“Dude Ranching in Arizona” by Russell True
“Circle Z Guest Ranch” by Gail Waechter Corkill
Tighten your stampede string and ride back to the glamorous, gritty life of yesteryear with these two Images of America offerings from Arcadia Publishing.
Filled with archived photos and facts, “Dude Ranching in Arizona” ($21.99) by Russell True is a loving tribute to Arizona’s historic guest ranches. Lured by two of Arizona’s five C’s, climate and cattle, and seduced by the romanticized West, “dudes” experienced a taste of the cowboy way and drove the state’s early tourism industry. At one time, there were over 100 ranches in the Tucson area alone. For decades Wickenburg and Tucson competed for “Dude Ranch Capital of the World” until fluctuating economies and invasive urban growth forced many ranches to close. But, anytime you get a hankering for a taste of life on the range, the West still lives at two remaining ranches flanking Tucson — the Tanque Verde Ranch to the east and White Stallion Ranch – co-owned by True — on the Northwest side
Just 15 miles from the border, the West endures at the Circle Z, which Gail Waechter Corkill chronicles in “Circle Z Guest Ranch” ($24.99). Located near the town of Patagonia, this venerable institution boasts of being the longest continuing guest ranch in Arizona and, since the mid-1920s, guests have enjoyed its old-time hospitality in the beautiful Sonoita Valley. In addition, the Circle Z is renowned for its horse program. Corkill devotes a section of the book to the ranches’ foundation stallion, EL Sultan — the only purebred Spanish Carthusian in the United States at the time. The stud, possessing the ideal combination of brawn and brains, was exhibited throughout Southern Arizona. On occasion, he even packed a dude out on the trail. In addition to trail rides, guests participated in rodeos, gymkhanas, cattle drives and branding, and (gasp) polo.
Corkill gathered extensive resources from the ranch’s owners and area locals, including a photo of guests relaxing at the Wagon Wheel Saloon, still a popular watering hole after a day in the saddle. Corkill is the co-author of “Empire Ranch,” another in the Images of America series.
— Vicki Ann Duraine
“The Clay Endures” by Sharon K. Miller (Sharon K. Miller, $14.99)
Sharon K. Miller sets this second-in-the-Clay Series novel in 1860’s Southern Arizona — most of it in what’s now Catalina State Park. She imagines the life of a young couple homesteading where real-life Francisco and Victoriana Romero lived (now the Romero Ruin). In “The Clay Endures,” Armando Ramirez defies his Spanish parents to follow his dream to marry Papago Esperanza Ocoboa and start his own ranch. Although reluctant to go so far from her Tubac-area family, Esperanza agrees to what will become an isolated, dangerous existence: Apaches are harassing ranchers and stealing cattle, and they are far from help. Often alone, Esperanza takes comfort in her dog, an ancient pot (into which Miller weaves a spiritual connection), and a mysterious, watchful Apache.
— Christine Wald-Hopkins
“The Crossleaf Blades” by John Wallace (Page Publishing, $26.95)
Tucsonan John Wallace has issued himself no mean challenge with his first novel: set the powers of good against the powers of evil and array the forces of the fantasy world to join in. Reminiscent of another series we’re familiar with, one of the kingdoms of men allies with the land of the dwarves to oppose an ominous threat from malevolent, supernatural beings. In “The Crossleaf Blades,” the Brotherhood of the Eternal Light taps Nolvanian Captain Erik Steiner and Dwarven Aleed Ravenwing — both bearers of special “crossleaf” weapons — to accompany a small girl they call Hope to confront the evil Lord Nakaret. Meanwhile, Nakaret’s armies of the Undead are marching on the Nolvarians and Dwarves, and they scramble to recruit nearby kingdoms to save them all. Against the stinking Undead army — constantly replenishing its numbers from any dead — assisted by legions of ogres and scorpion-tailed skeletons, the kingdoms of the coalition, led by young Fenlander Aldric, have their work cut out for them. A satisfactory conclusion is reached, but Wallace has presented imaginatively and elaborately constructed settings and mythologies in this 600-plus page work, and he clearly has at least one sequel in mind.
— Christine Wald-Hopkins
“Cracks in the Wall” by Duke Southard (Duke Southard, $13.95)
On the Friday afternoon before Mother’s Day, a woman reluctantly packs up her three children to spend the weekend with her abusive, soon-to-be ex-, husband. She won’t make it alive to miss the pancakes in bed. In “Cracks in the Wall,” Tucsonan Duke Southard sets a murder investigation in quiet Hampton Village, Connecticut, and reprises retired Philadelphia police detective Parker Havenot to pick at cracks in what other investigators see as a clear-cut indictment.
— Christine Wald-Hopkins
“Of This New World” by Allegra Hyde (University of Iowa Press, $16)
When Bennett Sims awarded this story collection the 2016 University of Iowa John Simmons Short Fiction Awards, he called it “smart, stylish, and surprising … an innovative compendium of paradise lost.” I’d add to that “lyrical, poignant, and imaginative; of paradise never quite attained.” Central to “Of This New World,” is the notion of utopia, which author Allegra Hyde reminds us can be translated as both as “good place” and “no place” — possibly existing only in one’s mind. Written when Hyde was doing her MFA at Arizona State, the book plays with situations and characters as disparate and different as Adam and Eve out of Eden and fraudulent colonizers on Mars. It’s a short fiction-lover’s delight.
— Christine Wald-Hopkins
“The Other Side of Courage: The Saga of Elizabeth Blackwell” By Robert Nordmeyer (CyPress Publications. $17.95 paper; Kindle edition $4.99)
As a young woman Elizabeth Blackwell’s gentle, caring ways were appreciated by an ailing friend who despaired of the indifferent treatment she was receiving from the exclusively male medical profession. Blackwell’s compassion, combined with her keen intellect, would make her the perfect physician her friend observed, and she owed it to the fair sex to become a doctor. It was Blackwell’s sex, however, that made this aspiration a non-starter in mid-19th century America. Women had no place in surgeries and operating theaters and Blackwell’s interest in medicine was considered scandalous immoral and aberrant. She was determined and fearless, though, and ultimately prevailed. In 1847 she entered the Medical College of Geneva, NY (on the current site of Hobart & William Smith Colleges). It was the only institution that would accept her. She graduated at the head of her class.
Blackwell may have scandalized her neighbors and classmates, but she is clearly much admired by author Robert Nordmeyer. He offers a well-researched, fictionalized account of America’s first female doctor, beginning with the business reverses that prompted her family’s move from England and following her through her ground-breaking career. His deft portrayal provides insight into the indomitable spirit of a woman who bore endless ill-treatment and ostracism and ultimately triumphed with the establishment of a clinic for poor women and children. Nordmeyer, who is retired from a career working in broadcast and for nonprofits, lives in Tucson.
— Helene Woodhams
“The Family That Wasn’t” By Gene Twaronite (iUniverse. $11.95)
The much-hyphenated John Boggle (an acronym for his actual, multiple names) can’t deal with his extended, dysfunctional family any longer — each relative is crazier and more oppressive than the next, beginning with his grandmother who was devoured by warthogs. To find some relief he literally edits them out of his personal narrative, and writes himself a new, perfect family with whom he can live happily in ideal surroundings of his own invention. But wait, maybe he’s not that happy—set adrift in his narrative, John discovers he has lost track of who he is. In an attempt to recover himself he embarks on an improbable journey where he encounters many fantastical characters. Tucson author Gene Twaronite’s satirical look at the ties that bind is intended for middle- grade readers, but as the author observes, it can be appreciated by anyone.
— Helene Woodhams
