2009 nevada books

The Al Fresco Life
By Joe Vassallo & Mary Vail, Schiffer Books, schifferbooks.com, 610-593-1777, 144 pages, 340 color photos

Be inspired to create inviting outdoor spaces around the house, resulting in the perpetual “home-cation” destination. Pool builder Joe Vassallo and photographer Mary Vail collaborated on this hardbound, coffee table edition. Photos and descriptions of landscape ideas, custom pool designs, and outdoor structures complement recipes from Spiedini restaurant’s Master Chef Gustav Mauler in Las Vegas and Mixologist Shawn Barker’s trendy cocktail recipes and beverage accompaniments for poolside gatherings. The publication benefits Clark County School District Title-1 homeless education programs.

Aurrera!—A Textbook for Studying Basque, Volume 2
By Linda White, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 304 pages.

Covering third and fourth semester college-level study, the complex rules of Basque grammar are explained in easy-to-understand terms and the dialogues, exercises, and reading texts offer numerous examples of each structure along with common idioms and the basics of social conversation. Whether learning in a classroom or independently, students will gain a sound foundation in the language to make their own way in a Basque-speaking environment and to read basic Basque texts.

The Bomb: A New History
By Stephen M. Younger, Ecco Books, eccobooks.com, 212-207-7000, 256 pages

From his years at Los Alamos and the Nevada Test Site to his meetings with nuclear arms experts in Moscow, former weapons designer Stephen M. Younger has witnessed firsthand the making of nuclear policy. With startling clarity, Younger reveals how weapons work, the myths and realities of what happens after a nuclear explosion, and how our nuclear policy evolved to what it is today. The Bomb is a compelling call to debate, and to action, that no one can afford to ignore.

Catering Secrets—Entertaining Like a Pro
By Molly Gingell, Molly’s Gourmet Catering & Take Out, mollysgourmetcatering.com, 40 pages, 47 color photos

The idea behind this cookbook is to inspire food enthusiasts who like to entertain to cater their own hors d'oeuvre with professional flair. The book makes your food a guest of honor, with quality recipes showcased by unique presentation ideas. Years of professional cooking and catering experiences are the basic stock of Catering Secrets, and the book offers many helpful shortcuts, hints, insights—and recipes.

Cheatgrass: Fire and Forage on the Range
By James A. Young and Charlie D. Clements, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 352 pages, 42 b/w photos

Cheatgrass is the first comprehensive study of this highly invasive plant that has changed the ecology of millions of acres of western rangeland. The book addresses the subject from several perspectives: the history of the invasion; the origins and biology of cheatgrass; its genetic variations, breeding systems, and patterns of distribution; its impact on grazing management; and the role it plays, both positive and negative, in the lives of high desert wildlife.

Counter Culture—The American Coffee Shop Waitress
By Candacy A. Taylor, Cornell University Press, taylormadeculture.com, 415-994-3840, 142 pages, 126 color photos

Counter Culture profiles waitresses aged 50 and older who have been working in neighborhood diners throughout the United States. Photographer, writer, and former waitress Candacy Taylor uses interview quotes, cultural criticism, documentary photography and oral histories to analyze an overlooked group of working women who have brought meaning and culture to the American roadside dining experience. The book includes waitresses from the Nevada towns of Sparks, Reno, Henderson, and Gardnerville.

Escaping Domestic Abuse—How Women Get Out and Stay Out
By Jane Boucher, Whitaker House, 937-416-9881, janeboucher.com, whitakerhouse.com, 188 pages

“The agony of domestic violence Boucher writes about ignites our continued efforts to ensure there is never again another abused woman—not in our communities, not in our states, not in our nation.”—Dawn Gibbons, First Lady of Nevada Reno resident and best-selling author of seven books, including How to Love the Job You Hate, turns her investigative energy to the issue of domestic abuse. In an age where one in three women suffers some form of abuse at the hand of a domestic partner, Boucher’s revealing and candid book details the stories of courageous women who broke away from abusive relationships and learned to thrive. Learn how they did it, and the seven secrets of staying out once you’ve escaped an abusive relationship.

