Book Archives

And Then There Was Fire
In 'Smokechasing', Stephen Pyne compiles essays that take a new look at wildfires. (08/21/03)
By Renée Downing

Pioneering Women
Local author Wynne Brown highlights the trailblazing women who came to Arizona to help build it. (08/14/03)
By Margaret Regan

Nature Transformed
An updated Sonoran Desert classic shows how the only constant in life is change. (08/07/03)
By Jon Shumaker

Maps With Feminine Geography
Internal and external journeys in "A Road of Her Own" reflect the movement in women's lives. (07/31/03)
By Sheila Wilensky

Deep in the Canyon
A look at the famed 1869 exhibition from the mouths of the explorers themselves. (07/24/03)
By Emil Franzi

The Third Way
One UA professor rejects polarization in exchange for reconciliation ecology. (07/17/03)
By Jarret Keene

Essays on the Border
"Puro Border" cries out for fairer treatment of our Mexican neighbors. (07/10/03)
By Sheila Wilensky

Beating the Big Guns
Tucsonan Thomas Wiewandt captures top publishing honors. (07/03/03)
By Lee Allen

The Journey Within
The UA's Pat Youngdahl crafts personal essays on self discovery, joy and God. (06/26/03)
By Paul Wine

Lost Souls
Ann Cummins' short stories highlight characters beaten down by fate in the Southwest. (06/19/03)
By John Freeman

Making History
Glenn Boyer's latest novel highlights conflict as it happened in the Old West. (06/12/03)
By Emil Franzi

Flooding Eden
A new anthology remembers an enchanted landscape buried by progress. (05/29/03)
By Jarret Keene

On the Road to Health
Dr. W.F. Peate outlines a path to wellness using Native American wisdom. (05/22/03)
By Paul Wine

Greek Odyssey
Local author D.R. Ransdell weaves a tale of music and romance from the Aegean. (05/15/03)
By Eleni Hasaki and Eleni Saltourides

Southwestern Collage
Swain Wolfe blends archeology and adventure with lively characters in his latest work. (05/08/03)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Oxymoron on a Plate
A former UA creative writing professor dishes up a rambling food and coming-of-age memoir. (05/01/03)
By Karyn Zoldan

Chile Con Karma
Juan Felipe Herrera's flavorful language fuels his latest book. (04/24/03)
By Jarret Keene

Female Frankness
Two short-story collections about women expose the strength, complexities and confusion of the fairer gender. (04/17/03)
By Sam Sacks

All-Encompassing Arizona
Thomas Sheridan's history of the state fills the palate with comprehensive information. (04/10/03)
By Emil Franzi

Shades of Gray
Diverse characters in "Between Two Deserts" open windows to the Middle East. (04/03/03)
By Sheila Wilensky

Café Nostalgia
Cuban-born poet Virgil Suárez serves up rich poems about the immigrant experience and our own search for home. (03/27/03)
By Jarret Keene

Mexico Unveiled
Charles Bowden's latest paints a compelling picture of the drug trade below the border. (03/20/03)
By Cristián A. Sierra

All That Glimmers
A profile of Louis Bernal's work shows the photographer's grasp of life's fragile beauty. (03/13/03)
By Renée Downing

Coolhunting
William Gibson's new book matches his early groundbreaking stories. (03/06/03)
By Joshua Ellis

In Style
"Southwest Kitchen Garden" elegantly captures Tucson's character and taste. (02/27/03)
By Renée Downing

Good Deeds
Richard Price takes a fresh approach with well-worn characters. (02/20/03)
By Jeff Hinkle

A Voice Profound
'The Time of Our Singing' holds a perfect pitch. (02/13/03)
By Sam Sacks

Ink in Their Blood
New books consider two famous Americans and their newspaper roots. (01/30/03)
By Jeff Hinkle

Arte al Fresco
Michelangelo's lament: 'I'm no painter.' (01/23/03)
By Sam Sacks

Surviving the Gates of Hell
Ursuline nun Dianna Ortiz tells her story of torture and torment in Guatemala. (01/16/03)
By Marge Pellegrino

