"This is a book of superb photographs. Its portraits of individuals and family groups convey a quality of intimacy and serenity; its landscapes spread out the dramatic setting of desert, mountain, and canyon in which these people live; and its scenes of daily activity show many of the details of the way their life has been lived. Among the pictorial records of Navajo country and life, Miss Gilpin's volume deserves a special place. --American Anthropologist "This is not a brand new book, nor a best-seller here today and gone tomorrow. It is record of the Navajo people and their country, a book to keep and to refer to over and over again, always with deep pleasure. Do friends ask you about the Navajos? Send them this book, for it is the heart of the tribe. --The Navajo Times "This book can't be summarized successfully. It needs to be seen and read, and then savoured again and again for a joyous adventure in beauty and spirit. --Santa Fe New Mexican ." . . a touching tribute to The People, to their endurance and their adaptability, to their vanishing way of life and to the new one opening ahead of them. --Sacramento Bee A contemporary of Mary Austin, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and Willa Cather, Laura Gilpin was unique among women chroniclers of the Southwest because she worked in photography. She perceived the region as an environment for human activity rather than a place for untouched beauty, and her empathy for her subjects is evident in her work. Even in her eighties--ignoring the physical infirmities of age--she would camp overnight to be near a place she wanted to photograph at the break of day. The vast empty stretches of the southwestern desert did not deter her. She thought nothing ofdriving several hundred miles to make one image of a Navajo ceremony or making a long flight in a small plane to see a particular mountain peak. Gilpin's sixty-year career established her as one of the outstanding photographers of the twentieth century. Here are her pictures of the Navaho people and the stories of their lives in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enduring book,
By Louette McInnes (Christchurch New Zealand) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Enduring Navaho (Paperback)
How amazed but delighted I was to still find this book in print. Having travelled in Utah and Arizona, and being a Tony Hillerman fan, I just picked this up "on spec". The only fault I can find is a bit more detail than I want occasionally on the author's travels, but her photos, altho mostly black and white, are priceless, as much for their historical aspect as anything. Being fascinated with jewelry and crafts, just seeing the old style Navajo jewelry, and noticing the change since the 1930's, was interesting enough. (One of my junior high teachers in the 50's had a huge concha belt and necklace - a rarity on the East coast where I grew up.) I learned some things here I hadn't seen in a much more recent specialty book on Southwest Indian jewelry.Details of spinning and rug making are well written and illustrated with clear photos. The author, Laura Gilpin, must herself be quite a remarkable person to have managed all the photos in the 30's with such old, large equipment in rough country. Her own personality comes through in her sympathetic yet not condescending approach to the people she meets. Her personal accounts of incidents, people and places are a delight. Certainly her view is positive and presents the people in a view very similar to Tony Hillerman. I would think his fans would love the book. She delves into history, religion, families, attitudes, lifestyle and many more things. Reading it today, it is possible to see the fruition of some of the plans for irrigation and improvement started when the photos were taken. A great source for any Hillerman fan, and a study of a people by a friend of those people.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Enduring Navaho,
When I worked on the Navaho Reservation at Shiprock, N.M., in the `70's, a friend gave me this book of superb photographs. The portraits of individuals and family groups resonate with me to this day. The intimacy and serenity of the people portrayed is still remarkable to me, given the harsh, unforgiving life they lead. The landscapes display the dramatic settings of desert, mountain, and canyon in which the Navaho live; and its scenes of daily activity show many of the details of the way their life has been lived. Miss Gilpin has created a touching tribute to The People, their endurance, a record of the Navajo people and their country,and their adaptability, to their vanishing way of life;a book to keep and to refer to over and over again. Laura Gilpin was unique among women chroniclers of the Southwest because she worked in photography. She
perceived the region as an environment for human activity rather than a place for untouched beauty, and her empathy for her subjects is evident in her work. Gilpin's sixty-year career established her as one of the outstanding photographers of the twentieth century.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buywhile you can,
By
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This review is from: The Enduring Navaho (Paperback)
I bought this book after reading an article about Laura Gilpin in a recent issue of Arizona Highways. I was born and raised in Arizona but apparently read Horace Greeley upside down and went East 52 years ago with the Air Force Band. Well shucks you can take the boy out of the desert but not vice versa. Many changes have taken place in Navajo. Fifty years ago hogans could be spotted going east out of Grand Canyon to Cameron Trading Post, but no more. Rings I bought then for $5 were very crude compared to the smooth elegance of todays Navajo silversmiths. After reading the article I decided to try and buy the book. The disparity in prices was amazing $5 to over $400 but I was grateful to be able to acquire for less than $10. Photographs and detailed experiences are delightful. If you have an interest in the Southwest and those who came before us grab it while you can without having to see your banker.
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