Books

As I read the Tucson Weekly review of God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, I knew this was one book that was going straight to the top of my reading queue. And, wow, it does not disappoint. I've had a fascination with the Sierra Madre for a number of years. This huge mountain range, which begins just south of the Arizona-Mexico border, is home to some of the roughest terrain on Earth... and some of the roughest people on Earth. Richard Grant tracks through it; despite many who warn him of the dangers, he's pulled like a magnet into the heart of darkness, and almost doesn't escape to tell the tale.

Along the way, the book is full of wild tales that he experienced first-hand and fascinating insights into the cultures of the region, and Mexico in general. A multi-day drunken Tarahumara Easter rite. Searches for lost gold and Apache descendants of Geronimo. Getting drunk and high with narcos and law officers alike (they are often actually the same people, an inextricable and ever-shifting mix of corruption). A gay wedding planner who reveals the secret sex lives of super-macho gangsta-narcos. A nice recount of Tarahumara ultramarathon exploits here in the U.S. The lawlessness that has been a constant for centuries in this region, and continues unabated. The surreal character of everyday life, where nothing can be believed to happen for natural reasons, and the elusive character of history in such a region.

Somewhat oddly, this book was filed in the 'True Crime' section at Borders, though it really belongs in Travel/Adventure. It's a really fun read, and will leave an indelible impression. I supplemented it by doing Google Image Searches on the town names he travels through. You'll find a few good sets of photos by folks who traveled through on motorbikes (sounds like a fun way to do it, though no doubt just as dangerous).

I just finished reading The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed, John McPhee's 1973 account of a company (Aereon) attempting to develop a new generation of rigid airships. If only the Zeppelins hadn't used (what we now know was) explosively flammable paint, air and freight travel today might be radically better. They successfully design, simulate, build, and test fly a small scale (26 ft. long) version of an "aerobody", a powered dirigible with a shape like a lifting body; it's quite an intriguing story.

The full scale versions would have been the size of a football field on up to an ocean liner and capable of carrying enormous amounts of cargo, with longer range, and at considerably less cost (and energy use or carbon footprint) than what we use today. Alas, it was not to be.

One interesting fact pointed out is that, following WW1 & the U.S. wouldn't sell helium to Germany, forcing them to use hydrogen (apparently this was a policy decision and not a condition of the Versailles Treaty). Further, though this was a factor in the Hindenburg disaster, it has now been demonstrated (on Mythbusters, no less!) that static discharage setting off the Titanium Oxide lacquer was more likely the ignition point.

The book includes a number of testimonials to the capabilities of the great airships, both from the days of the U.S. Navy fleet and from zeppelin passengers. They had the ability to fly in conditions that would cripple most aircraft: flying in blizzards, encrusted with tons of ice, flying with so much stability that an inverted bottle didn't tip over on a trip across the Atlantic.

Remarkably, the company profiled in the book still exists. You can read more about it (and see a picture of their craft taking off) here.

Joseph Wood Krutch was a naturalist, writer, Tucson resident, and author of (among many other books) Grand Canyon: Today and All Its Yesterdays. A nifty cactus garden on the UofA mall is named in his honor.

Though out of print, you can find some copies on amazon. Though published fifty years ago, it is not outdated. I found it to be a great introduction to the geology of the canyon, with vivid portrayals of the vast epochs involved, the life that flourished and is preserved as fossils. It concludes with a genteel proto-environmentalist call for conservation, at a time when plans for damming the Colorado within the canyon where being seriously considered.

It's been 18 months or so since I've been up to the Grand Canyon, am thinking of planning a hike for June. In the meantime, I'll review some Grand Canyon books. Here's the first (taken from my Amazon review).

This book suceeds on every level and is one of the best adventure books I've read. Much more than a hiking guide, it is an amazingly well-written of a journey more mental than physical, as Colin shares deep insights into life, geology and the history of the Earth as revealed by the Grand Canyon.

Backpackers will appreciate his accurate portrayals of hiking: the mixed emotions before setting of on a long and possible perilous journey, the still moments feeling at one with Nature, the way everyday minutia and worry eventually recedes into the background. If you have friends who want to know what backcountry hiking is all about (without actually going on one), this is the book to read.

Also, for Canyon afficionados (such as myself), Fletcher's book captures the majesty, awe, and grandeur of America's (or at least Arizona's) crown jewel.

Although written in the 1960's, this account does not feel dated. It is very much more than a 'been-there, done-that' journal of a record-setting performance, but instead has much to offer to any reader. Highly recommended.

Two of the books I read this summer were the autobiographies of Ray Charles ("Brother Ray") and Bob Dylan ("Chronicles Vol. 1"). I've never been much into the music of either, but the stories intrigued me. The movie Ray, with Jamie Foxx, was a little disappointing. Although Foxx definitely earned his Oscar with the amazing performance, the movie otherwise seemed too straightforward, linear, unimaginative, like a docu-drama you'd see on VH1. So I hoped the book would provide more insight, more heart, more soul. I recall the book caused some controversy back in the 70's when in came out. Now I see why: Ray is very up-front and unapologetic about a lifetime of drug use (though he kicks the hard stuff) and wild sex (we're talking Wilt Chamberlain numbers here, while still married). Suffice it say he had a very addictive personality, and rationalizes it all throughout the book. The passion for music comes across a little clearer in the book, but basically you can see the movie was directly adapted from it. I've never understood why Bob Dylan was such a phenomenon. Don't get me wrong: there's a few of his songs I like, and clearly his lyrics went light-years beyond anyone else's but his popularity as a generational icon baffles me. I guess it baffled him too: he talks about what became essentially a entire second career attempting to destroy the image of his first career. And then a third career trying to recapture the ambition of the first. The book goes back and forth along these arcs, touching down to certain places and times with a seemingly eidetic memory, while all the rest is haze and shadow. He's very clear about this moments of great focus where ambition crystallizes and career directions are set, but beyond a few thoughts about his hometown, the intervening decades are blurred over. Maybe he'll fill them in when subsequent volumes come out. Both of these guys popularized changes in their chosen genres, Dylan with folk and rock and R.C. with blues and gospel. These changes seemed radical to everyone outside of their points of view. To them, they were just doing what came naturally. It's the mark of genius, to make significant advances look easy....

I just finished reading Merchants of Deception (the book can be freely downloaded from the site in PDF format). It's a true, insider look at Amway / Quixtar by a man who follows the lure of wealth and independence for ten years. Now, it should be obvious (to anyone who's looked at it, however briefly) that Amway is basically a pyramid scheme. How well you do is based on how many you recruit, how many they recruit, and so on. But could it also be a cult? One of largest, most insidious cults in the U.S? It sounds unbelievable, but by the end of this book, you'll be convinced of the affirmative answer to that question. It's a shocking, gripping story, one I couldn't put down until the very end. A friend once talked me into attending an intro seminar on a similar organization (either it was Amway / Quixtar itself, or one that had cloned their methods). The promise was part-time hours, not doing a lot of direct selling but instead recruiting and eventually achieving wealth. Read More