Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2012

Frommer's National Parks of the American West: Park Guides are Just Fantastic


Frommer's National Parks of the American West: Park Guides, by Don Laine, Barbara Laine, Jack Olson, Eric Peterson and Shane Christensen, looks to be a very handy guide to have when visiting Utah's parks. Great shot of Canyonlands National Park's Mesa Arch too (I've made my photo into an interactive jigsaw puzzle on the "Canyon Country" CD). This guide covers many of the places I visited in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico on my last trip to the USA and others during previous visits.

For more information and to buy, click on the photo.

Frommer's National Parks of the American West (Park Guides)

Frommer's National Parks of the American West (Park Guides)

"Frommer's Complete Guides* America's #1 bestselling travel series* More full-color guides than ever before* Foldout maps in annual guides* Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and insider tips.     Table of Contents
List of Maps xi 1 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO THE NATIONAL PARKS OF THE AMERICAN WEST 1 2 ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UT 16 3 BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, SD 31 4 BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TX 40 5 BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK, CO 54 6 THE BLACK HILLS: MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL, WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT & CUSTER STATE PARK, SD 61 7 BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK & GRAND STAIRCASE--ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT, UT 82 8 CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, UT 98 9 CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, UT 109 10 CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK, NM 121 11 CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, CA 132 12 CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, OR 146 13 DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK & MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, CA 156 14 DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT, WY 173 15 GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT & WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, AB 179 16 GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ 199 17 GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WY 230 18 GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK, NV 255 19 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE, CO 264 20 GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, TX 271 21 JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CA 279 22 LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK, CA 292 23 MESA VERDE, HOVENWEEP, CHACO & OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF THE FOUR CORNERS REGION 300 24 MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WA 314 25 NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK, WA 330 26 OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, WA 345 27 PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, AZ 362 28 POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE, CA 370 29 REDWOOD NATIONAL & STATE PARKS, CA 379 30 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, CO 388 31 SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK, AZ 405 32 SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, CA 415 33 THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK, ND 435 34 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY & LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT, MT 444 35 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA 477 36 ZION NATIONAL PARK & CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT, UT 505 37 FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN WILDLIFE 523 38 AIRLINE, HOTEL & CAR RENTAL WEBSITES 529 Index 531

About the Authors

Residents of northern New Mexico for more than 40 years, Don and Barbara Laine have traveled extensively throughout the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest, exploring the mountains and deserts with their always-curious dogs. The Laines have authored or contributed to a number of Frommer's travel guides, including Frommer's Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks and Frommer's Utah. They have also written Little-Known Southwest, New Mexico & Arizona State Parks, and Best Short Hikes in Arizona for The Mountaineers Books; and The New Mexico Guide for Fulcrum Publishing.

A Denver-based freelance writer, Eric Peterson has contributed to numerous Frommer's guides covering the American West, and has written Frommer's Montana & Wyoming, Frommer's Colorado, Frommer's Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, and Ramble: A Field Guide to the U.S.A. Peterson also writes about travel and other topics for such publications as ColoradoBiz, Delta Sky, and the New York Daily News. In his free time, he's an avid camper and hiker, a lifelong Broncos fan, and a part-time rock star (at least in the eyes of his niece Olivia and nephews Mitch and Sam).

Jack Olson, a longtime resident of Denver, wanders the Rockies and the entire country as a freelance photographer and writer. He writes travel articles and supplies photographs for AAA magazines, and his photos have been seen in such publications as Backpacker, Audubon, Sierra, and National Geographic Books.

Shane Christensen has written extensively for Frommer's, including in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. Originally from California, he knows the American Southwest well and returns each year to the Grand Canyon to explore its wonders and ensure the accuracy of this guide. Shane has also held a variety of diplomatic assignments with the U.S. Department of State, and he is currently a research scholar and faculty advisor at Columbia University."










Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Exploring the Southwest's Grand Circle


Exploring the Southwest's Grand Circle, by Mark A. Schlenz, Tom Bean and Susan Lamb covers a lot of the places I visited when in southern Utah. I effectively did the "Grand Circle" when plotting my route in a clockwise direction.