The Family Ranch: Land, Children, and Tradition in the American West
By Linda Hussa, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 239 pages

As a stabilizing force in the American West, ranch families play a critical role in our country, contributing to our nation with the food they raise, the environments they protect, and the resources they manage. They preserve our western heritage while holding the West open for the rest of us, yet their stories are seldom told. In The Family Ranch, award-winning author Linda Hussa offers readers a personal, inside view into the lives of six diverse ranching families and the land that shapes their days and nights. Photographer Madeleine Graham Blake provides engaging and often moving images that portray each family at work and at play.

Finding Bliss—A Collection of Columns from Erin Breen’s Family File
By Erin Meehan Breen, Blue Dragonfly Books, bluedragonflybooks.com, 775-329-8033

Reno writer and broadcaster Erin Breen provides weekly observations on family life and other topics in her column for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Having spent 25 years honing a talent for story-telling, Breen’s musings on family life take on universal issues and make for touching stories.

Geologic Tours in the Las Vegas Area. Expanded Edition with GPS Coordinates
By Joseph V. Tingley, Becky W. Purkey, Ernest M. Duebendorfer, Eugene I. Smith, Jonathan G. Price, and Stephen B. Castor, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, nbmg.unr.edu, 775-784-6691 ext. 2, 144 pages, 66 color photos, numerous b/w photos, sketches, maps.

Each of the five tours in this guidebook takes travelers to a different area of special geologic interest within a short drive of Las Vegas. Along with geology, the book tells of the people who shaped the human history of the area and touches on natural history of native plants and animals. Trip choices include GPS coordinates for national recreation areas, state parks, and a refuge for desert bighorn sheep, and provide options for side trips, hiking, camping, wildlife viewing, and fishing and boating.

Geology of the Great Basin
By Bill Fiero, University of Nevada Press unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 256 pages, 41 b/w photos, 27 color photos, 53 line art, 13 maps.

Since its first publication in 1986, Geology of the Great Basin has become the essential introduction to the geology of this physically complex, ever-changing region. Generously illustrated with photographs, diagrams, and maps the book describes the fundamentals of geologic processes and discusses the physical attributes and geologic history of the Great Basin, including specific sites where significant geologic features can be observed.

The Gods of Diyala—Transfer of Command in Iraq
By Caleb S. Cage and Gregory M. Tomlin, Texas A&M University Press Consortium, tamu.edu/upress, 800-826-8911; 320 pages, 26 b/w photos, 1 map

In March 2004, Caleb S. Cage, senior policy advisor to the lieutenant governor of Nevada, and Gregory M. Tomlin deployed to Baquba, Iraq on a mission that would redefine how conventional U.S. military forces fight an urban war. Cage and Tomlin chronicle Task Force 1-6 Field Artillery's year on the ground in Iraq and its response to the insurgency that threatened to engulf their corner of the Sunni Triangle in this new and personal perspective on the second stage of the war in Iraq.

The Gold Nugget
By Patricia Redican, Tate Publishing, tatepublishing.com, 264 pages

When her dad and brother go missing, Los Angeles beauty Rebecca Simmons quits her job and travels to Nevada to search out Sheriff Tom Ackerman. From the moment she arrives in town, she becomes the target of a man determined to get what he wants at any cost.

The Great Basin—People and Place in Ancient Times
Edited by Catherine S. Fowler and Don D. Fowler, School for Advanced Research Press, sarweb.org, 505-954-7200; 196 pages, 163 b/w illustrations, 25 color plates, maps

The Great Basin is an arid and often harsh land with life-giving oases. Highlighting the ingenious solutions people devised to sustain themselves in a difficult environment, the authors explore the lifeways of American Indians who have lived there for the past 13,000 years. The evidence of their success is the fragile remains of food, baskets, hats, hunting decoys, traps, and rock art, left behind for archeologists to discover.

Homeruns & Jackpots: Baseball in Nevada
By Tim Mueller, Morris Publishing, nevadatravel.net, 775-721-3387, 136 pages

In the forward to Homeruns & Jackpots, Don Logan, the president/general manager of the Las Vegas 51s, says, “Take time and enjoy the detailed stories of these players and coaches and many others in this book. Tim Mueller poured his heart and soul into this effort and deserves a hearty ‘thank you’ from everyone involved, both past and present, for his work in writing this book about baseball in Nevada.”