Golden Opportunities
The Wrangling with Writing conference gives writers a chance to meet agents face to face. (01/16/03)
By Barbara Stahura

Yesterday's News Today
An old book sheds light on our times. (01/02/03)
By John R. Durham

Two Thumbs Down
A harsh film critic takes a sharp look at the film industry. (12/19/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Season's Readings
Local authors offer great last-minute gift buys. (12/19/02)
By Jim Nintzel

Above the Law
The exploits of a little known but infamous Old West outlaw. (12/12/02)
By Emil Franzi

Big Footprints
Tucsonan reflects on a life's work building structures and friendships. (11/28/02)
By Dave Devine

She's So Vain
Christina Schwarz writes on a fledging writer's desire for greatness. (11/21/02)
By Sam Sacks

Living Large
Biographies and memoirs that are PageTurners. (11/14/02)

Rock Bottom
Roll Over, Beethoven. Please. (11/07/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Six Days of Never-Ending War
Two books shed light on Israel's military prowess and need for victory. (10/31/02)
By Tom Danehy

The Boys of Summer
A young man and his sidekicks ward off the apocalypse by playing ball. (10/24/02)
By Gene Armstrong

Middlin' Sex
A vagina that leads nowhere and an inoperative penis--no wonder that gun won't fire. (10/17/02)
By Sam Sacks

The Four Faces of Nick
A journey to New York, the Vatican, the 14th century and the author's ego. (10/10/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Slaying Dragons
Fantasy and make-believe violence play a necessary role in helping our children mature. (10/03/02)
By Gene Armstrong

Ho Power
In this new comic, our superhero turns tricks and saves the planet (09/26/02)
By Juliana Piccillo

Star Struck
Although structurally lacking, Ethan Hawke's second novel is a guilty pleasure. (09/19/02)
By Sam Sacks

Cutting Edge
A hilariously horrible childhood is celebrated in a new, and different, memoir. (09/12/02)
By Jeff Yanc

Making Politicians Mad
A look back at EC Comics--a grizzly collection that terrified readers, including some in Washington, D.C. (08/29/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Other Places
A collection of short stories reveals the traveler as well as the travels. (08/22/02)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Wordy Walker
The classic backpacker's reference guide has been updated and expanded a little too much. (08/15/02)
By Jon Shumaker

Sensei and Sensibility
Two outsiders take readers inside Japan. (08/08/02)
By Jim Carvalho

The Costs of Being Boss
Chalmers Johnson reviews the ill effects of misguided U.S. foreign policy. (08/01/02)
By Qayyum Johnson

Tough as Nails
Jane Candia Coleman introduces us to some real Western women. (07/25/02)
By Emil Franzi

Mixed Entrance
Debut novel fails to leave a lasting impression, but hints of what's to come from a new talent. (07/18/02)
By Dave Devine

Ain't That a Man
New bio offers a refreshingly straightforward look at the life of Muddy Waters. (07/11/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Unfulfilled Dreams
The lure of a better life in the United States ends in dark despair for some Mexican immigrants. (07/04/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Civil War Patchwork
Paulette Jiles weaves a tale of love and loss, family history and personal narrative in a compelling new book. (06/27/02)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Writing on the Rainbow
Two books provide insightful information and beautiful photography of the resplendent hummingbird. (06/20/02)
By Tim Vanderpool

Flying on the Edge
Thomas Bowen's book chronicles the exhilarating flights of pilot Ike Russell. (06/13/02)
By James Reel

Books for the Beach
Tucson-Pima Public Library's 'PageTurners' are a great source for summer reads. (06/06/02)

Life on the Line
A new CD and photography book provide a glimpse of life on the U.S.-Mexico border. (05/30/02)
By Jim Carvalho

Can I Get a Witness?
New book peeks inside the secret and controversial world of witness protection (05/23/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Feathers from Heaven
Departed mothers communicate with their daughters in a new compilation of true stories. (05/09/02)
By Emil Franzi

Sentimental Journey
Through fantasy and science fiction, Ray Bradbury explores life and its lessons. (05/09/02)
By Gene Armstrong