Exploring the Southwest's Grand Circle

Exploring the Southwest's Grand Circle

Richly illustrated with color photography, this interpretive guide follows the spectacular "Grand Circle" route through the Southwest's plateau lands encompassing America's highest concentration of scenic national parks and monuments. From the Grand Canyon to Zion and Bryce to the exquisite rock formations in Canyonlands, Arches, and the Navajo Tribal Park, visitors to this region meander through a fascinating world of geologic wonders and Ancient Puebloan culture. The revised edition features all new photos and has been updated to include recent parklands and visitor centers.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Frommer's Utah


Frommer's Utah, by Eric Peterson would be an invaluable guide to have with you when travelling through Utah's parks. Check it out.

Frommer's Utah (Frommer's Complete Guides)

Frommer's Utah (Frommer's Complete Guides)

Frommer's Complete Guides* America's #1 bestselling travel series* More full-color guides than ever before* Foldout maps in annual guides* Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and insider tips

Table of Contents
List of Maps vii 1 THE BEST OF UTAH 1 2 UTAH IN DEPTH 12 3 SUGGESTED UTAH ITINERARIES 26 4 THE ACTIVE VACATION PLANNER 36 5 SALT LAKE CITY 45 6 THE NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT: UTAH'S OLD WEST 77 7 THE SOUTHERN WASATCH FRONT: WORLD-CLASS SKIING & MORE 106 8 DINOSAURS & NATURAL WONDERS IN UTAH'S NORTHEAST CORNER 150 9 UTAH'S DIXIE & THE COLORFUL SOUTHWEST CORNER 166 10 ZION NATIONAL PARK 192 11 BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK 211 12 CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK 237 13 LAKE POWELL & GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 250 14 FROM MOAB TO ARCHES & CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARKS 260 15 THE FOUR CORNERS AREA 292 16 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO UTAH 306 Index 323

About the Author
A Denver-based writer, Eric Peterson has authored numerous Frommer's guides covering the American West, including Frommer's Montana & Wyoming and Frommer's Colorado, as well as Ramble: A Field Guide to the U.S.A. and other Ramble titles for Fulcrum Publishing (www.fulcrum-books.com). Peterson's byline has also appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the New York Daily News, Denver Post, and Delta Sky, and on winter-sports columns for Frommers.com. In his free time, he's an avid camper, skier, and hiker; a lifelong Broncos fan; and a part-time rock star (at least in the eyes of his niece Olivia and nephews Mitch and Sam).

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Rainbow Bridge To Monument Valley: Making The Modern Old West


Rainbow Bridge To Monument Valley: Making The Modern Old West, by Thomas J. Harvey looks to be an interesting read if you can get past the cover. Stunning photo of one of the Mittens in Monument Valley.

Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley: Making the Modern Old West

Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley: Making the Modern Old West

The Colorado River Plateau is home to two of the best-known landscapes in the world: Rainbow Bridge in southern Utah and Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border. Twentieth-century popular culture made these places icons of the American West, and advertising continues to exploit their significance today. In "Rainbow Bridge to Monument Valley," Thomas J. Harvey artfully tells how Navajos and Anglo-Americans created fabrics of meaning out of this stunning desert landscape, space that western novelist Zane Grey called "the storehouse of unlived years," where a rugged, more authentic life beckoned.

Reviews
"Thomas J. Harvey's work on the Utah-Arizona border region . . . will stake out new intellectual terrain for scholars seeking to explore the relationship between geography, cultural nationalism, and Occidentalism in twentieth-century America. . . . Harvey shows quite clearly how layers of meaning continue to be attached to the region and how modern mythmaking is perpetuated."Carter Jones Meyer co-author of "Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures".

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts


Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts [Hardcover], by Donna L. Poulton and Vern G. Swanson looks to be a beautiful and interesting book which has a 4.5 star rating. Check it out.







Editorial Reviews
Review
Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts is a welcome addition to any art enthusiast's bookshelf because it gives readers both a historical context and visual progression of the landscape through paintings created by Utah's past and present artists.

(Southwest Art )

This is a tremendous book - almost as big as a canyon itself. It's full of superb paintings and I like the broad selection with its wide appeal. This si much more than a coffee table book, it includes a series of essays giving a background to the painters that have visited and painted this region. Is there anything more wondrous than the canyons of this area? These painters capture the essence of the canyons - the quality of the light, the texture of the rock surfaces, the scale of the magnificent scenery and the colours of the desert and canyon. I have too many favourites to mention them all here. Some of the paintings are breathtaking. I think in this huge selection, there is something for everyone. This is a dramatic book that serves its dramatic subject well.