The Hunt
By R.A. Lura, Raular Publishing, raularpublishing.com

The sequel to Vampires in Las Vegas details the adventures of three men hunting for what remains of a Las Vegas vampire den.

Images of America—Clark County
By Crystal Van Dee, Arcadia Publishing, arcadiapublishing.com, 888-313-2665 128 pages

In 1902, Senator William Clark purchased a large portion of the Las Vegas Ranch to create a rail stop for his latest business venture, the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. On May 15, 1905, a land auction was held, officially marking the birthday of Las Vegas. Situated in Lincoln County, Las Vegas was more than 200 miles from the county seat of Pioche, making it difficult to conduct official business. Politicians lobbied for the creation of a new county, and Clark County, named after Senator Clark, was established in 1909 with Las Vegas as the county seat.

Images of America—Elko County
By Claudia Wines and the Northeastern Nevada Museum, Arcadia Publishing, arcadiapublishing.com, 843-853-2070; 128 pages

Located in the northeast corner of Nevada, Elko County is the fourth largest county in the continental United States, yet there are only 2.5 people per square mile. Miles and miles of sagebrush give way to such scenic jewels as Lamoille Canyon and the Ruby Mountains. Towns settled in the 1860s when the railroad arrived, bringing ranching and mining jobs. Considered one of the last frontiers of the Old West, Elko’s gaming and entertainment traditions aid its rich heritage and unique high-dessert landscapes, which are richly illustrated by page after page of historical photos.

John Mackay—Silver King in the Gilded Age
By Michael J. Makley, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 296 pages

From the early 1870s until his death in 1902, John Mackay was among the richest men in the world, and he was without doubt the wealthiest man to emerge from Nevada’s fabulous Comstock Lode. Beginning life as a poor Irish immigrant, he came west to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush, then moved on to Virginia City, where he operated silver mines and discovered the “Big Bonanza” that was three times as rich as any other Comstock strike. This fascinating new biography contributes significantly to our understanding of the development of the West and of business and society in the Gilded Age.

The Jumping Frog and Other Sketches
By Mark Twain, Pushkin Press, pushkinpress.com, 240 pages, 11 b/w illustrations by Grafton T. Brown

A much-celebrated jumping frog, the lack of literature in a gold-mining town, and castaways who eat their own shoes to survive are among the subjects treated by the stories contained in this volume. The Jumping Frog and Other Sketches captures the light and humorous spirit of Mark Twain’s early work, inspired by his experiences in the mining districts of California and Nevada.

Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty
By Thomas Bachand, Chronicle Books, chroniclebooks.com, 415-537-4200. 176 pages

Thomas Bachand's stunning photographs of Lake Tahoe capture the allure and fragility of this beloved leisure destination. As hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the region each year, environmental researchers work to preserve the ecosystem for future generations. Bachand's book reveals the delicate balance between conservation and recreation, as images of both majestic landscapes and development are juxtaposed. Dr. Charles Goldman, Director of the Tahoe Research Group at UC Davis and a leader in the efforts to preserve Lake Tahoe, introduces this picturesque and thought-provoking volume.

Last Bonanza Kings—The Bourns of San Francisco
By Ferol Egan, University of Nevada Press unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573; 312 pages, 17 b/w photos

Among the wealthiest and most powerful of the Bonanza Kings were William Bowers Bourn I and his son and successor, William Bowers Bourn II. Their wealth came from rich mines in Nevada’s Comstock Lode and California’s Sierra foothills, as well as astute business ventures in San Francisco. Filled with colorful detail and sweeping sense of epic drama, the book tells of the turbulent age of rampant financial and civic growth, major technological advances in mining, lavish philanthropy, and opulent lifestyles.