Believing in Ourselves: A Celebration of Women
(05/02/02)
By Nancy Carson

Musical Underworld
An American explores the gritty world of the "narcocorrido." (04/25/02)
By Jim Carvalho

A Stance on the Rock
Setting the record straight on the Indian occupation of Alcatraz in 1969. (04/18/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Voices from the Southwest
A new anthology celebrates the stories, culture and future of our region. (04/11/02)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Maverick Matadors
American men and women buck the system to risk life and limb in the bullring (04/04/02)
By Jim Carvalho

Even Less Than Usual
Charles Simic's latest poetry collection lacks the excitement and brilliance of his previous works. (04/04/02)
By M.L. Schuldt

A Roster of Bests
The National Society of Film Critics weighs in with its two cents on movie classics. (03/28/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Off Camera
Filmmaker Ethan Coen's new poetry collection combines small-press attitude with big-name marketability. (03/21/02)
By Jeff Yanc

Clearing the Eire
Maureen Dezell and Tom Hayden honestly explore what it means to be both Irish and American. (03/14/02)
By Margaret Regan

Cold as Ice
A new book by Susan Solomon tells us what Robert Scott was willing to sacrifice to win the race to the South Pole. (03/07/02)
By Dave Devine

Gut Buster
Jim Harrison indulges huge appetites, displays tough-guy charm and a warm heart and drops names aplenty in his new collection of essays. (02/28/02)
By Jim Carvalho

Beyond Oprah
Michael Franzen's 'The Corrections' quite simply is an amazing novel about family trauma. (02/28/02)
By J. Uschuk

Gems of Genius
Demons of madness cut short a 1960s author's career, but her experimental novels are gripping. (02/21/02)
By Joan Schuman

Blacklisting Terrorism
The author of IBM and the Holocaust suggests how we might move against the assets of our enemies in a new global war. (02/14/02)
By Edwin Black

Trade Secrets
The fourth installment in Sinclair Browning's Southern Arizona-based mystery series is the best yet. (02/14/02)
By Emil Franzi

The Filth Estate
Joan Didion rips the press -- as only she can -- for its O.J.-like coverage of the Clinton scandals. (02/07/02)
By Renée Downing

The Great White Way
Curtis White cuts a scenic trail across the bland Middle Mind. (01/31/02)
By Joan Schuman

Castration, Cannibalism and English Tea
A new book reminds us how riveting history can be when told correctly. (01/24/02)
By Jeff Hinkle

Plastic Fanastic
Art Spiegelman pays tribute to a surreal superhero and his comics-crazed creator. (01/24/02)
By Jeff Yanc

Hoods and Whores
William T. Vollmann and Nick Tosches talk tough. (01/17/02)
By Jim Carvalho

A Family Affair
Marsha Recknagel's memoir explores the darker side of family obligation. (01/10/02)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Vitality and Vulnerability
Richard Jackson leans over the balcony of desire. (01/03/02)
By Pamela Uschuk

Comet Tale
Andrew Sean Greer tracks the orbits of fictitious astronomers' lives. (12/27/01)
By Joan Miller

Vegas, Baby, Vegas
Sin ain't what it used to be. (12/20/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Fairytale Romance
It's grimmer than you'd expect for Ketzia Gold. (12/20/01)
By Diane Daly

Catalog of Kink
"The Gourmet Club" is sexy and strange. (12/13/01)
By Jim Carvalho

To the Moon, Alice!
Ralph and Norton try their hands at, er, writing. (12/06/01)
By J. Uschuk

Hat Trick
Tom Miller's quest for headwear didn't overlook the people beneath the hats. (11/29/01)
By Tony Hillerman

From Blackface to Balls of Fire
A biography of forgotten entertainer Emmett Miller is really a deep exploration of pop culture. (11/22/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Love Is Blind
Ved Mehta's inability to see barely sheds insight into his failed relationships. (11/15/01)
By Joan Miller

Small Wonder
Cult novelist Jonathan Lethem finds out if good things really do come in small packages. (11/08/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Family Feud
A tug-of-war for Irish orphans on the Arizona border a century ago mirrors race hatred today. (11/08/01)
By Marcia Detwiler Scupin

