Customer Reviews

Portrait of Utah (Portrait of America Series)

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Utah deserves its PR-created title as "The Best of the West". When it comes to bright, even garish, multi-colored rock formations, canyons, mesas, arches, pillars, cliffs, and grottoes, Utah has no equal. What would be a national park or monument in any other state is a feature whose name isn't even known to most locals here. From Zion to Dinosaur, and all points south and east, Utah is a scenic wonderland par excellence.

This is the second of two books, bearing the same title, by photographer David Muench. Here, the companion writer is Ann Zwinger, the renowned Western naturalist. Zwinger's writing, of course, is peerless. In a brilliant essay, she captures the nature of this beautiful, but difficult, land and those who have settled it. I commend it highly.

Muench's photography is another matter. The subject matter is excellently chosen. In this book, as opposed to its predecessor, Muench has left behind the obvious tourist magnets such as Zion and Bryce Canyon, to focus on such little known, but equally striking areas of beauty and wilderness, such as the San Rafael Swell, an area that could easily be a national park. This is commendable.

However, as with most of Muench's work, undue emphasis is placed on use of the wide-angle and, particularly, the telephoto lens. The result is pretty pictures, but ones that are deceptive to the traveler/reader. No one is ever going to see, except through a telephoto lens, the things Muench shows in this book. You may detect that I don't care for this form of presentation, and you are right. I would much rather see photographs by Ray Manley or Fred Hirschmann, who obtain items of surpassing beauty without visual distortion being necessary.

So, while the book is a nice loaner from a library perhaps, I was disappointed after having bought it.

I bought this book after seeing one with the same title and photographer in a bookstore while traveling. I thought it was the same book, but this one is paperback and only 80 pages (1/4" thick). The pictures are beautiful, but if you're looking for a coffee table book, this isn't a good choice--it's too thin and flimsy. You'll need to be careful to make sure you don't damage the pictures while viewing them (e.g., by creasing them if you open the book too wide).

I went to school with David Muench's sister. When she bragged a bit about him (and rightfully so), I began to follow his work. When I lived in Arizona in the early 60s, I saw his photographs everywhere. His images have become so much a part of my consiousness that I often wonder how many of the descriptions in my book were inspired by "the real thing" and how many reflect Muench's vision.

Muench's work is everywhere. It's in Arizona Highways, calendars, and in the libraries of many who love the Intermountain West.

This book is pure pleasure. Anyone who loves Utah will want to turn its pages and keep a copy with their other coffee table treasures.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"