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Arizona: Tucson & the Sonoran Desert

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXSWU163. Buy these 5 items as a set for $72 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Moon Tucson

Moon Tucson

by Tim Hull

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 264 PAGES

A great resource for the independent traveler, this guidebook features a good introduction to land, history and culture, as well as practical detail on getting around, where to go, and where to stay. With personality, detailed local maps, a glossary and suggested itineraries. (USW622, $17.95)

Desert Light, A Photographer's Journey Through America's Desert Southwest

Desert Light, A Photographer's Journey Through America's Desert Southwest

by John Annerino

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 128 PAGES

Annerino's portrays in glorious color photographs the Painted, Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahua deserts on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border. (SWU247, $29.95)

Southwestern Desert Life

Southwestern Desert Life

by Raymond Leung | James Kavanaugh

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2000
  • PLASTIC CARD

A pocket-size, fold-out guide to the life of the desert southwest. (SWU43, $5.95)

Revenge of the Saguaro, Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest

Revenge of the Saguaro, Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest

by Tom Miller

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

It's back! Tom Miller's digressive, witty and willfully eccentric account of travel and obsession in the American Southwest (originally published as Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink) captures the spirit of his beloved homeland. (USW327, $14.95)

Recreational Map of Arizona

Recreational Map of Arizona

by GTR Mapping

  • 2006
  • MAP

This up-to-date detailed road map, at a scale of 1:790,000, features colorful, shaded relief. (USW271, $7.95)

 
Eyewitness Guide Arizona & the Grand Canyon

Eyewitness Guide Arizona & the Grand Canyon


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to Arizona, complete with over 500 photographs, illustrations and maps, as well as plenty of travel information. (SWU173, $20.00)

Made in the Southwest: A Shopper's Guide to the Region's Best Native American, Hispanic and Western Craft Traditions

Made in the Southwest: A Shopper's Guide to the Region's Best Native American, Hispanic and Western Craft Traditions


by Laura Morelli

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

A shopper's guide by writer and art historian Laura Morelli to all that is handmade and beautiful in the Southwest's Hispanic, Native American and Western traditions. With a state-by-state guide to artisans and stores and 80 color illustrations. (SWU209, $24.95)

Let the Cowboy Ride, Cattle Ranching in the American West

Let the Cowboy Ride, Cattle Ranching in the American West


by Paul Starrs

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Richly illustrated with more 130 photographs and maps, this book combines the authentic detail of an insider's view (Starrs spent six years working cattle on the high desert Great Basin range) with a scholar's keen eye for analysis. (USW615, $25.00)

The Desert Smells Like Rain, A Naturalist in O'odham Country

The Desert Smells Like Rain, A Naturalist in O'odham Country


by Gary Paul Nabhan

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 148 PAGES

A compassionate portrait and natural history of the Papago Indians of Arizona's Sonoran desert. (USW275, $17.95)

Indian Rock Art of the Southwest


by Polly Schaafsma

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 1986
  • PAPER
  • 379 PAGES

A comprehensive, nicely illusrtated survey of rock art. (SWU136, $45.00)

The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of the Southwest

The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of the Southwest


by Nik Wheeler | Joan Tapper

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

With hundreds of photographs, essays and travel information on 30 historic towns and distinctive communities throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada Utah and western Colorado, both well-known and remote, including Bisbee, Ouray, Moab and Sedona. (SWU291, $40.00)

A Beautiful, Cruel Country


by Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 318 PAGES

An absorbing memoir of growing up on a ranch along the Arizona/Mexico border in the early 20th-century. (USW325, $22.95)

The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons

The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons


by John Wesley Powell

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 397 PAGES

The classic tale of adventure and exploration of the rivers and canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau, originally published in 1875 -- and still terrific reading for any traveler to the Grand Canyon. (USW80, $16.00)

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon


by John Ford

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • DVD

A U.S. Cavalry captain (John Wayne) struggles with honor, duty and loneliness as he nears retirement in this poignant Technicolor Western, directed by the great John Ford. The film includes breathtaking shots of Monument Valley. (USW592, $12.97)

The Laughing Boy

The Laughing Boy


by Oliver La Farge

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 193 PAGES

An ethnographer and archaeologist, La Farge captures the flavor of the landscapes and ways of life in Northern Arizona in the early 20th century in this Pulitzer Prize-winning short novel. (USW240, $12.95)

Desert Solitaire

Desert Solitaire


by Edward Abbey

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

One of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah, his message is universal. (DES02, $7.99)

Our Sonoran Desert


by Bill Broyles

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 80 PAGES

Broyles showcases the diverse landscapes, plants and animals of the Sonoran from its rugged mountains, sand dunes and lava flows to its cactus, horned lizards and bighorn sheep in this compact introduction. (USW567, $14.95)

Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert

Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert


by Terry Tempest Williams

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A series of lyrical, thoughtful essays on the power and beauty of the Red Rock Wilderness of southern Utah, including Grand Staircase, Canyonlands, Glen Canyon, Moab and the Great Basin. (USW398, $15.00)

When the Rains Come, A Naturalist's Year in the Sonoran Desert

When the Rains Come, A Naturalist's Year in the Sonoran Desert


by John Alcock

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

Combining scientific observation with a personal perspective and color photographs, longtime Sonoran resident John Alcock tracks the changes in plant and animal life over the course of a drought year, offering new insights into the desert's natural history, conservation and astonishing diversity. (SWU471, $21.95)

Scats and Tracks of the Desert Southwest

Scats and Tracks of the Desert Southwest


by James Halfpenny | Todd Telander

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A pocket guide to tracks, scats and signs of the animals of the region. (SWU61, $9.95)

Sonoran Desert Life

Sonoran Desert Life


by Gerald A. Rosenthal

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 306 PAGES

This compact, informative guide illustrates the flora and fauna of the Sonora. (USW574, $27.95)

Sonoran Desert Wildlfowers, A Field Guide to the Common Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert


by Richard Spellenburg

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A compact, authoritative guide to the wildflowers of the Sonoran, featuring 300 color photographs. (SWU182, $24.95)

Southwestern Desert Birds


by Raymond Leung | James Kavanaugh

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PLASTIC CARD

A fold-out, laminated guide to the birds of the desert Southwest, with illustrations of almost 150 species. Kids will enjoy this identification guide, too. (SWU42, $5.95)

The Night Sky

The Night Sky


by Raymond Leung | James Cavanaugh

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PLASTIC CARD

A guide to the major constellations in the Northern Hemisphere featuring color photographs and glow-in-the-dark star charts. (SCI49, $5.95)

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America


by David Sibley

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 474 PAGES

A compact, geographically specific version of the Sibley Guide with all-new range maps, the same glorious illustrations and expanded, extremely valuable descriptions of each bird. (USW418, $19.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.