Human/Nature
New stories by Barry Lopez chart inner environments. (11/01/01)
By J. Uschuk

Desert Solipsist
A new Ed Abbey biography doesn't quite tell all, but reveals almost enough. (11/01/01)
By Renée Downing

Both/And
Dualities migrate through a stunning Jordanian family tale. (10/25/01)
By Susie Morris

Greenwich Village Soap
Everyone knows Dylan was a jerk, but so were his folkie friends. (10/18/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Love, Art and Music
This reviewer doesn't read 'chick books.' (10/11/01)
By Emil Franzi

Confessional Woes
A curmudgeon swims in the deep waters of the soul. (10/11/01)
By J. Uschuk

Unreel Cinema
Celebrating the cinematic surrealism of Luis Buñuel. (10/04/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Sisters Are Doin' It
Evil battles good in Regina McBride's debut novel. (09/27/01)
By J. Uschuk

Evil a-Plenty
Eerie tales reveal adults wreaking havoc on kids. (09/20/01)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Penury for Your Thoughts
Angela Nissel's "Broke Diaries" strikes it rich. (09/13/01)
By Tom Danehy

The Power of Pedro
Denise Chávez's Girls are 'Loving Pedro Infante.' (09/06/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Theater of the Perturbed
Leah Hager Cohen can't keep up the act with her new work. (08/30/01)
By Joan Schuman

Prison Poet
Jimmy Santiago Baca's school of hard time. (08/23/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Life Expectancy
Mosley's coming of age novel is truly a life struggle. (08/23/01)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Descent of Man
In J.T. LeRoy's world, the heart is a lowly hunter. (08/16/01)
By Cynthia M. Dagnal-Myron

Villa and Varmints
Jane Coleman's characters ride the line. (08/09/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Cover Girls
Early LP jackets kept men's minds in the endgroove. (08/02/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Rubrik's Cuba
"Dirty Havana Trilogy" is an intricate, frustrating, fascinating puzzle. (08/02/01)
By J. Uschuk

Navajo Warrior
A new biography recounts the life of the remarkable Annie Dodge Wauneka. (07/26/01)
By Dave Devine

Trenchant Governance
Tom Volgy writes about politics from the inside. (07/19/01)
By Emil Franzi

When Boomers Bust
Doris Dörrie's new exploration of midlife yields little treasure. (07/12/01)
By

Moments Impaled on a Pencil
For Steve Earle, it's not just country music that tells a story. (07/05/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Heart and Soul
(06/28/01)
By Pamela Uschuk

Out on a Limb
Doc Robertson's Family Tree flourishes in a harsh environment. (06/21/01)
By Tom Danehy

Historical Hysteria
Reveling in the flaky splendor of oddball geniuses lost to history. (06/14/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Biting Remarks
Watch out! It's almost the "Time of the Rabies." (06/07/01)
By Gregory McNamee

Shockalot
Karen Finley's performance art provokes, but does it provoke well? (05/31/01)
By Joan Schuman

In Search of a Soul
Chinese Nobelist has readers analyze their decisions on life's journey. (05/17/01)
By Dave Devine

Word for Word
Henry Kissinger gets a much-deserved skewering, and some pearls from Nader. (05/10/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Viper Vibrations
Normalcy sheds its skin in the ultra freaky "Cobralingus." (05/10/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Oprah's Bull Club
Finally, a bullfight book for women. (05/03/01)
By Jim Carvalho

A Quiet Genius
The poems of Larry Levis are pleasures of language and thought. (05/03/01)
By M.L. Schuldt

Deconstructing Dummies
Two new books find fascination in the wacky world of ventriloquism. (04/26/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Woman On Top
"Desperate Acts" highlights hope for abused women. (04/26/01)
By Emil Franzi

Little Italy
Rita Ciresi explores her dreams in her latest. (04/26/01)
By J. Uschuk

Seattle Quake
The WTO protest launched a year of radical action and mainstream dithering. (04/19/01)
By Joan Schuman

