Suggested Reading List
An Introduction to Grand Canyon Ecology
Author: Houk, Rose
An Introduction to Grand Canyon Prehistory
Author: Coder, Christopher M.
Description: People have inhabited Grand Canyon for the past twelve thousand years. Evidence of their lives exists throughout the canyon; but it is up to their ancestors and archaeologists to interpret those remains for us. This book provides a popular look at the architecture, art, and tools of prehistoric Puebloan peoples, as well as information about modern-day Native American tribes. With illustrations and color photographs.
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water
Author: Reisner, Marc
Description: The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruption and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecologic and economic disaster. In Cadillac Desert Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the competition to transform the West. Based on more than a decade of research, Cadillac Desert is a stunning expose and a dramatic, intriguing history of the creation of an Eden--and Eden that may be only a mirage.
Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories, and Mystery
Author: Ranney, Wayne
Description: Ranney explains how rivers in general can physically carve canyons, looks chronologically at the numerous theories that have been presented by successive generations of geologists regarding the Grand Canyon's formation, and describes a plausible sequence of geologic events that could create such a landscape. Numerous color photographs, detailed illustrations, and maps are provided. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR 160pp; 2nd edition 2012.
Field Guide to the Grand Canyon
Author: Whitney, Stephen R
Description: This book describes and illustrates the area's plants and animals, and offers fascinating in-depth information on the natural history and geology of this dramatic region. 272pp
Grand Canyon: Time Below the Rim
Author: Craig Childs and Gary Ladd
Description: Prepared by the Book Division of Arizona Highways magazine, this book is written and photographed by 2 of the leading authorities on the subject matter.
There's no place on earth like the Grand Canyon, and there's no book about the Canyon like this one. "Grand Canyon: Time Below the Rim" connects you with remote sections of the Canyon most people will never see: the waterfalls, the streams, the thousands of side canyons, the prehistoric rock formations, the rock art and other remains of an ancient civilization, and the entire course of the Colorado River through the Canyon.
Half Broke Horses
Author: Walls, Jeannette
Description: Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, wrote this true life novel which unfolds across Northern Arizona from the 1920s to the 1960s. Its heroine, Lily Casey Smith, (Ms. Wall's grandmother) battled the elements, prejudices, economic conditions and politics of remote frontier Arizona. Many of the locations described - Peach Springs, Seligman, Flagstaff, the Navajo Reservation, the Arizona Strip - are sites visited by NAU Road Scholar programs. Readers of this selection will feel the sense of heritage from this tale of life in our distant corner of America.
Living at the Edge: Explorers, Exploiters, and Settlers of the Grand Canyon Region
Author: Anderson, Michael F
Description: A comprehensive look at the pioneer history of the Grand Canyon Region, from its earliest residents to the creation of the national park at the end of the pioneer era (circa 1920). Included are close to two hundred historic photographs, many never published before, and 12 custom maps of the region. 184pp
Secret Sedona: Sacred Moments in the Landscape
Author: Larry Lindahl
Description: This book provides an overview of the terrain, ancestral Indian ruins and petroglyphs found in Sedona's wilderness areas. Extraordinary photography from one of the nations most photogenic areas. 80 pages.
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons
Author: Powell, John Wesley
Description: Full text of Powell's 1,000-mile expedition down the fabled Colorado in 1869. Superb account of terrain, geology, vegetation, Indians, famine, mutiny, treacherous rapids, mighty canyons. 240 illustrations. 432pp
Volcanoes of Northern Arizona - Sleeping Giants of the Grand Canyon Region
Author: Duffield, Wendell A
Description: Just south of the Grand Canyon lies a range of volcanic mountain including Mt. Humphreys, the highest point in Arizona. These mountains encompassing Sunset Crater and the San Francisco Peaks, collectively make up the San Francisco Volcanic Field. This book provides, for the first time, a popular look at the fiery origin of these volcanic features. With magnificent aerial photographs, original geologic illustrations, and detailed road logs to many of the key features, this book is an indispensable tool for the traveler, the educator, and all that are interested in the remarkable landscape of northern Arizona. 68pp