(Karen Platt www.karenplatt.co.uk/review )

From the Inside Flap
PAINTERS OF UTAH'S CANYONS AND DESERTS

Famous movie director John Ford once emphatically exclaimed, " . . .Monument Valleywasmy greatest star."But long before Ford lionized these great icons, paintings of the sweeping desert and colorful canyon country of Utah's plateau province had captured the popular imagination of American and European audiences.

Contrasts between painters who called Utah home and those who explored and visited. Starting with the rich visual images of Native American petroglyphs, the book then looks at the lively anecdotes of the "artists as explorers," including John Wesley Powell's harrowing trip down the Colorado River, artist Solomon Nunes Carvalho's recovery from the brink of starvation, and artist Richard Kern's death at the hands of the Paiutes. ThomasMoran is prominent in this history with dramatic lithographs and his own exploration of the Zion region.

Love of the western landscape has to do with the capacity of the viewer to experience vast space. To appreciate the desert terrain, one has to be comfortable with an inscrutable universe. Whether existential or spiritual, these themes are evoked in the modern paintings of Maynard Dixon, Conrad Buff, Georgia O'Keeffe, andMax Ernst,who are amongmany visiting artists successfully challenged by this landscape.

Utah artist Alfred Lambourne was the first artist to paint in Zion, and Henry L. A. Culmer was the first to paint the natural bridges. Utah artists recorded the natural beauty of the parks in the 1920s and the stark influence of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Today's modern and traditional artists mix it up, employing classical methods and conventions, often with flagrant juxtapositions, to convey political, existential, or psychological themes. V. Douglas Snow, Gary E. Smith, and Ed Mell are among a growing group of nationally known artists whose work is inspired by the Utah Red Rock.

In all, this is an informative and visually stunning compilation of Art in Utah, detailing its profound influence on western and American culture.

Donna L. Poulton is an Associate Curator of Utah and Western Art at the University of Utah's Museum of Fine Arts. She studied at the Boston University extension in Germany and received her PhD from BrighamYoung University. She has juried and curated many exhibitions, including the Olympic Exhibition of Utah Art. Dr. Poulton has written articles on Utah and Western Art, is the co-author of Utah Art, Utah Artists, and has recently completed a manuscript on Reuben Kirkham, an early Utah pioneer artist. She has taught Utah art history at the University of Utah and has served on the boards of several arts organizations. Dr. Poulton has also filmed extensive interviews with numerous Utah artists, produced commercial videos on Utah art, and consulted with private art collectors and galleries.

Vern G. Swanson is a native of Central Point, Oregon. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BA), University of Utah (MA), and University of London (PhD) in art history. He started his career at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1969-70), taught art and art history at Auburn University as an Assistant Professor (1972-75), and was employed atWasatch Bronzeworks in Lehi (1975-78). Since 1980, Dr. Swanson has been the director of the Springville Museum of Art, has helped the museum's art collection of Utah and Russian art grow, and has contributed toward the construction of a new wing, dedicated in 2004.

Dr. Swanson has published fourteen art history books as sole or joint author. Five of these have been on Utah art, with several in collaborationwith Drs. Robert Olpin,WilliamSeifrit, and Donna Poulton. In 2006, he published a major tome Dynasty of the Holy Grail and in 2007, his third and largest book, Soviet Impressionist Painting. He is now researching for his next two books, "John Hafen: Faithful Artist" and"The Chiasmatic Atonement."

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Hike and Tour Capitol Reef National Park , Utah, Using a Great Guide


To get the most enjoyment out of hiking and touring in Capitol Reef National Park, southern Utah, you need information from someone who really knows the park. Check out this one, Capitol Reef National Park: The Complete Hiking and Touring Guide [Paperback], by Rick Stinchfield.

Click on the ad for more information.







Product Description
The only complete guide to Capitol Reef National Park whether on foot or from the road.

Finally, the total experience of enjoying Capitol Reef National Park has been captured in one comprehensive volume.

About the Author
Rick Stinchfield, and his wife, Lynne, have spent three months in each of the last six years volunteering and living in Capitol Reef National Park. He is the author or co-author of several articles on mineral collecting, as well as publications on recycling and non-motorized commuting. Rick and Lynne life in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.