Nevada Books

Hart Wegner's collection of short stories, 'Off Paradise' covers familiar ground (exile, loss of identity) with a new twist. These well-crafted stories center around Martin, middle-aged German immigrant to the United States who struggles to come to terms with his past and future. An self-proclaimed 'exile' from the province of Silesia, Martin wanders between worlds: the glitzy and superficial realm of his adopted home, Las Vegas and that of his cherished birthplace, draped in the veil of nostalgia. After WWII, the mixed territory of Silesia was given to Poland; its German inhabitants were forced into exile. Many chose Germany, while others the new world. Martin's parents opted for the later, giving up Europe and its secure walls of tradition and continuity for the boundless horizons of the American West.

Caught between cultures, Martin must walk a delicate tight rope. His dying parents dredge up bittersweet memories of a world they had to escape, a world which Martin longs to recover. Imprisoned amidst the subdivisions, car parks and strip malls of the American city, Martin feels like the odd phantom, alive, but not quite. No longer European, and never to become fully American, Martin finds solace in the company of other strangers, fellow exiles from the old country. Martin's closest companion---never quite clear just how close---is Ala, an elderly friend of the family who keeps Martin's 'Silesian' identity alive with her bitter memories...the advance of the Russians, the panic-ridden escape to the west and Auschwitz, where Ala survived a short tour of hell. The third party to Martin's world is Jozefa, his neighbor both in the old world and in the new. She is Polish and Catholic, Martin, German and Lutheran, silent enemies from the past who support each other in their common alienation.

Wegner's stories flow together like one long journey into a rememberance of things past, together with their painful comparison with things present. Wegner is at his best when he concentrates on the small details: Martin's mother making dishes from the old country that don't taste like they should. Something's missing. Something that Martin strives to recapture, a taste of the past which will provide identity and belonging.

Rare is the writer who can competently master a language not his/her own. Wegner has attainted that mastery. His raw, unadorned prose mirrors both the openness of the new world and the density of the old. Often times a bit heavy, his sentences are melancholy, but never maudlin. The exile's loneliness and confusion is always stark and severe. But Martin's touching memories prevent 'Off Paradise' from being a collection of dreary dirges of isolation. With his sympathetic characters and lyrical style, Wegner repaints Thomas Wolfe's trademark, 'you can't go home again,' with a palette of refreshing colors.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (1/07)

Brent Harold and nine of his friends buy a piece of the Sierra Nevada in 1968. The ten friends buy twenty acres of undeveloped land surrounded by national forest high in California's gorgeous Sierra Nevada range. They picture themselves in a gathering for reunions. The land was to be a link that would always bond them together. It was an ideal, a fantasy to keep them youthful. But they each grew up, found jobs, started families and grew apart. The land lay undeveloped four decades later. However, for Brent Harold the land remained a passion. Brent moved to the east coast but still dreamed of yearly journeys to the Sierra.

We all have dreams; we place something on a pedestal and think that if we own it all will be perfect. But the question is what are we willing to sacrifice to possess it? Brent spent his life idolizing a piece of land. This book is about more than owning a land or about a young man's dream. This book is about growing up, moving on in priorities. The land is a look at life and the tragedy of if moving onward.

Brent Harold is a talented author. He retells his story as a memoir. He seems to be looking deep inside himself and sharing retrospect with his readers. The cover is interesting but not bold. I particularly enjoyed the title and subtitle. The plot flows smoothly telling of Brent and his friend's idyllic dream through the heartache his obsession brings him. I recommend "Owning the Sierra Nevada" to those that enjoy reading non-fiction and autobiographies.

What, no reviews for the classic "Pathways in the Sky"?? It's a photo history of the building and use of the John Muir Trail. Most photos are from a trip the author took in the 60s. The trip was done by stock (horses and mules). There's a faint hint that anyone who walks is slightly crazy. But it's a fun book and a reminder that the Sierra doesn't change that much -- the photos from almost 50 years ago look much like the same areas today. Also gives a good appreciation of what it took to build the trail. Worth a few bucks for people interested in the Sierra.

I had a hard time putting this book down, although I seldom read non-fiction. The case studies were very interesting, and I felt the book gave a good feel for life in the desert.

Chaz Higgs who was a respected nurse in Las Vegas is now serving a 20 year sentence for poisoning his wife, Kathy Augustine. Unlike other cases of killing spouses, Chaz is the fourth husband of Kathy Augustine, a power hungry politician in Nevada. The book does not paint the murdered victim as the devoted wife but rather jealous, posessive, and obsessed wife. I do feel sorry for Kathy since she didn't deserve her fate even if I felt that she was never going to let Chaz go. She doesn't get dumped but does the dumping. Even her previous husband was prepared to divorce her but died three years earlier. Sadly, Kathy's relationships with men, women, and even her own daughter are not idealistic. I felt that Carlton Smith, the author, should have just explained that her daughter, Dallas Voss Augustine, is a lesbian rather than just hint at it. I would have liked to have known the family's response to Dallas' alternative lifestyle as the author puts it. Dallas and her mother were not very close but not just for that reason since Kathy was a staunch Catholic Republican. Dallas and her stepfather, Chaz, became close because they could share their dysfunctional relationships with Kathy. Dallas was obviously disregarded in favor of Kathy's career. Dallas lost the mother that she never had in the first place. According to reports, Kathy was quite cruel and critical of her only child. When Chuck Augustine died, he adopted Dallas and her as his own child. The obituary read survived by three sons. Obviously, it must have hurt Dallas the most. Kathy was too busy with her future fourth husband and raised family suspicions. Kathy was always trying to achieve and satisfy her ego and lifestyle. With the power as state treasurer in Nevada, she was the only impeached politician to remain in office until her term was completed. She was ostracized by the politicians. Of course, Kathy had mistreated her own employees and ordered them to campaign for her on the state job. This violated state laws and she was admonished for her behavior. She created an unhealthy and hostile work environment for her employees even being heartless when one of her employees had to go home to take care of her diabetic cat. After reading the book last night, I began to see how complicated the situation for Chaz was in. He was in a hellish marriage with a demanding, dominating wife. He wanted out but nobody dumps Kathy Augustine. He probably felt that he had no choice but to do it. In the end, the jury gave him the lightest sentence of 20 years before parole. As for the rest of the people involved including Dallas who has her own troubles, I wonder what happened to them. Sadly, Kathy never found satisfaction in any of her achievements which were grand and took it out on people who were closest to her.