Birth of a Nation
Even an emerging utopia can't erase the past. (04/12/01)
By J. Uschuk

Fish out of Water
Russell Edson and Ana Castillo triumphantly lift poetry out of its natural element. (04/05/01)
By

Jotos and Hangings
"Another Mexico" covers the real Mexico. (04/05/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Mo's Better Blues
Recounting the life and times of an Arizona giant. (03/29/01)
By Tom Danehy

Cool Air
Lewis MacAdams examines the "Birth of the Cool." (03/29/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

In the Red
Mildred Harnack's involvement in the Red Orchestra earned her the distinction of being the only American woman to be executed by Hitler. (03/22/01)
By J. Uschuk

The Wolf's at the Door
Dave Foreman still places Earth first, but now as a novelist. (03/22/01)
By Jon Shumaker

Empty Center
Corporatization is sucking the life out of our communities, one by one. (03/15/01)
By Joan Schuman

Nude Awakening
Photographers Jock Sturges and Fabio Cabral create images that are sensual but never pornographic. (03/15/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Maul Rats
Eric Bogosian puts a bullet into the brain of Middle America. (03/08/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Milestone
The infamous album "Kind of Blue" elicits a book's worth of response. (03/08/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Spectral Analysis
Joni Wallace makes of the self a constellation. (03/01/01)
By Karen Falkenstrom

Great Gonzo
Hunter Thompson's letters thrill and enthrall. (03/01/01)
By Jim Carvalho

'Cherry' On Top
Mary Karr's second memoir is a superb blend of poetry and autobiography. (02/22/01)
By J. Uschuk

It's All Relative
Native American author Devon Mihesuah tells it like it is. (02/22/01)
By Marcia Detwiler Scupin

Frip Frap
Who is George Saunders and why is he unleashing his inner Gappers? (02/15/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Femme Fisticuffs
Fighting writers knock themselves out. (02/15/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Shaking a Legacy
A funny thing happened on the way to "Artforum." (02/08/01)
By Joan Schuman

Truth or Consequences
Sinclair Browning captures the spirit of the hard life on the range. (02/08/01)
By Emil Franzi

El Paso Paseo
Dagoberto Gilb carves "Woodcuts of Women." (02/01/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Parting Words
Penelope Fitzgerald's last collection of stories is as unexpected as her first. (02/01/01)
By Stephen Seigel

Sleep-Walking
Banana Yoshimoto wanders through literal and symbolic states of slumber. (01/25/01)
By Mary Rodarte

Drugstore Cowboys
Larry Clark shoots up and heads out to "Tulsa." (01/25/01)
By Jeff Yanc

Art of Darkness
Film noir is a genre on which you shouldn't shed too much light. (01/18/01)
By Jeff Hinkle

Annes Across the Sea
Perrin Ireland's first novel centers around tragedy and catharsis. (01/18/01)
By J. Uschuk

Marrs Mission
An investigative journalist thrives on theories that are out of this world. (01/11/01)
By Barbara Stahura

Close Encounters
Jane Kenyon's essays and letters reveal her more private moments. (01/04/01)
By Pamela Uschuk

Crones and Crazies
There's nothing wrong with El Puente's stereotypes. (01/04/01)
By Jim Carvalho

Stepping Stones
'Footnotes' offers fresh glimpses into life. (12/28/00)
By Joan Schuman

Making The Political Personal
Poet Juan Felipe Herrera Finds the human truth behind tragedy in Chiapas. (12/28/00)
By Sue Carnahan

Borderline Fracture
Band-Aids don't even begin to cover these wounds. (12/21/00)
By Jon Shumaker

Hapless Hippies Foul The Frontier
Does free love deserve a free lunch? (12/21/00)
By Jim Carvalho

Behind The Curtain
"The Lily Theatre" offers a glimpse of China during the Cultural Revolution. (12/14/00)
By J. Uschuk

Cockfights And The Kitchen Sink
Tom Miller's reportage is lively and lustrous. (12/07/00)
By Jim Carvalho

