A Brief History of Phoenix by Jon Talton

Though the new metropolis is one of America's largest, many are unaware of Phoenix's rich and compelling history. Built on land once occupied by the most advanced pre-Columbian irrigation society, Phoenix overcame its hostile desert surroundings to become a thriving agricultural center. After World War II, its population exploded with the mid-century mass migration to the Sun Belt. In times of rapid expansion or decline, Phoenicians proved themselves to be adaptable and optimistic. Phoenix's past is an engaging and surprising story of audacity, vision, greed and a never-ending fight to secure its future. Chronicling the challenges of growth and change, fourth-generation Arizonan Jon Talton tells the story of the city that remains one of American civilization's great accomplishments.

Though brief, this book packs a lot of information into its 144 pages. Born and raised in Phoenix, I remember many of the stories that Talton tells. Some happy, many sad, because, as is so apparent in this book, Phoenix has changed a lot. Phoenix has a history. Unfortunately, most of it has been torn down.

One small complaint is that the book may have been too brief. As when Talton writes about the Riverside ballroom burning down in 1957. Reading the book, one would come away with the impression that that’s where its story ended. It wasn’t. I remember going to dances there well into the 1970s, so it was obviously rebuilt. Are their other examples? I’m not sure. But it makes me think that if I were to have my mother read the book, who was born in Phoenix in 1925, there might be.





Mount TBR 2018 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.


1. ReDeus: Divine Tales
2. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
3. The Exodus Quest
4. Troy: Shield Of Thunder
5. Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
6. Hyperion
7. Thin Air
8. Gods and Generals
9. White Seed
10. The Killer Angels
11. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
12. Troy: Fall of Kings
13. The Last Full Measure
14. Gwendy's Button Box
15. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
16. Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition
17. The Mists of Avalon
18. In The Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Barack Obama
19. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
20. The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2)
21. The Lost Labyrinth
22. Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened the West
23. A Brief History of Phoenix