Western Reads

Western Reads

By Aaron Downey

There is one spot in the United States where you can put your hands and feet in four different states. And surrounding it for hundreds of miles are remarkable landscapes, colorful rock formations, and rich cultures. Author Jim Turner gives all the fascinating historical and geographical details, and photographer Larry Lindahl captures its insane beauty in Four Corners USA: Wonders of the American Southwest, a book for armchair travelers as well as those who just have to stand in four places at once.

If you like those remote landscapes, and you enjoy history, you might also be interested in Philip Varney and Jim Hinckley’s Ghost Towns of the West. The authors have rounded up the best, most interesting, and most visitworthy ghost towns in eleven western states, and explore the stories that made them what they were.

The National Parks and the people who work there are on our minds these days. And there’s no better way to learn what rangers go through than Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks. Former ranger Andrea “Andy” Lankford recounts funny, serious, and crazy stories from her twelve years in some of America’s most beautiful parks.

Growing seeds, figuratively and metaphorically, is the heart of award-winning artist and writer Kadir Nelson’s excellent children’s book, If You Plant a Seed. Watch out, this one might hit you right in the feels, as the kids say these days. It’s a real treasure.

Finally, planting things is at the root of a lifetime of work by Marcy Scott to bring you Hummingbird Plants of the Southwest, which has been called the definitive book on the subject. Marcy profiles in meticulous detail and photos the 120 best native plants to bring hummingbirds to your garden, yard, or patio. She also includes sections on fourteen of the most common hummingbirds throughout the Southwest hummer territory, which stretches across seven states.

If you plant it, they will come! Spring is a time of renewal and growth, the perfect time to fall in love with a good book! Visit us at www.rionuevo.com

Aaron Downey is the managing editor at Rio Nuevo Publishers, a division of Treasure Chest Books. We create compelling, visually exciting, award-winning books about the people, places, and things that make the West so distinctive.