Keep On Truckin'
Can a boy named Sarah find happiness as a truck stop hooker? (11/30/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Call It Good
Tessa Ramsey's first collection smells of honesty. (11/30/00)
By Annie Guthrie

Dream Weaver
W.S. Penn spins a supernatural tale of the Nez Percé Dreamers. (11/23/00)
By Marcia Detwiler Scupin

Search Light
Charles Wright scans the landscape of language. (11/16/00)
By M.L. Schuldt

Grief Encounter
Denis Johnson's latest confronts the loss that comes of living. (11/16/00)
By J. Uschuk

Angst In My Pants
David Boring proves that comics aren't just for kids. (11/09/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Old Dudes And Derriere
Jim Harrison's new collection sparkles with humor, heartache and a bit of butt. (11/02/00)
By Jim Carvalho

Green Light
Barbara Kingsolver's new novel fights for life and love in the natural world. (11/02/00)
By J. Uschuk

Life Lines
Amy Bloom sketches the boundries of real life. (10/26/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Charged Light
Is this the poetry that will change your life? (10/26/00)
By Pamela Uschuk

Famous And Heinous
Cintra Wilson punctures the bloated carcass of celebrity in 'A Massive Swelling'. (10/19/00)
By Jeff Yanc

In The Flesh
Being Dead explores death to a new extreme. (10/19/00)
By J. Uschuk

Rule Books
"Rowing In Eden" captures the nuances of growing up normally. (10/12/00)
By J. Uschuk

Into The Wild
Greg McNamee's latest explores the American wilderness. (10/05/00)
By Jim Carvalho

Visitation Rites
For Ron Butler, Mexico isn't a destination; it's a way of life. (09/28/00)
By Mary Rodarte

Fashion Foe Pas
Andrea Seigel patches together the stories of American clothes lovers. (09/14/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Dysfunction Junction
Another of Atkinson's unforgettable dysfunctional families. (09/07/00)
By J. Uschuk

NAFTA Shave
That giant sucking sound is only getting louder. (08/31/00)
By Charles Bowden

In Deep
A short course in western water (08/31/00)
By Jon Shumaker

Boogie Rites
Cultural scholars hustle to discover whatever happened to the '70s. (08/24/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Cake Walk
(08/24/00)
By

Payneful Days
A novel riffs on an intense jazz life. (08/17/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

The Tyranny Of Ideals
A classic revolutionary tale of lust for power, property and revenge. (08/17/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Marriage À La Mode
Diane Johnson walks down the aisle with another comedy of Franco-American manners. (08/10/00)
By J. Uschuk

Forbidden Fruit
Charles Baxter's latest novel is testament to the illusory nature of love. (08/03/00)
By J. Uschuk

Look Out
"Tower" is a highly charged spiritual memoir, in the course of which Bill Henderson rekindles faith, not only in God but also in himself. (08/03/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Home Sweet Horror
A postmodern, time-warped, creepy cult classic. (07/27/00)
By Jeff Yanc

A Language For Selfishness
Jim Sanderson brings "Safe Delivery" to Tucson. (07/20/00)
By T.R. Hull

Acting Up
(07/20/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Cruel Intentions
Neil Labute raises the shock-bar with his latest play "Bash." (07/13/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Walking Backward
Alvin Josephy has packed an extraordinary range of experience into a long life. (07/13/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Magical Nihilism
The alarming absence of good Mexican literature in translation. (07/06/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Earnest Alms
Ondaatje's latest novel explores the nature of truth and humanity. (06/29/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Taking Life
Two takes on the late Richard Brautigan. (06/22/00)
By J. Uschuk

That's Life
'Destiny,' English ex-pat Tim Parks' 10th novel, is a darkly humorous metaphysical satire. (06/15/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Horse Sense
Tucson transplant and decorated Western author Fred Grove's latest mystery novel springs from the gate. (06/08/00)
By Johnny D. Boggs

Place Aliens
A review of Pico Iyer's The Global Soul. (06/01/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Son Exposure
A look at George W. Bush's "A Charge To Keep." (06/01/00)
By Randall Holdridge