The Last Cookie Club
By Larry Brennan, Hardway Press, lastcookieclub.com, 398 pages

Larry Brennan, owner of the Lucky Charm—one of the most successful neighborhood casinos in Las Vegas—seems to have it all. But beneath the surface, he is slowly dying. All his life, Larry has suffered from a compulsive addiction to food, a dependence suffocating him, killing him, and threatening to consume him. When Larry discovers that a small group of his friends and acquaintances are trying to deal with the same affliction, he bands them into a self-help group, the Last Cookie Club.

Lost in Austin—A Nevada Memoir
By Jim Andersen, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 152 pages

In 1974 Jim Andersen and his wife, tired of the congestion and high taxes in California, decided to start a new life in rural Nevada. Andersen’s account of his life in Austin is a charming, sometimes hilarious account of city folks adapting to life in a small town. It offers an engaging portrait of a Nevada that exists far from the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas and Reno, "a happy Bermuda Triangle" where rugged individualism and community spirit flourish amidst sagebrush and vast open spaces.

Mrs. Cahill for Congress: One Fearless Teacher, Her Sixth-Grade Class, and the Election that Changed Their Lives Forever
By Tierney Cahill and Linden Gross, Ballantine Books, randomhouse.com, 212-782-9000; 256 pages.

When Washoe County schoolteacher Tierney Cahill told her sixth-grade class that anyone can run for office in America, they challenged her to do it. She accepted the challenge, if they would run her campaign. With $7,000 in her war chest, Cahill set out to run a grassroots campaign for Congress. This story proves that anyone can run for office without money and connections or make a difference.

The Mojave Desert—Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability
Edited by Robert H. Webb, Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Jill S. Heaton, Debra L. Hughson, Eric V. McDonald and David M. Miller, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573; 528 pages, 45 b/w photos, 15 color photos, 97 line art, 31 maps

The Mojave Desert offers the fruits of extensive research in a number of disciplines and a sound assessment of the current state and possible future of one of the world's major deserts. As human intrusion and climate change increasingly threaten the Mojave's ecosystem, studies like this are essential in helping scientists, land managers, and the general public understand what is at risk and what can be done to preserve this austere and hauntingly beautiful region.

The Nature Way—Wisdom from a Western Shoshone Elder
By Corbin Harney, as told to and edited by Alex Purbrick. Foreword by Tom Goldtooth, University of Nevada Press unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573; 136 pages, 1 b/w photo.

The Nature Way is a rich compendium of Corbin Harney’s experience and wisdom as a traditional healer, spiritual leader and as a leader in the Shoshone struggle for Civil rights. His account of his life incorporates the tragic history of Native Americans in the Great Basin after the arrival of Euro-Americans, his realization of his own identity as a Native American, and his long study of his people’s traditions and spiritual practices. His summary of the Shoshone and Paiute use of indigenous plants for food and healing highlights their understanding that the Earth and her denizens and products must be respected and protected in order to preserve the connection that all creatures have with sacred Mother Earth.

Nevada Colors—Northeastern Nevada
By Susan A. Zerga, Artful Dragon Press, photographybysusanzerga.com, e-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); 167 pages, 167 color photos

Lamoille photographer Susan Zerga presents northeastern Nevada in full color, from wild-horse herds to the ranching life and the seasonal changes that mark its wildlife and flora.

Nevada Curiosities—Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff
By Richard Moreno, Globe Pequot Press, globepequot.com, 203-458-4646, 272 pages

Whether you're a born-and-raised Nevadan, a recent transplant, or just passing through, Nevada Curiosities will have you laughing out loud as it introduces you to the most fascinating characters in the Silver State, and takes you places you never could have imagined—some of them right around the corner. Among the stimulating sights and spectacles you'll find Las Vegas's Old Mormon Fort and Atomic Testing Museum; the Bellagio Resort's Fiori di Como, a 40,000-pound glass sculpture that incorporates more than 2,000 hand blown glass flowers; the ruins of the 19th-century farming community St. Thomas, which reappear like a modern-day Atlantis when Lake Mead's water level drops during droughts; and the giant mutant rocks at Valley of Fire State Park.

