In the course of a year we see dozens of books by Southern Arizona Authors, and the literary output of our fellow desert dwellers never fails to surprise and delight us. It’s a pleasure to be able to tell you about them: to that end we offer a list of 10 titles that the reviewers found especially noteworthy in 2023.
“Morgan (A Lyric)” by Boyer Rickel. Cold Line Press. 85 pages. $10 paperback.
At the end of his life, devastated by cystic fibrosis, 31-year-old poet Morgan Lucas Schuldt turned to his older, secret lover, poet Boyer Rickel, and said that it was “time you write about us.” The result is this rich collage of poetry, reflections, memories, images and metaphor — but also painful, gruesome killings from the The Iliad, Schuldt’s end-of-life physical indignities, and Schuldt’s casual ambivalence to his lover’s devotion. It masterfully and beautifully illuminates the lovers’ relationship. — Christine Wald-Hopkins
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“A Southern Story: Family and Race, ca. 1650 – 2021” by Sterling Vinson. Resource Publications. 86 pages. $14.
“Really,” writes archeologist and retired Pima Community College instructor Sterling Vinson, “the United States can never come to terms with its racism until it admits that the South won the war with Union help.” Further, despite a history of social programs and legislative acts, “America can take strong action for a short time,” he writes, “but is unwilling to make the sustained effort required to eliminate racism.” It’s complicated. A product of white Arkansas privilege, descendant of American colonists, but a current ACLU and border activist, Vinson has produced a valuable and relatable compendium of family stories, history and personal reflection that examines that complication. — Christine Wald-Hopkins
“The Walsingham Gambit: Deception, Entrapment, and Execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots” by R. Kent Tiernan. Lexington Books. 268 pages. $105 hardback; available in Kindle.
The difference between American political clowns of the MTG and Santos ilk and 16th-century conspirators against Mary, Queen of Scots, is that our clowns produce no results. Not so, the Elizabethans. According to former intelligence expert and Air Force Academy history professor R. Kent Tiernan, the psychological, devious, secretive, patient machinations of Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary of State, Sir Francis Walsingham, and her Lord High Treasurer, William Cecil, created a brilliant intelligence and counterintelligence network that made Mary’s demise inevitable. Scrupulously researched, but presented with aids to the lay reader, it’s fascinating, actually. Machiavellian, definitely. Shakespearean, nearly. — Christine Wald-Hopkins
“The Sky at Night: Easy Enjoyment from Your Backyard” by Tim B. Hunter. University of Arizona Press. 208 pages. $22.95; Kindle $19.37.
Tim Hunter, the Arizona Daily Star’s “Sky Spy” columnist, has been enlightening Southern Arizonans about all things astronomical since 2007. In this excellent book, Hunter has collected information from more than 750 columns and the result is a font of celestial knowledge, thoughtfully arranged into subject areas, illustrated and indexed. The moon, planets, stars and constellations each get a chapter filled with how-tos for identification, important terminology and useful aids for observation, presented in accessible language in the spirit of “science for the rest of us.” It’s a boon to amateur astronomers and indeed, to anyone who’s ever looked up at the night sky with wonder. — Helene Woodhams
“Rim to River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona” by Tom Zoellner. University of Arizona Press, 376 pages. $24.95; $9.99 Kindle.
To “come to terms” with his native state, fifth generation Arizonan Tom Zoellner hiked the 790-mile Arizona Trail from Utah to the Arizona Ranch —Arizona’s nominal birthplace — just south of the border in Sonora, Mexico. He writes about it in this seamlessly choreographed volume, gracefully interweaving the account of his trek — simultaneously breathtaking and arduous — with smart, often eyebrow-raising, and consistently intriguing essays. A former reporter for the Arizona Republic, Zoellner has a deep understanding of the history, culture and curiously crazy politics of the state; it’s a land of contradictions which he addresses with keen insight and an uncanny knack for pitch-perfect anecdotes. This isn’t just food for thought: it’s a veritable banquet. — Helene Woodhams
“Picturing Sabino: A Photographic History of a Southwestern Canyon (Southwest Center Series)” by David Wentworth Lazaroff. University of Arizona Press. 456 pages. $21.10, $19.95 Kindle.
