Customer Reviews

Ancient Ruins of the Southwest: An Archaeological Guide (Arizona and the Southwest)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been to the Southwest four straight years now and I still refer to this book when planning my vacations. The book describes every major ancient site in the southwest with plenty of pictures and maps to give you the confidence you need to visit them. What I liked most about Mr. Noble's style of writing is he mixes in historical information alongside detailed descriptions on how to get to and visit the sites. The result is a history book that reads like a guide book. I'm the first person to admit that I have a short attention span when it comes to reading 100+ page books on places I want to visit. I tend to scan the text for what I'm interested in and miss alot of background information. By arranging the book in regions and giving each site its own 2-4 page section, it is easy to get a quick overview for planning and catch some interesting facts as well. As a result of this book, I have visited numerous sites in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. I can vouch for the accuracy of the descriptions and directions contained within the book and would highly recommend purchasing it if you are even remotely interested in the ancient sites of the southwest.

David Noble divides his book according to the various Indian groups: the Mogollon, the Anasazi, the Sinagua, the Salado, etc. Each entry is described by layout and history and accompanied by great photos and/or diagrams. But his entries are brief and preceded by driving instructions and, in some cases, tour times. One may get the impression that one is reading a travel guide as one reads Noble's book.

Personally, I will keep this book on that basis. I have had the chance to visit many of the sites mentioned in Noble's book. His descriptions are succinct and accurate. Noble's book whets my appetite on sites I want yet to see. This book's a keeper.

I became fascinated by the wealth of archaeological resources in the American Southwest while working as an archaeological photographer and editor at a research institute in New Mexico. I found that the Southwest is a veritable archaeological museum! I wrote this guidebook to offer people interested in American Indians and America's cultural heritage much more information than is available in standard travel guidebooks.

I did a lot of research on the sites, consulted with archaeologists who excavated them, and had all chapters professioanlly reviewed to make sure they are accurate and current. Using this guidebook will give you a unique cultural and historical framework for discovering the scenic beauty of the Southwest. I include current directions to sites (only sites that are open to the public, accessible, interpreted, monitored), suggest other nearby places to visit further reading.

This book has sold nearly 90,000 copies over to date. Happy exporing!

David Grant Noble: Author of "Ancient Ruins of the Southwest"

Buy this book if you have any interest at all in Southwest ruins. This book is not for the expert but can be used extensively by all who are interested-especially vacationers.

When visiting Arizona and New Mexico, Ancient Ruins of the Southwest is a valuable tool. This is an excellent reference
to the magnificent early civilizations of this area. The book
gives excellent, precise directions to each site and the history
of each. My last trip to New Mexico was greatly enhanced by this book.

The author has put together a quite detailed listing and description of the ancient ruins throughout the southwestern states. The directions to the sites are excellent. Reading the descriptions of the ruins you get an excellent history of the ancient peoples that occupied the area prior to the coming of the europeans.

I stumbled upon this book in the library and found myself reading every page. I have visited most of the sites described with a friend who (unknown to me) had a copy and planned our itinerary. I wish I'd had the book with me so I could have better understood how what we were seeing fit together. The descriptions include the well known as well as less often visited ruins. I have become a student of ancient American life, and this book inspires me to revisit places I've seen. The author mixes easy-to-read descriptions, archaeology, and speculation about early peoples in a book that reads more like stories than the travel companion it is. The maps, explanations of what you'll see, and suggested additional reading inspire further exploration. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the Southwest who plans to visit ancient ruins or wants a concise reminder of what they saw after visiting. I'm getting my own copy to keep even though I've read it. A great book!

I loved the first edition of this book, and I love the second edition even more. In fact, we have just returned (today) from a trip from Tucson to the Grand Canyon, and I used this book extensively for every native indian site we passed and entered. The book is marvelous for detailed descriptions of every site.

Excellent source of information. Will lead to future hikes and exploration of the area.

This is a well written, well organized book for touring the SW ruins. It gives brief overviews of the various cultures and then provides travel/hike guidance. Very good first book to go to when planning a ancient SW civilizations based SW tour.