Earthtones: A Nevada Album

by Stephen Trimble and Ann Ronald

Book Overview

Too many visitors to the Silver State never see Ann Ronald and Stephen Trimble's Nevada: teal sky and a sea of purple sage, mountain mahogany and a crimson mass of claret cup cactus, a dust-blown sunset of vermilion, orange, and gold. More colorful than a neon display on Las Vegas Boulevard, Nevada is one vast landscape of tint and shadow and aesthetic dimension. Earthtones is the perfect gift book for residents and visitors of the Silver State...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874172705
• ISBN13: 9780874172706
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 1.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 9.3" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

How to appreciate the natural side of Nevada

Living in Arizona, my home is the Sonoran Desert. Even desert haters begrudgingly find a place in their hearts for the Sonoran, land of majestic saguaros and abundant sandstone. Nevada on the other hand, has a much smaller fan club. That's a shame since I've always cherished my adventures in the Silver State. In "Earthtones: A Nevada Album," Ann Ronald shares an idea that any Nevada enthusiast has always known, even if on a subconscious level. Nevada is beautiful, but not in a conventional way. To appreciate the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts, the adventurer must undefine green as the definition of beauty in nature. An appreciation of the Silver State requires an appreciation of vast open spaces, sage and of course earthtones. As an avid backpacker and off-roader, Ann Ronald has traveled extensively from the Southern Triangle to the Idaho border. Indeed, the author is well qualified to write such a book in terms of her backcountry experience and research. Ann Ronald shares her experiences in places like the Ruby Mountains, Great Basin National Park, Valley of Fire, the Black Rock Desert and the Test Site. The author does some interesting comparisons. Lake Mead is compared to Pyramid Lake while Pahranagat is compared to the Ruby Marshes. While the focus is the natural side of Nevada, the author carefully describes the impact of humans on the land. "Earthtones" doesn't read like a monograph or a travel guide; it is a collection of essays that sometimes read like a journal. As one might expect in a desert diary, the focus can meander and ramble. Stephen Trimble's photographs loosely illustrate the book. Whether geologic close-ups or large landscapes, his images effectively illustrate Ronald's text. In the end, this book is sure make readers re-think what they believe about nature in the Great Basin and Mojave. It is also certain to inspire a few road trips to the Silver State. "Earthtones" has inspired me to make plans for my next adventure!

The True Motherlode of Nevada

Nevada has always struggled with what advertising people would refer to as an image problem. With the exception of the gaming meccas of Las Vegas and Reno, the last century considered it so barren and worthless as to be the ideal location for a Nuclear Test Site. The current generation has deemed it worthy of being a national Hazardous Waste Dump. It is rare indeed to hear a tourist or travel agent describe Nevada as having beautiful scenery or landscape as is often the case with New Mexico, Utah, Arizona or Colorado. This book, in words and pictures, paints a different picture and what a sight it is.Accomplished writer Ann Ronald has spent 30 years viewing Nevada landscapes and geography with a different aesthetic eye than most observers. Renowned photographer Stephen Trimble has the uncanny ability to record on film some of the most remarkable images of what Ronald describes as "one vast deserted landscape of color and shadow and aesthetic dimension." Together, with the written word and unforgettable images, they paint a picture of the other Nevada that is unforgettable in it's beauty and clarity.Ronald describes the colors of Nevada, which is at heart the theme of the book, with such clarity that the purple sage, teal sky, mountain mahogany and myriad shades of vermilion, orange and gold virtually leap from the page. However, if the reader does not have an acute imagination for such colors there are the stunning photographs of Trimble that leave no doubt of the magnificence of this state. Seldom does the collaboration between writer and photographer produce results of such beauty and hope.Highly recommended for readers interested in the "other" Nevada.