No comments about A Noble Heritage. The Families of Lewis Robert Critchfield and Lella Irene Plant 1996.

No comments about Volume II of Attention Anybody, Or, The Story of Ruth.

No comments about Family History Department. Mission Memories October 1989 - March 1990.

No comments about Builders of early Millard: Biographies of pioneers of Millard County, 1850 to 1875.

3 comments about The Redrock Chronicles: Saving Wild Utah (Center Books on Space, Place, and Time).

1. Living in Utah, the battle over wilderness is a continual part of my life. And being an environmentalist, it is an important part of my life. There are 9.1 million acres up for wilderness designation in this state, but because of opposition from mining, timber, grazing, and off highway vehicle users, the process is slow- going. T.H. Watkins does an admirable job of making the reader feel the spirit of the west and the heart of the battle... which should make one realize the importance of wilderness designation, especially for these last few million acres. The Redrock Chronicles is not a political commentary, nor is it easily dismissed propaganda from the environmentalist faction. It is simply a writer's statement about the utter importance of wild places.



2. This brief eloquent book is a treasure. The history of the battle for Utah wilderness is a story that needs to be read by everyone who visits the redrock deserts and National Parks of Utah, and by everyone who lives in the region. Our astounding wild landscapes are not there by accident, but because there are people who love and defend them. The photos show places that would be protected if America's Redrock Wilderness Act were passed into law. These are the places that could be lost forever if public lands were privitized (as wise-use and sagebrush rebel groups would like) or managed for industrial tourism, resource extraction and grazing (as the BLM seems inclined to do). I hope that in the future this book becomes a triumphant chronicle of the vision and persistance that saved Utah's public lands wilderness instead of a sad chronicle of what was lost.



3. Having recently moved back to the mid-west after living in the west for four years, I am amazed at the lack of awareness or information on what many describe as the War in the West. Before you protest that War may be to strong, consider: Employees of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Forest Service, and other federal employees in certain areas of the west carry sidearm's and long rifles; government vehicles have been firebombed; anonymous threats directed at government workers are routine; and county commissioners have authorized bulldozing or roads into National Parks and Monuments. Add to this volatile situation the recent decision of the Forest Service to charge a fee to anyone desiring to walk into a national forest and proposals to limit, or eliminate, logging and drilling in large sections of government land in the west and you have the makings of a real, well...war. Oh, did I mention the decision to increase the amount ranchers must pay to graze their cattle on public land? Needless to say, that has been a real popular decision among western ranchers that consider their right to use public lands as sacred. Speaking of sacred, the environmentalist movement had made itself real popular as well by proposing that millions of acres of land in the west be placed in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Such a designation would effectively remove it from any use by the public other than those associated with hiking. No way in or out except by foot, period. Then there is the proposal, gaining credibility and supporters, to decommission Glen Canyon Dam and drain Lake Powell. Some folks in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix have some concerns about this endeavor. While this battle is being waged geographically in the west, it is over public lands that belong to all citizens, including those of us that live a long day's drive to be even close to the action. In looking at the available literature on the myriad of issues in this war I find, as usual, a lot of publications that are long on rhetoric and short on real information or facts. I treasure the book that make's it argument in an honest, heartfelt, straight-forward manner. I may not agree with the opinion or argument of the author but I can respect their honesty and sincerity. Such books are few and far between. Edward Abbey did it with Desert Solitaire. Wallace Stegner did it with Coda: Wilderness Letter in The Sound of Mountain Water. The late T.H. Watkins has done it with The Redrock Chronicles. If you want a concise, upfront, spirited argument for the preservation of an area that many consider ground zero in the environmental war in the west, this is one of the best. Watkins, an award-winning writer, historian, and scholar has written an eloqquent testament tothe redrock country of southern Utah that is destined to become a classic. In just 163 pages, Watkins provides the reader with the history, geology, politics and sense of place in both the written word and with stunning photographs, that capture the mystery and complexity of a land under siege. This is one of those rare books that will capture your heart and spirit regardless of your political leanings in this war. It does so because Watkins has managed to write a love story so unique and touching that it could only come from what he calls the "home of his heart." Southern Utah's wild country is not for the timid, spandex-attired tourist on a carefully planned, scripted vacation. This 130,000 square miles of the Colorado Plateau was chosed by Brigham Young as just the kind of wild, desolate, forbidding place to send his followers in order that they might practice their particular brand of religion in peace and solitude. It is an area where a young wanderer from California could find spiritual comfort and disappear without a trace (Everett Ruess.)It is such a desolate place that during the 1950's the Atomic Energy Commission considered it expendable should fallout from atomic testing in Nevada drift northward, which it did. Why then, all the fuss over such desolate, forbidding land? Because it's there and because it weighs so heavy on the heart to see it destroyed, even on the altar of so-called economic development. Because, as Watkins stated shortly before he died,"I am helplessly addicted to this place, this wondrous geographic puzzle of canyons turning in on themselves, of upthrust plateaus and big blisterlike mountains, of multicolored rocks all layered and bent and broken, of curling rivers dammed by beavers and shaded by grandfather cottonwoods, of horizon-wide sweeps of sunlit emptiness and gracile unknown places where darkness hides and will not tell its name." After reading this gem of a book there will be many readers that will wonder about what was lost with the building of Glen Canyon Dam. One thing is for sure; those that advocate its decommissioning will likely garner some additional supporters. Love stories are like that.

No comments about Conquerors of the West, Vol. 1: Stalwart Mormon Pioneers (Conquerors of the West).

1 comments about The Library: A Guide to the Lds Family History Library.

1. I have just received this book today. I am learning so much about the materials that is stored in Salt Lake City. I can't wait to read further, to see how much knowledge I will gain. I encourage all who do genealogy work to read this book and make a visit to their library in Salt Lake City. Thank you.
   
   Karen Kay Ullom

1 comments about Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research.

1. This book is a great guide for people who are going to make a trip to Utah to do family research. The perfect Tool for genealogoligists.

1 comments about Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994 (Byu Studies).

1. This book tells an amazing story about millions of people. Since 1894 the Geneological Society of Utah (now known as the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has souhgt to collect genealogical information about people from every nation. Latter-day Saints see this work as a fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy that the hearts of the children would be turned to their fathers to unify all members of the human family and to prepare the world to meet God.
   
   In Novenber 1994, the Church celebrated the Genealogical Society's centennial. At one level, the Society's story is the history of an organization. At another level, it is the intersection of numerous individual stories, such as the dedication of Susa Young Gates, the tireless determination of Joseph Fielding Smith, the enthusiasm of Archibald F. Bennett, and the daring of Paul Langheinrich. LDS genealogical research is known all over the world. Parts of the story are familiar to many people, but only a fraction of the whole history is widely known.
   
   This book tells that story. It is a history of astounding and sustained efforts that have changed the hearts of millions.
   --- from book's dustjacket

2 comments about Your Guide to the Family History Library.

1. I read this book the week before I arrived for my first visit to the FHL. It was very useful to me. I did what they suggested and purchased the FHL Library catalog on CD (did not know that was available before) and searched in my hotel room for potentially useful items when the library was closed. I was then able to go straight to those items the next day. A good descripton of the surrounding area too. I know they can't cover it all, but I would like to see them add a little something on what there is to do with young children in the area. My husband had to entertain the children while I was doing my research.



2. I find this will be a great help in getting around the Family History Library as this is my first trip there. Knowing where things are and how to prepare will help me take full advantage of my limited time there. Having been told knowing what you want and where in the Library it is, will save me much time and effort, this book doest just that for me.