Book Review -
Historic Photos of Tucson

Featuring some of the earliest photos of Tucson, this fascinating book covers the difficult but colorful lifestyle of those who lived in the Southwest Frontier in the Tucson area from 1870 to 1970. The text and photo captions are written by Mike Speelman in a forthright manner and the photo selection represents hundreds of hours of research and investigation.

The first section covers the Southwest Frontier lifestyle from 1870 to 1899; the second section covers the Arizona Territory from 1900 to 1919, during which time Arizona became a state; the third sections covers 1920-1939, the period between the two world wars; the last section covers the World War II period from 1940, up to the 1970s.

Tucson has a rambunctious history, from being a part of the Spanish Empire, being part of Mexico, and ultimately becoming the Arizona territorial capital. There is a cultural mix of Mexicans, Apaches, Chinese, Caucasians, miners, prospectors, farmers, ranchers and railroad men, just to name a few. The photos and captions aptly depict the wildness of the land and the "taming" of the wild, wild west.

A common theme running throughout the book, is the love of parades and celebrations the residents of Tucson had. There are some amazing photos of the John Dillinger Gang, caught while hiding out in Tucson and discovered due to a fire at the Hotel Congress in 1934. Another intriguing photo is that of a man hanging upside down, tied at the feet and lowered off the top of the Arizona Daily Star building in order to update the headlines on a blackboard.

As with all the books in the Historic Photos series by Turner Publishing, Historic Photos of Tucson gives you a glimpse of Tucson's past, and a better understanding of how a cities development depends on what the residents did in the past.