BOOKSHELF

BOOKSHELF BY BUDGE RUFFNER

Eternal Landscape, by Emil Schulthess and Sigmundmund Widmer. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1988. 139 pages. $60.00, hardcover.

Emil Schulthess is an internationally respected photographer who has given to the world spectacular images of Antarctica, China, the Amazon, Africa, the Soviet Union, and his native Switzerland. Between 1953 and 1987, Schulthess traveled the American Southwest five times, photographing the dunes, rivers, canyons, and cliffs of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Eternal Landscape contains 63 full-page color photographs, 18 two-page spreads, and 10 remarkable gatefolds each spanning more than three feet. They give the viewer the impression that Monument Valley has moved into one's living room. Many of Schulthess' photographs were taken with a remote-control panoramic camera slung underneath a helicopter on a 15-foot cable. His photographs reflect the scale of his subject, the seemingly endless space of the Four Corners. The text of Eternal Landscape is competently written by Sigmund Widmer, historian and former mayor of Zurich, Switzerland. Schulthess and Widmer became fascinated with the color, configuration, space, and beauty of the Southwest. When their talents came together for the book, they concentrated on the national parks, national monuments, tribal lands, and scenic recreation areas like children devouring dessert first. Widmer gracefully supports Schulthess' talent with obvious knowledge of the character and natural history of his subjects. The book's title tells us much about its content. It is a major work about the Southwest's seemingly timeless natural scene. Great books, like great art, often carry eyebrow-lifting prices. Eternal Landscape is well worth its cost. It is, like the land it celebrates, a treasure.

The Cattle Guard: Its History and Lore, by James F. Hoy.

University Press of Kansas, 1982. 233 pages. $19.95, hardcover.

The author of this narrowly treatise attributes the evolution of the cattle guard to two developments: the fencing of the open range and the advent of the automobile.

As early as March 11, 1837, Thomas J. West of Whitehall, Virginia, was granted a United States patent on what was described as a "railroad gate."

Much later another man, Andrew Johnson, claimed he invented the first cattle guard in 1914. He placed a commemorative plaque on what is today the Ben Johnson Ranch, 10 miles north of Watford City, North Dakota.

The "railroad gate" reflected a concept but never achieved popularity. It was the automobile, not the railroad, that caused a surge of cattle guard designs.

From somewhere on the Great Plains, the cattle guard spread to all parts of the world. Hoy tells the story in meticulous detail, with style and rural humor. An extensive index and bibliography add value to the publication, and quotations from such diverse observers as Will C. Barnes and Edward Abbey make The Cattle Guard an enjoyable book to read.

Travel Arizona: The Back Roads, edited by Dean Smith.

Arizona Highways Books, 1989. 136 pages. Available from Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009; telephone (602) 258-1000. $9.95 softcover, plus $1.00 postage.

In this sequel to the popular Travel Arizona guidebook, three veterans of the Arizona road-James E. Cook, Sam Negri, and Marshall Trimble-describe 20 day trips over dirt, gravel, and paved byways. Nearly 250 color photographs give you an idea of what you'll see, from a hair-raising view of the Apache Trail's Fish Creek Hill to idyllic scenes on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. For each tour, the authors tell you the best time to go, describe the terrain, road type, and degree of difficulty, recommend the suitable type of vehicle, and note travel time, altitude, and special features. Maps by Don Bufkin make routes clear. This is your chance to enjoy unspoiled scenic and historic gems off Arizona's main roads.

(RIGHT) "Marble Canyon Buttress," by Merrill Mahaffey; acrylic on

canvas, 68 by 42 inches. This

prominent outcrop of the Redwall formation on the Colorado River is 28 miles downstream from Lees Ferry. The artist, who taught for many years at Phoenix College, is

represented by Elaine Horwitch

Galleries, Scottsdale, COLLECTION OF

B.W.A.B. INC., DENVER, COLORADO

(BACK COVER) In the rugged canyon country above the Mogollon Rim more than a century ago, United States cavalrymen and a war party of Apaches met in a fierce and telling engagement. See page 38 for

more about "The Battle of Big Dry

Wash." JERRY SIEVE