This is a great book, highly recommended. Hancock and McNamee capture the essence of the strange, mirage-like Southwest, full of ghosts and forgotten dreams.

As a college Instructor for a desert ecology-adventure course, I highly recommend this book as a general overview of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Sonoran Desert. Broyles eloquently covers all the main topics of interest in rich poetic detail, making the book both highly readable and informative. Ecology, or the interaction of biology and physical environment, is the principle theme of the book, with topics ranging from desert plant and animal life, human occupation by native Indians, ranchers and miners, the geology, weather, and seasonal changes, and even astronomy. And the pictures by Huey and overall design of the book are fantastic. A great book especially for newcomers to the desert because of its inspired intelligent overview of the multifarious yet holistically satisfying desert experience.

Reissue of John's "With Bitter Herbs...", on how humans learned how to incorporate poisonous`or bad tasting plants into their diets. Fascinating book, well worth reading.

My father and I prefer to travel without planning too many days ahead of ourselves. We'd finished two nights of packing into Organ Pipe National Monument and still had a week ahead of us. We weren't sure what came next. East to Kofa National Wildlife Refuge? West to Tucson? Luckily, we found this godsend of a book sitting pretty in the visitor center store. I am sure this book is fast becoming the essential guide to packing in Arizona. I am almost afraid to recommend it because I am giving away so many well-kept secrets: Aravaipa Canyon, Sycamore Canyon, Picacho Peak, Angel Basin... some of the greatest lesser-known places in the Southwest. I have followed this guide down countless miles of forest road to some of my favorite hikes in the West. The guide is well-organized into four climate regions: desert, canyon, mountain, and urban "backyard" hikes for those who only have a few hours. Each description is captivating enough to convince you - and you will never want to leave life on the trail behind you.

I wasn't expecting much from this book so I was pleasantly surprised. I was afraid the funny stories would turn out to not translate well to text ("Well, I guess you had to be there"). The book is fun light reading, interspersed with casual discussion of the geology and formation of Grand Canyon layers and the canyon itself, and of the Anasazi who lived there and the artifacts that remain. Not to give any spoilers, but the sketch and story from the chapter titled "From Here You Can Be Seen Forever" is a hoot, as are the stories of hapless newbie hikers carting along everything from canned foods to crowbars to a hair dryer. ;-)

Makes me look forward to taking a tour with ICR someday. I've known a couple who visited Mt. St. Helens with them and they really enjoyed it.

This novel is a must for all lovers of books. It has some very good information on book collecting, and the story line is entertaining, even disturbing in many ways. It shows what one man will go through to get the books for which he searches. The book moves rapidly and can be finished in one sitting.

This book is an excellent guide of the largest employers in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and other parts of the state. It is also a good reference guide to see what type of industries are in the valley of the sun and where they are located. The book contains sections on job hunting and helpful hints. I would highly recommend it.

Greg Opland has raised the bar on guide book quality. Phoenix Rock II borrows information from older guides to the area, but Greg injects his own attitudes and perspectives, making this truly his own. The topo quality is second to none, a huge leap ahead of the current standard. The history included is invaluable and helps to make the text very readable. Photo quality is excellent. Makes me want to buy a ticket and go to Phoenix to climb right now!

This book is the third in the author's arsenal, and it is just as useful as the other two. The author is a wonderful photographer, just the images in the book would be worth the price, but the reader gets a lot more:
Detailed descriptions of where to go for the best shots, and the best times to go there. For some of the areas, you get a mile-by-mile log, and even some compositional suggestions. Even if one has been to these places previously, this book contains extremely valuable information for the serious photographer.

This book was helpful in preparing me for my trip to Arizona. The pictures within it cannot be fully appreciated without a full view of the state yourself. Spend some time with the book before your trip. The book gives you a perspective of almost all areas of this diverse state; from Tucson to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. The only problem I had was a poorly made binding to the book. If you get it make sure you take care of it. Overall very good.