History that reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, only funnier ....

books:


	• The Desert Southwest: Four Thousand Years of Life And Art Allan Hayes, Carol Hayes Ten Speed Press, 2006 - 200 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

History that reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, only funnier ....

This is not a coffee-table book, although it would look good on any coffee table. It's a meticiously researched
history-anthropology-archeology book that reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, only funnier. And it's filled with wonderful photographs (both historical and contemporary),some of which show things like things you could actually buy.

Many people think the history of the Desert Southwest began with the Pueblos and ended with Indian Gaming,
but this book traces its history, art and culture back for more than 4000 years. And it takes the reader far beyond New Mexico and Arizona to amazing sites in Utah, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California and Northern Mexico.

My husband and I lived in the Southwest for many years and thought we knew a lot about the area -- but this
book opened our eyes. We lent it to Hispanic and Native neighbors, who said the same thing. I reccommend it to anyone as a fresh, readable exploration of a fascinating subject. And as a terrific take-along travel guide
to anyone planning a trip to the Desert Southwest.

By the way, if you're already into Pueblo Pottery, check out the first Hayes-Blom book, Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni.

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The Desert Southwest

The book is excellent and quite lovely in its artwork, but I was looking something that had more pre-history. But it's still a good addition to my SW collection.

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You Need This Book

When I started to read this book, I thought it would be just another coffee table book. But as I read on, it clearly was much more. Starting at about 2000 BC, this book tells the story of the rise and fall of numerous tribes and tribal regions in the Southwest. Each chapter is limited in size and is told in a pleasant newspaper style. The book as a whole is brief for a history of this scope. It continues through the upheavals created by the Spanish and later the American Settlers and on through the Civil War, Statehood, World War I, the Depression, World War II, and on to the Casinos of the present. Each chapter is illustrated with color photos and a large photo of the pottery of the era and geographical region. It was surprising how little I knew of the history of this region. If you have moved to the Southwest from some other part of the US, you owe it to yourself and your children to to read this book. I read it twice, and may have another go at it in order to come close to remembering it all. There is no more pleasant way to teach yourself the history of the American Southwest!

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A wonderful read

This is a treasure book for anyone living in Arizona or trying to know it better. What a great read: funny and studious. The authors present their opinions with joy and research and tell you why they ended up where they are.

A great keeper and a great gift.

OFF THE COFFEE TABLE AND INTO YOUR PSYCHE

Was the movie Chinatown fact or fiction? In The Desert Southwest: Four Thousand Years of Life and Art, Allan and Carol Hayes tell you the real story behind the water deal that turned Los Angeles into what it is today -- and about the century after century of history that preceded it.

In school, you were told that the valleys of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates were the "cradles of
civilization," but did anyone ever tell you that the southern Arizona desert is considered the cradle of civilization in the United States?

Recent excavations indicate that people began living an agriculture-based lifestyle in the Tuscon basin four thousand years ago. Why and how did the dry, hard-edged, hostile desert become the place where millions of Americans want to live today .. a place where, for centuries, talented artists, engineers and craftsmen have created everything from sophisticated irrigation systems to magnificent pottery.

Don't be misled -- this book would look terrific on your coffee table with its stunning photographs by John
Blom. But what's best about it is not what it shows you but what it tells you. This is much more than a coffee table book -- the words and pictures leap off the page and into your psyche.

Read it and you will never feel the same about the desert southwest again.

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reviews: page 1, 2

This beautiful art book tells the story of the "other Southwest," tracing the history of centuries of conflict and resolution between Natives, Hispanics, and Anglos, as well as their respective artistic accomplishments. This far-reaching collection of artifacts invites you to explore the achievements and art of cultures that overcame unfathomable obstacles to build the Southwest that we know today.

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