Nevada Outhouse Trivia Book
By Martin T. Smith, Flag Store Sign & Banner, eventflags.com, 800-842-1131, 150pages

Written by the creator of the Nevada Trivia Game, this book contains stories, trivia, history, facts, photos, word games, and more. Retail price is $24.95, special price is $19.95. Makes a great gift for any Nevadan.

The Nevada Review
By Joe McCoy, Caleb S. Cage, Michael Archer, Jeremy McKay, Brad Summerhill, Gary T. Cage, Alisha Anne Sullivan, & Lee Johnson, CreateSpace, amazon.com, 96 pages.

The Nevada Review is a journal dedicated to Nevada: it aims to enhance understanding of the state as a geographical, social, and political unit and a microcosm of the West in the broader historical and political development of the United States. Recognizing the distinctive geological, environmental, social and ethnographic characteristics of Nevada, the Review seeks contributions that examine these features and investigate how they have contributed to the shape of its political institutions, demographic profile, and cultural mores. To this end, the Review encompasses studies from a broad range of disciplines and perspectives, including, but not limited to, history, political science, economics, and literary criticism and also accepts literary contributions of short fiction that concern Nevada, its people, and their way of life.

Nevada’s Environmental Legacy: Progress or Plunder
By James W. Hulse, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 176 pages.

Veteran historian and Nevada native James W. Hulse considers the state's complex environmental history as a series of Faustian bargains between the state's need for economic development and the industries, government agencies, and individuals that have exploited Nevada's natural resources with little concern for the long-term consequences of their activities. His survey covers all these issues, and examines public attitudes about the environment and the role of federal and state agencies in creating, interpreting, and enforcing environmental policies.

Nevada’s Historic Buildings—A Cultural Legacy
By Ronald M. James, Elizabeth Safford Harvey, and Thomas Perkins, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 240 pages, 93 b/w photos, one map

Nevada’s Historic Buildings highlights structures that reflect the resourcefulness and innovation of early settlers struggling to inhabit an austere environment as well as the diversification of Nevada’s economy and population. Describing them in the context of the state’s history and the character of the people who created and used them, there are reminders of mining boomtowns, historic ranches, transportation, the divorce and gaming industries, and the New Deal.

Racing for the Gold: The Story of Lyle Shelton and the Rare Bear
By Dell Rourk, AuthorHouse, authorhouse.com, 800-839-8640, 192 pages

Fans of the Reno Air Races know the Rare Bear, Lyle Shelton’s salvaged World War II Grumman Bearcat. The book tells Shelton’s story from the beginning to the Hall of Fame.

Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in The Biggest Little City
By Alicia Barber, University of Kansas Press, kansaspress.ku.edu, 785-864-4155, 320 pages, 30 illustrations

Tracing the transformation of Reno’s reputation from backward railroad town to the nationally known “Sin Central,” and chronicling the city’s changing fortunes from the days of the Comstock Lode, Barber describes how city leaders came to embrace an identity as “The Biggest Little City in the World” and transform their town into a lively tourist Mecca. More than a second-string Las Vegas, Reno pioneered most of the attractions—gaming and prizefighting, divorces and weddings—that made the larger city famous. Barber’s Reno story provides a cautionary tale for other cities hoping to ride the latest consumer trends.

The Roots of Reno
By Al W. Moe, Book Surge Publishing, booksurge.com, 866-308-6235, 252 pages

Reno grew into “The Biggest Little City in the World” with the help of four casino pioneers: Nick Abelman, Bill Graham, Jim McKay, and George Wingfield. They took the millions they dug up in central Nevada boomtowns and settled into Reno and Lake Tahoe to change the face of casinos forever.

Searching for Tamsen Donner
By Gabrielle Burton, University of Nebraska Press, nebraskapress.unl.edu, 402-472-3581, 328 pages, 14 photos, 2 maps

For some, the name Tamsen Donner conjures the ill-fated Donner party trapped in the snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846–47. Others might know Tamsen as the stoic pioneer woman who saw her children to safety but stayed with her dying husband at the cost of her own life. A graceful mingling of history and memoir, Searching for Tamsen Donner follows Burton and her husband, with their five daughters, on her journey along Tamsen’s path from her birthplace in Massachusetts to the Sierra Nevada. Burton recovers one woman’s compelling history by collecting and publishing all 17 of Tamsen’s known letters together for the first time.