This enthralling compendium of photographs, brilliantly curated by Tucson writer and photographer David Wentworth Lazaroff, examines the evolution of Sabino Canyon from 1880 to 1985, chronicling how Tucsonans “discovered” the iconic desert oasis and interacted with it over the decades as it became a well-loved recreational area. An appendix of the photographs includes estimated latitude and longitude of the original camera positions — with GPS in hand, readers can take in the current view from the point where the photographer stood. Lazaroff’s easy familiarity with his subject, his scrupulous research and his lively narrative make this a book to savor, and a welcome addition to any Southwest library. — Helene Woodhams
“Ira Hayes: The Akimel O’odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism” by Tom Holm. Twelve (Hachette Book Group); 301 pages. $30; $14.99 Kindle.
His appearance in the iconic photo of six Marines raising the American flag during the deadly battle for Iwo Jima made Ira Hayes immortal. But Hayes hated the limelight: the young soldier knew from his Akimel O’odham upbringing that the real heroes were his fallen comrades. The sense that he was a fraud, coupled with the internalized horrors of war, posits author Tom Holm, might have contributed to his tragic demise of alcohol poisoning and hypothermia at the age of 32. The author, who is Native American and a Vietnam veteran, views Hayes’s experiences through the lens of Akimel O’odham history, traditional ceremonies and the tribe’s collective trauma from near extinction by famine. In this deeply-researched, eloquent volume, Holm treats his subject with the sensitivity and profound understanding that Hayes never received in his lifetime. It is beyond enlightening, and thoroughly moving. — Helene Woodhams
“The Time Travelers” by Richard C. Brusca. Quetzalcoatl Press. 267 pages. $12.95.
Tucson zoologist, biologist and sea and desert naturalist Richard C. Brusca tricks the reader into learning a little history, archeology, anthropology and even space-time theory in this entertaining, imaginative Mexican time-juggling novel. Split-set in Tenochtitlán (Aztec Mexico City), 1519; and Mexico City, 2026, it features the contemporary discovery of a mysterious jade and obsidian knife, which could be catalyzed to shed blood and upend the history of the world on the Day of the Dead. A grand story — from the signs that persuaded the seven Nahuatl-speaking tribes to vacate “Aztlan,” through their migrating south and constructing Tenochtitlan, to Cortez’s destruction of Aztec culture. And it’s a grand read. — Christine Wald-Hopkins
“Changing Woman: A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre” by Venetia Hobson Lewis. Bison Books (The University of Nebraska Press), 260 pages. $24.95, Kindle $10.70.
Deftly blending fiction with actual historic figures and events, the author offers a unique perspective on the Camp Grant Massacre by viewing its life-altering impact on the lives of two young women. For Valeria Obregon, the discovery of her husband’s secret role in the pre-dawn raid on an unprotected Apache encampment undermines everything she believed was true. Nest Feather, a young Apache girl kidnapped during the attack, must draw strength from the teachings of her tribe as she tries to process her family’s murder and her terrifying new circumstances. Lewis’s deeply-researched, atmospheric narrative immerses the reader in the complex cultural and political climate in 1870s Tucson, with thought-provoking results. — Helene Woodhams
“The Flying Z” by Leo W. Banks. Brash Books. 267 pages. $18.99.
Veteran Tucson travel and history writer Leo W. Banks lets a beautiful Gabriel Garcia Marquez-loving Ph.D. student slide her vintage Mustang into a ditch on the cartel-threatened, border property of handsome, “Shane”-loving rancher, Will Zachary, and what do you get? A killer Western thriller spiced with literary allusion, touched by magical realism and dogged by the question of what constitutes a man in contemporary Western society. In an effort to protect his Patagonia-area family ranch, Will had made a secret cartel arrangement that ends up risking not just their lives, but that of his beloved uncle, stricken with dementia, who nonetheless lives by the old rifle-ready cowboy code. With memorable characters, a clear fondness for the area, touch-and-go romance, and one-on-ones with bad guys, it’s a lively, entertaining read. — Christine Wald-Hopkins
Helene Woodhams is retired from Pima County Public Library, where she was literary arts librarian.
Christine Wald-Hopkins, a former high school and college English teacher and occasional essayist, has long been a book critic for national, regional and local newspapers.
If you are a Southern Arizona author and would like your book to be considered for this column, send a copy to: Sara Brown, P.O. Box 26887, Tucson, AZ, 85726-6887. Give the price and contact name. Books must have been published within a year. Authors may submit no more than one book per calendar year.