For The Birds
A look at Rob Nixon's strange history of the ostrich. (05/25/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Speaking Volumes
Recommended reading for the lazy days of summer. (05/18/00)
By Tom Danehy

Puppy Love
A look at Carl Hiassen's latest tour de farce. (05/18/00)
By Dan Huff

Bitch's Brew
All you ever wanted to know about "All About Eve." (05/11/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Suburban Burden
Welcome to suburbia, the modern no-man's-land of the soul. (05/04/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Abominable Encounters
Hunting the humanoid inhabitant of the high Himalayas. (04/27/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Book Smarts
Librarian Claire Reynier throws the book at white-collar crooks in "The Stolen Blue." (04/20/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Voices Of Youth
Young Native American poets speak out in "When the Rain Sings." (04/20/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Half-Truths And Consequences
Biographer Nicholas Shakespeare uncovers the fictions in travel writer Bruce Chatwin's life and work. (04/13/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Rough Guide
David Lida gives southbound gringos a grim view in "Travel Advisory: Stories of Mexico." (04/13/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Rotten Eggers
Media wunderkind David Eggers pens a 400-page ode to his own greed for glory. (03/30/00)
By Lydia Millet

Warrior Without A Cause
A disconcerting blood lust drives author Anthony Loyd's "My War Gone By, I Miss It So." (03/09/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Aural Examination
The Spacewurm catapults voyeurism into the 21st century. (03/02/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Bush S.W.A.K.
"George Bush, Dark Prince of Love" is disturbing, sordid, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. (02/24/00)
By Mari Wadsworth

Bordering Cultures
"Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation" is one minority family's balance sheet of the American 20th century. (02/17/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Among the Earthlings
Mr. Spaceman is an entertainment that covers a lot of ground-and sky. (02/10/00)
By Gregory McNamee

Murderous Memories
Sinclair Browning's Apache P.I. unearths another Tucson crime scene in "The Sporting Club." (02/03/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Heir Pressure
With a family legacy such as he has, Dubya just has to succeed. Or does he? (01/27/00)
By Randall Holdridge

In Short Order
Amy Tan compiles a glorious "Best American Short Stories of 1999." (01/27/00)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Sin Cine
Schaefer's study is as timely as today's headlines, and of course, for Adults Only! (01/20/00)
By Jeff Yanc

Mr. Universe
Keay Davidson's Carl Sagan: A Life seeks to recall the scientific translunary to a forgetful public. (01/13/00)
By John McCormack

The Spider And The Fly
Angelika Raubal's entanglement with Adolf Hitler is the repellent, yet insidiously alluring, story Ron Hansen tells. (01/06/00)
By Randall Holdridge

Making Tracks
John Man details the significance of wildlife and wild places in Mongolia. (12/30/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Up In Smoke
Is the perception of Native Americans as intuitive, spiritual ecologists an accurate one? (12/23/99)
By Randall Holdridge

Southern Accents
William Gay spins a story of Southern evil in "The Long Home." (12/23/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Stealing Beauty
In "Invisible Monsters," Fight Club author Palahniuk proves that the cultural terrorist sensibility which fueled his earlier work is still intact. (12/16/99)
By Jeff Yanc

Trouble In Paradise
Dave Barry delivers a scandalously funny look at a few days in the lives of some South Floridans. (12/16/99)
By Tom Danehy

Amazing Disgrace
Disgrace chronicles not only the consequences of one man's fall, but those of the reordering of an entire society. (12/09/99)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Ríos Grande
Ríos' writing is quiet, graceful, often luscious, but never sentimental or cloying. (12/02/99)
By Jim Carvalho

Lives In Letters
"Letters of the Century" is a chronology of American history revealed by the actual participants themselves. (11/25/99)
By Leigh Rich

Natural Selection
"Isaac's Storm" is Eric Larson's haunting retelling of America's worst-ever natural disaster, the super-hurricane of 1900 which destroyed most of Galveston, Texas. (11/18/99)
By Tom Danehy

Mob Rules
This slice of high-level Mafia existence definitely belongs on the shelves of two different libraries--collections on organized crime and those on the Kennedy assassination. (11/11/99)
By Emil Franzi

