This is not a book for light reading. It is, though, one that takes a historical approach to examining the hallmarks of the Southwestern landscape. Canyon de Chelly, El Morro, Rainbow Bridge, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon are among the destinations to which we are reintroduced through the writings of the first non-natives who encountered. 

As a result, we see the Grand Canyon through the writings of Pedro de Castaneda de Najera, who recounted the travels of Spanish explorers who found themselves on the South Rim of the canyon in 1540. 

The section on Rainbow Bridge comes to us through the eyes of two competing archaeologists, Byron Cummings and William B. Douglas.

“On the morning of the last day’s travel, when we were told by the Indian guides that the bridge would be reached by noon, the excitement became intense,” wrote Douglas.  “A spirit of rivalry developed between Professor Cummings and myself as to who should first reach the bridge.”

The late David J. Weber and William deBuys compiled these narratives, and wove through the historical writings their own interpretations and insights. For instance, in the chapter on Rainbow Bridge they note that Douglas had no apparent interest in “the ancestral Puebloan ruins in the canyon near the bridge, nor about the significance of the place in the Navajo worldview…”

Of Carlsbad, they note that in 1899 the neighbors of Jim White, who entered the famed caverns there either in 1901 or maybe 1898, “changed the name of their town from Eddy to Carlsbad, hoping to attract tourists to a local hot springs by associating them with Karlsbad, a famous spa in central Europe. Ironically, Carlsbad residents failed to take seriously White’s description of the cavern that would later put them on the tourist map.”

By blending historical narratives with modern-day insights, the authors have given us a book that crosses the divide of time and broadens windshield-view impressions of these breathtaking landmarks.