Customer Reviews

A Beautiful, Cruel Country

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Eva Wilbur-Cruce describes memories as far back as when she was three, and captures the wild yet captivating valleys of the Arizona/Mexico border, painting word pictures of Mexican ranchers, Tohono O'odham Indians and many other cultures intermingling. It is a story of how to live life to the fullest, as she learned it from nature, her family and those around her. She has learned well what the beautiful cruel country has to teach and she passes it on through artistic imagery.

It is not often one can read of the intermingling of cultures so successfully combined as in Eva Wilber-Cruce's work. It is remarkable for its objectivity, its vivacity, and as a lesson of how best to get along with one's neighbors. Eva's recollections as a child and woman are remarkable and is a person easily taken to one's heart. Her considerable life is a valise which contains a portfolio of memories of the most meaningful sort. I would compare her book with Mari Sandoz' Old Jules; both about frontier life, one in the SW, the other in Nebraska. The reader has the added benefit of increasing his or her Spanish vocabulary that reflects the lifestyle in which Eva was raised. Beautifully written. An added plus for me was the reference to Archbishop Salpointe who was the heir to "Lamy of Sante Fe." It's a treat when a book ties in with another source written by a respected historical author like Paul Horgan.

The author's recollections of her childhood are quite vivid. When I finished the book I ony wished she had continued her memories into several more books

This was a choice for my book club. I wouldn't have red it otherwise. I found the book repetitious and quite tedious in the
memoirs of an 84 year old woman discussing her early childhood growing up on the border of Arizona and Mexico where she spends
her time as a 5 and 6 year old from 1909 to 1911. It is hard to belive that as a 5 year old girl she was out herding cattle and
rounding up wild horses by herself.
The descriptions of the landscape in the southern part of Arizona were well written. But, I would have liked to know more about
what happened in the author's life beyond those two years of childhood. Luckily for me The person leading the discussion has researched
this information. I would only recommend reading this book if you are truly interesed in the Southwest in the early 1900s and want
to do more research on the author.