Southwest Books of the Year
Norman Whaley's Picks
Norman Whaley is a retired geologist.
Flora of the Gran Desierto and Rio Colorado of Northwestern Mexico
by Richard Stephen Felger (University of Arizona Press)
One of the Southwest Center Series and a seemingly definitive edition for the subject. The author has an extensive background and impeccable credentials. What has been created here is not for the casual reader, but it should be a valued find for both student and professional botanist. However, the introductory descriptions of paleoclimate, present climate and the major habitats and geographic/geomorphic regions are well detailed and provide accounts of the region which reach beyond the concerns of the professional botanist and into the realm of anyone interested in this region. The heart of the book is in the review of the rich number of species in the arid, primordial desert and nearly destroyed delta of the Rio Colorado. Final sections contain an excellent and rarely seen gazetteer in addition to an extensive bibliography and index.
A Guide to Southern Arizona Bird Nests & Eggs, Vol. 1, Desert Areas
by Pinau Merlin (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press)
This delightful little guide (4 1/2"x 7 1/4") can easily be accommodated in pocket or day pack. The format is similar to, and should make a companion volume for, Pinau Merlin's A Field Guide to Desert Holes, published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press in 1999. This book provides a unique and organized way to identify more than 50 different nests likely to be found in the desert areas of southern Arizona. Nests are divided into one of eight classes for probable identification by shape, materials and location. The user can simply turn to the appropriate section after having observed a nest. Each nest within this section is described individually, detailing shapes and materials, habitat and location, eggs and nesting information and anecdotal material on the natural history of the probable builder. In addition to the lovely pen and ink illustrations throughout the text, 28 color photo plates and three pages of beautifully rendered colored egg illustrations, a nesting dates chart, glossary, bibliography and index complete the guide.
The San Pedro River: A Discovery Guide
by Roseann Beggy Hanson (University of Arizona Press)
A multilayered guide to not only much of the history and prehistory of this legendary river valley of southeastern Arizona, but a thorough and detailed section by section description from the United States/Mexico border to the river confluence with the Gila River at Winkelman, Arizona. The back cover lists included features as: detailed section maps, complete birder's species list, annotated birding directions for each section, parking and facilities, trails and roads, nearby camping, archaeological sites, low-mobility access, and area attractions. All or most of these might be expected in any comprehensive guide, but this one, and this is what makes it somewhat special, also contains the personal reflections of the author anecdotcally throughout the text as she hiked, backpacked, biked, drove and flew the river over a number of years. It is a delightful travel journal and a rather complete course in the natural history of riparian areas of southern Arizona - all woven by a woman who has matured considerably in her craft-writing.
Also selected:
- The Southwest Inside Out: An Illustrated Guide to The land and Its History