Southwest Books of the Year
W. David Laird Picks
Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend
Serious fans of western non-fiction, novels and movies may think they know about as much as there is to know concerning the consumptive John Henry Holliday. Certainly much is known. After all, there have been a huge number of books, articles and movies about Tombstone, the Earps and such, and not all of them have been total fabrications! Roberts, however, really has read all the literature and "been over the ground" with the result that we now can be certain of the facts and knowing about the fiction. This biography should stand for decades, possibly as long as anyone cares about the OK Corral, as the definitive work on Doc. That is, at least, until some now-hidden treasure trove of new information is unearthed.
Grand Canyon: Little Things in a Big Place
Zwinger has been on many of my best-books-of-the-year lists over the decades! Although this volume is a slender offering, really an extended essay (with excellent photographic additions by Collier), her ability to write detailed, first-hand descriptions with the eloquence of fine literature makes for a reading experience the equal of any volume of natural history, no matter the size.
Inferno
There are certain words, mostly nouns and adjectives, that force themselves upon the minds of the readers of Bowden's books, words like abrasive, cataclysmic, devastating, obliterating, cathartic, damned, even soul-less. More careful thought produces other words: brilliant, enthralling, magical, sensual, thoughtful, and many, many more. This volume is about love of places, and those places are the southwestern deserts that Bowden walks through, sleeps in, wanders around and describes with such gut-wrenching accuracy that those of us who also love these deserts realize our love cannot rise to these heights nor sink to these depths. We are pikers by comparison.
Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography
It should not surprise anyone with an interest in photography that Trimble, an excellent photographer himself, is also an expert when it comes to the history of his profession as well as the aesthetics of the work of others. He begins this overview (in large format and containing more than 150 reproductions) with a brief survey of the black-and-white years (up through 1935) followed by a slightly longer study of "the middle years" (1936 - 1975) which includes such well-known photographers as Ansel Adams, David Muench and Eliot Porter. Then he gets down to the serious business of commenting upon his contemporaries, the oldest of which is Native American John Running, and includes such well-knowns as Jerry Jacka, Jack Dykinga, Tom Till, Michael Collier and even Trimble himself. Splashy, colorful, thoughtful and many other adjectives fit these images that show us a world of GC possibilities from lightning strikes and waterfalls to boiling rapids and inflated rafts. Mini-biographies, and "mug shots" of the image makers are included.
Mesa Verde National Park: The First 100 Years
Not your dry-as-dust "institutional history," this large-format (almost a foot tall, more than 13-inches deep) book is loaded with interesting photographs, both historic and contemporary. The history of the park is told in chapters dealing with what we might call the 'everyday' issues: who first visited the ruins, who built the park and when, who wrote about it first, when did the tourists begin to flock in (over 100,000 per year despite its somewhat out-of-the-way location) and so on. It’s fun just to turn the pages of this colorful presentation!
Passions in Print: Private Press Artistry in New Mexico, 1834-Present
For nearly 175 years New Mexico, and especially Santa Fe, has been a hotbed of private press printing, not all of it elegant in the rarified sense of, say, the Ashendene, the Kelmscott, or even the Grabhorn presses, but personal, original and often passionate. Editor Smith, herself a major part of New Mexico's recent history of printing as director, typesetter and general dogsbody of the Press of the Palace of the Governors, has drawn on her vast knowledge of the subject (not to mention her exquisite design sense) to create a beautiful book that is simultaneously accurate and informative.
Shape Shifter, The
Now many years retired from the Navajo Nation police force where he became known as the "legendary lieutenant," Joe Leaphorn is once again drawn into an investigation involving the FBI, this time as an ally looking into an old, unsolved case from his active days. The legions of Hillerman fans will welcome this latest addition to the series. Joe’s wistful memories of his late wife Emma provide a layer of the past that is positive, yet sad, while an old unsolved case is negative, yet provides the excitement of the chase. As usual with his Leaphorn/Chee mysteries, Hillerman gives us insights into traditional Navajo culture and beliefs, providing a rich reading experience for anyone interested in the American Southwest.
Sunshot: Peril and Wonder in the Gran Desierto
El Gran Desierto, a name to conjure with; even non-Spanish speakers can probably translate that! It is a large irregularly-shaped piece of the Sonoran Desert spanning the US-Mexico border across which the fabled Devil's Highway, so-named by the early Spanish explorers who found it daunting if not entirely unpassable. Broyles knows this piece of lovely but desolate terrain well, and he clearly loves it! After reading his beautifully written personal accounts of treks throughout the area you might also come to think it is possibly loveable. Fine black and white photographs add a dimension to the reader's understanding. This is one of the many terrific books in recent years supported for publication by Joe Wilder as director of the University of Arizona's Southwest Center.
About W. David Laird