Books
Southwest Books of the Year
Southwest Books of the Year 2003
Introduction
Four outstanding books top the list of this year's Southwest Books of the Year. They were chosen by Southwest Books' five panelists from approximately 250 titles.
Two will undoubtedly become definitive works in their fields: Blanket Weavers of the Southwest and Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California. The first, Blanket Weavers of the Southwest, is the culmination of a lifetime's work by the late, preeminent archeologist - Joe Ben Wheat. Wheat's notes have been meticulously edited, organized and interpreted by Ann Lane Hedlund. The second, Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California by Edward W. Vernon is a photographic and historical record of mission sites that may be completely gone within the century.
These are balanced by two delightful works of fiction: short stories by Oscar Casares, Brownsville, and a wicked serio-comic look at modern archeology by Swain Wolfe, The Parrot Trainer. Another seven books make up this year's Top Ten--make that eleven!
All told, in what is the largest spread to date, the panelists chose 34 titles for their Top Choices list. In part this is due to a real diversity of subject matter covered and in part to this year's panel being more broadly based. We have two new members, one from the central part of Arizona, Patricia Etter, and the other from Coconino County, Richard Quartaroli.
Patricia A. Etter, who has a bachelor's degree in anthropology from California State University at Long Beach and a master's in Library Science from the University of Arizona, is now curator of the Labriola National American Indian Data Center and archivist for information services, University Libraries, Arizona State University. An author in her own right, in 2000, her book, 1849: A History and Annotated Bibliography, was voted one of the outstanding English language book-length bibliographies in the field of history by the Reference and Users Group of the American Library Association.
Richard D. Quartaroli, librarian in the Northern Arizona University Cline Library Special Collections and Archives Dept., has been a Grand Canyon boatman for almost 30 years. He is a past president of Grand Canyon River Guides. He is a former research librarian at Glen Canyon Environmental Studies.
Continuing on the panel:
Bruce J. Dinges, Ph.D., director of publications, Arizona Historical Society, is our panel veteran having started in 1987.
W. David Laird, former librarian of the University of Arizona, now owner of Books West Southwest, a mail order and on-line book service, was on the first list in 1977 and then got some time off for good behavior rejoining in 2001.
Steven Phillips, manager of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum publications, is a former archeologist with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service's Branch of Historic Preservation.
Children's selections were made this year by Deborah Bock, Pima County Public Library reference librarian and curator of the Elizabeth Steinheimer Collection of Southwestern Books for Children and the Arizona Collection. Bock is not only a former panelist but does yeoman work in assembling, checking and proofing this finished version.
We hope you find Southwest Books of the Year useful, stimulating and a valuable resource and that you enjoy it as much as we did putting it together.
About Southwest Books of the Year
Southwest Books of the Year is published by the Pima County Public Library. This year's sponsors include: Arizona Historical Society, Friends of the Tucson-Pima Public Library, Bookman's, Green Fire Bookshop, Reader's Oasis, and Singing Wind Bookshop. Publication was made possible by a generous gift from the Friends of the Tucson-Pima Public Library and in part by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council. Thanks to Jill Ahearn, Joann Hardy Carranza, and Hugh Dougherty of the Tucson Weekly for their support in printing this publication. We owe special thanks to J.C. Martin, who has been responsible for Southwest Books of the Year since it began in 1977. Every ship needs a steady pilot at the helm. J.C. is that and more, as she devotes untold hours to soliciting and distributing review copies, hosting panelist discussions, compiling and annotating the final list, and editing the publication.
For their help as ready references, Southwest Books of the Year wishes to thank The Trail to Yesterday Book Niche owned by bookseller Bob Pugh, P.O. Box 35905, Tucson, AZ 85740 and Southwest Book Views, a quarterly publication of the New Mexico Book Association. Southwest Book Views is available in bookstores throughout the Southwest, including Arizona and New Mexico at the single copy price of $4.95. An annual subscription is $17. The address is Candelora Versace, editor, 53 Estambre Road, Santa Fe, N.M. 87504. The website is www.nmbook.com.
Publication was made possible by a generous gift from the Friends of the Tucson-Pima Public Library and in part by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council.