Although presented as a testament to the restorative powers of the Christian faith, “Standing in the Pink Clouds” reads more as a testament to personal resilience. In no-frills, non-histrionic prose, Marzano recounts one life event after another that could easily paralyze others among us. You have to admire his endurance.
Check Out These Southern Arizona Authors | Books
—Christine Wald Hopkins
“Becoming Hopi: a story” By Wesley Bernardini, Stewart B. Koyiyumptewa, Gregson Schachner and Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, editors. University of Arizona Press. 664 pages. $75; Kindle $60
The eloquent title says it all: Being Hopi is not so much an end state as a process reflecting an ambitious life philosophy of humility and hard work. One always becomes Hopi, say the editors, and the ability to revisit a complex and vibrant history is fundamental to moving consciously into the future.
This remarkable volume will facilitate this mindfulness. The Hopi people, the editors note, have long been an intensively studied indigenous group, but because their history has been recorded primarily without the benefit of Hopi voices or perspective, the history of the Hopi Mesas is poorly understood. With this collaboration of the Hopi people and external researchers, overseen by the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, the publishers hope to set the record straight. Fifteen years in the making and stunning in scope, “Becoming Hopi” uses archaeology, oral tradition, historical records and ethnography to present a comprehensive overview of the people who lived on the Hopi Mesas for more than 2,000 year. It includes chapters on anthropological research, agriculture, landscape, migration, and petroglyphs, as well as site maps and descriptions of the Hopi ancestral villages.
