Tucson: The Life and Times of an American City

by C.L. Sonnichsen

"Tucson is the first comprehensive history of a unique corner of America, a city with its roots in Indian and Spanish colonial history. . .C. L. Sonnichsen, dean of southwestern historians--chronicles with humor and affection the growth over two centuries of one of the region's most colorful communities."

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

CHARLES LELAND SONNICHSEN
Ph.D. (in English Literature, 1931) at Harvard University

Taught at University at Texas in El Paso for 41 years.

You may read more about this author at
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/on...

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so poorly written I am amazed that people recommend this. The syntax is awful. The author will jump around with dates in a haphazard manner that you completely lose any semblance of place in history. Image a 2 hour long Sarah Palin word salad, multiply that by 50, and you have this book.

Do not waste your time with this book.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superficial and sketchy for the most part – Sonnichsen’s one saving grace is that he’s a better writer than historian. The best thing about the book might be the numerous period photographs, most from the Arizona Pioneer Historical Society’s collection.

[Lee.stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-fiction comprehensive account of the delimit of this city and Southern Arizona from the 14th century to 1980s
Does cover a lot of people and places and seems well referenced

Sort of a textbook factoid account but no real contexts or themes

Makes things a bit disjointed but packed with facts

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed, yet readable, history of the city. The city is even larger than when this book was written, and still growing. Sonnichsen makes a prophetic claim at the close that the desert is really not made for people. One can only wonder how this desert city will fare in the centuries ahead. A good overview of Tucson's history for those who are interested in the Southwest, cities in general, and most of all for those who live in this city. Interesting read.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

reading this as context for a course paper. Dense. Sonnichsen was a former editor of the Journal of Arizona History, but never taught in AZ, as far as I can see. Sixty pages in, he seems to cast a broad net to grab a wide range of sources. He also has a very "readable" style.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this history of Tucson. Well-written. I know a lot about Tucson pre 1450 AD so it was nice to be reminded about what happened later!