This book is a relatively short (~80 pages) paperback book on the history of the Virginia and Truckee Railway. It is also the story of the rebirth of the railroad from an abandoned line with only a name to a fully operating tourist line in Nevada.

The book is well written and split into two parts. The beginning is a fairly short summary of the original railroad; where it went, how it started, and how it died. The second part chronicles the work of one individual as he worked to rebuild a ghost railroad into a going tourist operation.

The book is filled with photos from the original line and the now tourist short line. It's a nice, quick read and is designed as a book to be sold to tourists who take the train. While not a detailed study or history of the line, it is a good book for some quick history.

There are a lot of resources out there for travelers who enjoy staying at bed and breakfasts and inns. A quick look at most guides that cover the Rocky Mountains reveals a near endless list. This book is particularly helpful in its selection. You won't find every inn in this book, but every inn you find is worth the trip. Hopefully The Globe Pequot Press will be coming out with the eighth edition soon--after ten years a lot of these places have either closed or changed hands.

Join Pony Express rider Johnny Free and his pony JennySoo as they deliver the mail. This picture book tells the story of a nights ride where Johnny and JennySoo meet up with seven Paiute warriors. Read this book to find out how they escape them.

The oil paintings in the book were really pretty. I like the story. It kept the readers attention and kept you wondering what was going to happen nest.

We recommend this book to for adult and children to share together to learn more about the Pony Express. It's a great history lesson. The story it's self is fiction but on the last page the author gives us some background on the real Pony Express.

Michael Allen is a folklorist and a rodeo fan. He's a Westerner, born and raised in Ellensburg in central Washington. When this book was published, he was on the faculty of the University of Washington -- probably still is. I say all this because his book is first of all an academic discussion of his subject. It's based on extensive reading and field research, and the analysis tackles a broad range of topics that comprise the discourse among a couple generations of folklorists who've focused on the culture of western Americana. In other words, while Allen clearly enjoys his subject, he's making arguments directed at fellow professionals who represent different points of view. Because of this, there's a steady flow of documentation, with plenty of footnotes. For the casual reader, all this may get a little heavy-going at times.

Allen covers many facets of his subject -- starting with the history of rodeo and looking at the rodeo cowboy as portrayed in movies and TV, folklore, literature, art, and country music. He also has a chapter on what he calls "rainbow rodeo riders" -- that is, minorities, such as Native Americans, African-Americans, women, gays and lesbians. There's also a glossary of rodeo cowboy lingo and a long annotated bibliography in the form of an essay.

Allen's argument rests on a couple of ideas that he acknowledges are debatable. The first is that "real cowboys" (as they existed over 100 years ago out on the unfenced Plains) are for the most part a thing of the past. Today, the role of the "real cowboy" is left to the rodeo cowboy, and (this is where I'd take exception) Allen pretty much ignores the host of working cowboys who still make a living on ranches in a dozen or more western states. But I'm not a folklorist, so that's just my nonprofessional opinion.

The other idea is that the rodeo cowboy represents a "contemporary ancestor" for modern-day Americans. He harks back to the American frontier of our imagination. In his risk-defiant, untamed, wandering, individualistic behavior, he represents what fans regard as essentially American in themselves. In other words, he's mythic -- he represents our deepest values and connects us with our past. These values are embraced by the Cowboy Code, which is an unwritten set of behavioral guidelines all men must aspire to if they are to be accepted into the elite fraternity of "real cowboys." Dating from cowboy culture as it took form in the 19th century, the Code survives today, apparently stronger than ever among the men who rodeo.

The irony is that Allen also reveals the dark side of the myth and the Code, for both thrive on a kind of extreme libertarianism that can be anti-social, intolerant, and misogynistic. While the cowboy with his six-gun "tamed" the West (in popular fiction and movies, at least), the archetypal cowboy is untamable himself. While that's part of his appeal (and there are popular outlaw cowboys aplenty, e.g., Billy the Kid), it also exposes the rodeo cowboy's unsavory side. Allen may not intend this, but this casts a shadow over his argument.

For all my reservations, I recommend this book. It's so full of ideas and ranges across more rodeo cowboy literature than I ever imagined existed. He's added several titles to my reading list. As companion volumes, I'd recommend Baxter Black's hilarious rodeo novel, "Hey, Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky?" A great book of essays and rodeo photography can be found in Bob St. John's "On Down the Road," full of interviews with rodeo stars circa 1975. For a good recent rodeo movie, there's "Cowboy Up!" about bullriders. Let 'er buck!

Nice guide with good content. Well organized, but there could me ,more pictures or mapsin the guide.