topo quality is second to none, a huge leap ahead of the current standard. The history included is invaluable and helps to make the text very readable. Photo quality is excellent. Makes me want to buy a ticket and go to Phoenix to climb right now!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.......... So much that I read it straight through one evening. It was difficult (IMPOSSIBLE) for me to put it down.

Bob Wolfe has a wonderful, easy-to-relate-to writing style that reminds me very much of essays written by E.B. White. Based on his life experiences while living and couducting research in rural Alaska, the book is "down to earth," very much like a conversation with him; familiar, witty, funny and from the heart.

I'll read this one again.

Robert Wolfe's Playing With Fish is a must read! This beautifully written collection of essays is seamlessly tied together through the sensitive, thoughtful, and entertaining voice of the author. Reminiscent of Edward Abbey's works, this book discusses the profound connections and relations between man and nature in an ever-industrializing world, and the significance of culture within it. One of the best books I own! As a cultural anthropologist and a lover of stories, I heartily recommend this book!!

I found this book very enlightening. I learned a lot about a group of people I knew little about. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know the truth about the society in Colorado City/Hildale. The author is not interested in sensationalism, but in reporting the truth. I moved to an area just south of these twin towns - found the people interesting and the book helps me to understand them better. They do have tv's, computers, etc. in spite of their commands otherwise - and they have vehicles and modern conveniences. They just dress like pioneers. Great book!

I feel bad for what the women have to go through in Colorado City. They are force to marrie, even when their under age. Men are having mulitple wives and dozens of children. The people over their were clothes from and old century, theirs no entertainment for them to enjoy like television, radio, computers nothing. A person from the outside world comes in at night and get the girls out of that city to live a normal. They were talking about polygamisty on Opera and Dr. Phil. Why won't lazy George Bush do something about this.

The most important thing to keep in mind when picking up this book is that it is a "collaborative ethnography." While reading you will get the feeling that this is not a solo project, but one undertaken by a whole community. A community made up of people who express themselves in different fashions, but are still working towards a common goal. It is obvious that this is a very personal work and Lassiter reveals much of himself to the reader which only reinforces the value and importance of song. "Power of Kiowa Song" is very readable and will interest those from various backgrounds. Academics as well as the casual reader will all learn something. Highly recommended.

From beginning to end, this wonderful blend of ethnographic information and personal experiences pulls the reader into the community, into the heart of the Kiowa people and definitely, into the song. For the academic and general reader, through the telling of personal experiences, this book offers an insight into the people and the thread of song and dance that holds them together as a community. Having had the privilege of singing many times with Dr. Lassiter, this book was just one more song well sung. Thank you, Eric, now, lead out another good one.

With nearly a thousand pages of information, nearly seventy black and white photos, and hundreds of line drawings, Protostars and Planets V is a winning selection for any serious college-level holding strong in astronomy. It's the newest volume in the Space Science Series and contains articles from over two hundred contributing professionals, building on the latest advances in astronomy and providing fine cross-disciplinary approaches to the genre. From how stars form and different formations to issues of life in the universe, astronomy students receive an exceptional, in-depth coverage.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The Protostars and Planets V conference was held on the big island of Hawaii on October 24-28, 2005. The conference attracted 805 participants, half of which were from 30 countries outside the United States. This conference, which is held every half dozen years or so, is times so that very substantial progress in a field can be made.

This book, which contains some 58 chapters which correspond to the talks given at the conference and together they represent the state of the art in our present understanding of star and planet formation, young stars, and the early solar system.

Among the major strides made between IV and V include:

. The number of extra solar planets has grown by a factor of 10.
Multiple plants being discovered around some suns.
.New submillimeter detectors.
.Sophisticated numerical simulations on ever-more-powerful computers.
.X-Ray studies of star-forming regions.
.Brown dwarfs has now become part of mainstream astrophysics.
.Much new research into comets and the Kuiper belt.
.Refined dating techniques that established an age of our solar system of 4567 million years.

THE SAGA OF JACK DURANT is a vibrant, well-researched bio of an intriguing character who typifies the wild-west, sometimes shady, personalities who made their mark in Phoenix. The author cleverly weaves her in-depth research into a lively narrative that gives the reader a feeling of bearing witness to Durant's rather scandalous life. A terrific read!

Nancy E. Albert

Fascinating reading about Jack Durant, a suave mobster gone straight. His cover-up was so smooth, he became a beloved restauranteur in Phoenix. Who could have guessed that petite Mabel Leo, a newspaper and magazine feature writer, could uncover his past. Crime buffs won't quit until they, too, know about his alias', wives, links to Bugsy Siegel and FBI records. This sleuth book has everything and it's real!

Sedona Davis, author of suspense/romance Concha

Joy Harjo is a multi-talented artist - poetry and music (with Poetic Justice) available. Here she has paired her words to Stephen Strom's photographs. His photographs of landscapes have an unusual and very effective use of colors ... many reminding me of the softness of watercolor or pastels.

Joy Harjo has provided text - somewhere between prose and prose poems - that engage the accompanying photographs to create a mythic sense. For example a photo of rose-tinted desert sand with no sky (Overlook west of Tuba City)is accompanied by "Two sisters meet on horseback. They gossip: a cousin eloped with someone's husband, twins were born to his wife. One is headed toward Tsaile, and the other to Round Rock. Their horses are rose sand, with manes of ashy rock."

An excellent book.

Nowhere have I read poetry that so completely encompasses the Native American view of the connectedness of all things. Harjo's writings, coupled with Steven Strom's photography of "Indian country" make this a book that I read over and over, each time drawing something new. It is one of the only books I've ever read that convinces me that language is "alive", as alive as we are, as alive as the shoulder bone of a mountian, as alive as a comet which streaks its way across the sky. It is my favorite book. Period.