Silent Heroes of the Cold War: Declassified
By Kyril D. Paskon, Foreword by Senator Harry Reid, Stephens Press, stephenspress.com, 702-387-5260; 204 pages

In 1955, a C-54 cargo plain crashed on Mount Charleston in Southern Nevada. The 14 men working on the U-2 aircraft project died under a veil of secrecy, amid failed policies and bad decisions. From interviews with the recovery crew and family members and drawing on declassified materials, the truth and the heroism of these men are celebrated.

Sin City Advisor’s Topless Vegas
By Arnold Snyder, Huntington Press, huntingtonpress.com, 702-252-0655, 276 pages

Topless Vegas is a unique guide to the Sin City skin scene, containing candid reviews of every topless option in town, including topless clubs, all-nude clubs, topless pools, and erotic production shows and revues. Fully illustrated, it’s an unbiased and entertaining guide to more than 50 outlets for legal adult entertainment in Las Vegas, written by a seasoned strip club aficionado and established author. Sexy, irreverent, and hilarious, it’s not your average guidebook.

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns
By Elizabeth Leiknes, Bancroft Press, bancroftpress.com, 800-637-7377, 167 pages

After making a deal with the devil at age 11 to save her sister’s life, Lucy Burns wants out. Too bad her boss is a real devil. Spending 19 years as the facilitator to hell in return for her sister’s health has taken a toll and Lucy is looking for a loophole. Carson Valley middle school teacher Elizabeth Leiknes’s quick, witty tale of morality shows that good can triumph over evil.

Slices of the Silver State
By Jeff Hickman, text by Ron James, Nevada Humanities, nevadahumanities.org, 775-785-6587

Award-winning editorial cartoons by Jeff Hickman have been published in the Reno-Gazette Journal since 2002. Addressing a wide range of topics and subjects from the Presidential election to critical issues facing the state including water use and education, Hickman’s inspiration is drawn from everyday events that affect Nevada and the country. This book represents the spectrum of his work.

The Sounding—the Saga of a Merchant Adventurer in the Gold and Silver Rush Mining Camps of California and Early Nevada Territory
By David M. Klauber, Coulter Ridge Press, P.O. Box 848, Julian, CA 92036-0848, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); 544 pages, photos

A compelling historical narrative of a European emigrant crossing the isthmus of Nicaragua to build an empire in Nevada by hauling goods over the Sierra passes. Abraham Klauber owned stores in Genoa, Carson City, Virginia City, and Dayton and was involved in Carson Valley ranching. Devoted to his family, Abraham Klauber lived a dream and left a legacy for generations to come.

Tahoe Boy—A Journey Back Home
By Pat Hickey, Seven Locks Press, sevenlockspublishing.com, 800-354-5348, 288 page

The saga of a boy who grew up in the turbulent ’60s around the lake Mark Twain called the fairest picture the world affords. Tahoe Boy chronicles his daring journey through family, the Catholic Church, boarding school, a whorehouse, teenage romance, Party School USA, refusing the Draft, ski bumming, an arranged marriage by Reverend Moon, becoming a reporter, getting elected to public office... to finally living in his dream cabin in the Sierras. When he returns to his beloved lake, will all the pieces of life's puzzle fit into the boy from Tahoe's dreams?

Through the Fire
By Shawn Grady, Bethany House Publishers, bethanyhouse.com, 800-877-2665; 191 pages

Author Shawn Grady, a 10-year Reno firefighter and paramedic debuts his first novel of arson, murder, and second chances. Firefighting burns in Aidan O’Neill’s blood, but his innate gift for reading flames has made him overconfident and sometimes puts lives in danger. When one call goes horribly wrong and a rookie is hurt, Aidan is suspended. Now an arsonist is targeting Reno, leaving a scorched path of destruction. Teaming with a beguiling fire investigator who may know more than she’s saying, Aidan must discover where his trust rests, as the flames burn ever closer.

