House of Rain - (about Anasazi)

I just finished House of Rain by Craig Childs. My son bought it for my birthday last year and I finally got around to reading it - very good gift!

http://www.amazon.com/House-Rain-Tr...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233722918&sr=8-1

I've read many books on 'native americans' and this book ranks very close to the best, if not the best. I read one other by a guy who thought he could read petroglyphs/pictographs that was interesting, but probably 90% BS. This book was also an excellent read, but it seems much more beleivable to me.

Craig is a nut case - he walks the routes of migration of the Anasazi. Often in totally roadless area's with no water - drinking from rotten water holes with floating dead critters on the surface. But he looks at the Anasazi in ways I've not seen before. For one thing he talks plainly about canabalism and violence that is seen in the ruins. Most experts avoid talking about it because of the risk of angering current pueblo indians, and because there is some desire to paint the anasazi as peaceful, civilized, enlightened people. The only thing I did not like is he did not go far enough north - he does not visit anything north of the Needles district. He has very interesting theories though - very much worth the read if you are interested in anasazi and history from about 900 to 1500.

I read this book back in November....I would also recommend it

Cool. Just ordered it.

- DAA

Its in my executive library, a member on expeditionutah mentioned it to me last year and I immediately had to have it.

Now lets remember, its not Anasazi, its Ancestral Puebloean lol. They have been changing signs and placards all over the SE US to reflect their "pc" name. Even Anasazi State Park is considering a name change.

I'll still use the term Anasazi.

IntrepidXJ said:

I'll still use the term Anasazi.

Click to expand...

Me too

IntrepidXJ said:

I'll still use the term Anasazi.

Click to expand...

Me too. I suppose if I was Hopi and considered them to be my ancestors, it would irritate me a little. But it's just a name to refer to a certain age and location of natives. Besides, I just bbarely got to where I could say anasazi...

Great book though. I have a couple others to read on anasazi that will have to wait until this summer. I'm on to reading about ghost towns and railroads now in preparation for my spring exploring.

After being down in Beef Basin last summer with Wasatch Cruisers, Roger Moody recommended this book. I had forgotten about it and saw it on the shelf in the Canyonlands visitors center in May so I picked it up. I'm only about half way through it and I'm reading it slowly but its a very interesting read. I partially wanted to pick it up because of the interest I had from last summer but I'm also taking some scouts to the same area in a few weeks and wanted to have a better understanding of what we're going to see. I now feel like I understand less about the Anasazi and have many more questions but nonetheless am happy I've been able to learn what I have. Its pretty crazy that there are so many artifacts from these people but we have no definitive answers about what happened to them and why they floated across the southwest as much as they did.

I'd love some other recommendations for books that would be similar to this one, travelogues with historical and factual insight...

"In Search of the Old Ones" and the recent sequel "The Lost World of the old Ones" by David Roberts are both good.

I own every book Craig Childs has written now and they are all good, though not all deal directly with the Anasazi. A good one to follow after House of Rain might be "Finders Keepers" it's got material especially pertinent to something like a scout group.

"Cowboys and Cave Dwellers" is good.

If you want a little bit more advanced read with a heavy emphasis on the archaeology, Lekson's "Chaco Meridian" is fascinating.

I found "Anasazi America" by David Stuart quite interesting too.

All of the above are a good start.

- DAA

Thanks Dave. I don't read for pleasure a ton but if I'm headed to lunch alone or am waiting at an appointment I usually try to bring some entertainment. The list you shared will keep me busy for a long while.