Old Pueblo Passage
Holden Caulfield's spirit lurks everywhere in Naked Pueblo. (11/11/99)
By Randall Holdridge

Brave New World
Stanley offers a world as richly imagined as any fantasist could offer. (11/04/99)
By Dan Parslow

Creating Identity
In his battle to resolve the seemingly endless disparities of being "Edward," Said never quite makes his point. (10/28/99)
By Leigh Rich

The Wanderer
Niven managed to keep safe in a world of violence and intrigue by nothing more (nor less) than an ironclad sense of honor and sober industry. (10/14/99)
By Randall Holdridge

Madman, P.I.
Lethem creates a conventionally satisfying thriller while simultaneously transcending the well-worn genre. (10/07/99)
By Jeff Yanc

Books' Cover
Robin and Kathryn Smiley give starved bibliophiles something to savor. (09/16/99)
By Jim Carvalho

Crime With Passion
"Gods Go Begging" is a work so ambitious thematically and stylistically, and so timely in its interests, that it surely deserves a broad readership. (09/09/99)
By Randall Holdridge

Plundered Province
The concept of Western American literature may be misleading. (09/02/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Tracing The Mexican-American Past
Manuel G. Gonzales reveals what's in a label and more in "Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States." (09/02/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Man-Made Controversy
Pennock provides an informative look at the history of the anti-evolution movement. (08/26/99)
By Tom Danehy

Drowning In Junk
Consuming Desires assembles a stellar cast of contributors to argue against consumerism in a collection of essays. (08/26/99)
By Gregory McNamee

How The West Was Run
Far from the movie ideal, cowboys turn out to be an unromantic but interesting lot. (08/19/99)
By Gregory McNamee

A Life By Design
Frederick Olmsted changed the face of America's cities. (08/12/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Territorial Testimony
Morality play disguised as genre potboiler, "The Difference" is a thinking-man's Western. (08/12/99)
By Jim Carvalho

Ecstatic Appeal
Roberts' novel is imaginative, disturbing and thought-provoking. (08/05/99)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Amazing Grace
"Last Things" is decidedly mature, full of intelligent characters and a languid, comic terror. (08/05/99)
By James Garrison

Cactus Spine-Tingler
J.A. Jance's latest mystery is a perfect airplane read-entertaining, if not exactly challenging. (08/05/99)
By Tom Danehy

Simply Hideous
His characters may be twisted, but Wallace conveys true joy is in his exhilarating experimental writing style. (07/29/99)
By Jeff Yanc

Cibecue Redux
Although "Apache Nightmare" is an excellent, scholarly history, it probably won't appeal to the casual reader. (07/29/99)
By Johnny D. Boggs

Peltier Bound
In a collection of essays that's part manifesto and part memoir, Leonard Peltier, an inmate serving two life sentences, asserts his innocence. (07/29/99)
By Gregory McNamee

Dead Reckoning
Tucson writer and photojournalist John Merino retraces the footsteps seared into El Camino Del Diablo, The Road of the Devil. (07/22/99)
By Jim Carvalho

Delivering The Dirt
Grievously flawed, boring, infuriating, this may be one of the century's great novels. (07/22/99)
By James Reel

Frightful Feast
"Hannibal" will fulfill your appetite for suspense. (07/15/99)
By Brian Andrew Laird

From Bluegrass To Sagebrush
"Thirsty Woman" won't make any Great Books lists, but it's a natural Zonie read. (07/15/99)
By Christine Wald-Hopkins

Dual Success
With considerable art Arturo Pérez-Reverte integrates obscure knowledge with a rousing narrative. (07/08/99)
By Randall Holdridge

Electronic Impulse
Stephenson blends silicon and reality splendidly. (07/08/99)
By Dan Parslow

Tohono Titan
The MacArthur Foundation praised Zepeda for her unusual cluster of activities on behalf of native languages. (07/01/99)
By Margaret Regan

Option Overload
Tedium and confusion finally outweigh "One Hundred and One Ways' " other merits. (07/01/99)
By Randall Holdridge