Vegas 360°
Photography by Thomas R. Schiff, Bright City Books, brightcitybooks.com, 510-527-6384, 131 pages, 64 full-color images

In addition to Thomas Schiff’s 64 full-color images, Vegas 360° is also “illustrated” with essays by prominent Las Vegas observers Kim Thomas, author of Vegas: One Cop’s Journey, and Dope Opera; Matthew O’Brien, author of Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas; Douglas Unger, author of Leaving the Land, Voices from Silence, and more. Their seven sparkling essays enhance the vision of Schiff’s luminous photographs.

Virginia City and the Big Bonanza
By Ronald M. James and Susan A. James, Arcadia Publishing, arcadiapublishing.com, 843-853-2070, 127 pages

The precious metals retrieved between 1859 and 1880 from Virginia City and its Comstock Lode, with an equivalent value today in the billions of dollars, played an unprecedented role in industrial history. Authors Ronald James, Nevada’s state historic preservation officer, and Susan James, the scholar-in-residence for Virginia City’s Fourth Ward School Museum, detail Virginia City’s rich Comstock history. The museum and the Comstock Historic District Commission provided many of the book’s images, which have never been previously published.

Waking Up at Rembrandt’s
By Thomas Lloyd Qualls, Thomas Lloyd Qualls, writingandbeing.com, 237 pages

Waking Up at Rembrandt’s is a new kind of tale of spiritual awakening, a celebration of the senses that reaches deep into the human psyche to reveal our true selves and the nature of desire.

War, Judgment, and Memory in the Basque Borderlands, 1914-1945
By Sandra Ott, University of Nevada Press, unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573, 288 pages

Anthropologist Sandra Ott makes an important contribution to our understanding of the ways a traditional community responds to crisis and change, and the way public and private memory is influenced by local culture and values. Her book is also a moving account of the effects of the foreign occupation and military conscription on Basque communities in the Pyrenean borderlands between France and Spain during two world wars and the turbulent years in between.

The Waterman
By Norris van den Berg, Strong Books, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) 800-562-0715 360 pages

Based on the diary of one of General George Washington’s staff officers, The Waterman recounts the seemingly impossible transport of 59 cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston in the dead of winter 1776. One of young America’s early milestones toward independence, this 300-mile journey gave General Washington the artillery he desperately needed for his stunning first victory over British Forces.

The White Fawn
By Karen Collett Wilson, photos by Susan A. Zerga, Snowbound Books, deertales.com

The fourth installment in the Deer Tales series on the wildlife in and around Lamoille is about a fawn born with an unusual all-white coat. The story is about differences, but more importantly, accepting those differences.

Wild Plants of the Sierra Nevada
By Ray S. Vizgirdas and Edna M. Rey-Vizgirdas, University of Nevada Press unpress.nevada.edu, 775-784-6573; 384 pages, 82 line drawings, 2 maps.

The Sierra offers a variety of topographic and environmental conditions that allow for a wide diversity of plant species. The book inventories the flora of the entire range, including comprehensive descriptions of the plants accompanied by line drawings; traditional uses as food, medicine, or for making tools and other utensils; plus “quick keys” to help identify similar species; and includes a table of Sierra Nevada habitats and their associated plants, along with a list of threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant species found in the range.

The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live
By Robert Tuchman, BenBella Books, Inc., benbellabooks.com, 214-750-3600, 337 pages

With more than a decade of sports industry travel under his belt, Tuchman has compiled a listing of events, complete with travel and ticket options, hotel recommendations, restaurant, and nightlife tips to make your trip complete. Learn more about the Kentucky Derby, The U.S. Open, and Nevada’s own National Finals Rodeo. Tuchman rates Las Vegas as one of the top ten cities for hosting a major sporting event.

100 Years at the Nevada Governor’s Mansion
By Jack Harpster, Stephens Press, nevadagovernorsmansion.com, 256 pages

The Nevada Governor’s Mansion celebrates its 100th birthday with an in-depth and up close and personal look at the 18 governors and families who have called the mansion home. 100 Years at the Nevada Governor’s Mansion tells the story of the mansion through historic photographs, newspaper articles, personal accounts from those who lived in the mansion, and other historical artifacts.