Food Lovers’ Guide to Tucson: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings by Mary Paganelli Votto (Globe Pequot Press, $14.95)
This little gem of a book is the perfect size to slip into the glove box of your car so it is near and handy when out and about.
Mary Paganelli Votto, who is based in Tucson, earlier compiled “The Insider’s Guide to Tucson,” also published by Globe Pequot Press.
With delectable recipes from of the city’s renowned kitchens, this is the ultimate guide for food lovers to use and savor. Included are listings of favorite restaurants and landmark eateries, specialty food stores and markets, farmers’ markets and food stands, wine bars, local lore and much more.
Since businesses can vanished like snow in the sunshine in Tucson, it is best to call ahead when considering a place to visit featured in this guide. Case in point, after more than two decades, the iconic 17th Street Market shut down earlier this year.
Whether you are a seasoned resident of the Old Pueblo or someone who has just arrived in town, this is an excellent guide to have and use.

The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life by Ira Byock, MD (Avery, $16)
Dr. Ira Byock is Director of Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and author of several books including “Dying Well.” He has become a consistent advocate for the voice and rights of seriously ill patients and their families.
Dr. Byock puts a human face on the issue of illness and patient care as he offers up a less traditional, albeit more humanistic and empathetic approach to death and dying in America. He explains why a heath care system that focuses only on treating disease is dangerous, the legalities involved in physician-assisted suicides, and why it is necessary to rethink medical care in this country. He also is convinced that we must curb unnecessary, exorbitant healthcare costs by avoiding procedures that will not prolong quality of life. Instead, the doctor believes it is better to offer counseling, encourage both shared decision-making and end-of-life planning.

The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France by John Baxter (Harper Perennial, $14.99)
In his follow up to “The Most Beautiful Walk in the World,” acclaimed film critic and biographer John Baxter sets out to cook “the perfect meal,” namely a sumptuous 12-course dinner comprised of rare, classic recipes from almost every corner of France. After living for 23 years in France, Banter noticed with alarm that the country’s revered cuisine is in danger of disappearing due in no small part to the withering away of the artisan techniques of agriculture, butchering, and cooking.
This highly readable book is part grand tour of France, part history of French cuisine and part memoir. This narrative builds to a tasty climax when Baxter participates in a traditional peasant “ox roast,” in which an enormous whole ox is cooked on a spit over coals. The recipe begins on a practical note, “First, catch your ox…”

Your Primal Body: The Paleo Way to Living Lean, Fit and Healthy at Any Age by Mikki Reilly (Da Capo, $17.99)
It’s no secret that our modern diet and sedentary lifestyle have contributed to such pesky conditions as obesity, diabetes heart disease and arthritis. The big question is whether our Paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors enjoyed a healthier life? Mikke Reilly, a certified fitness trainer and former competitive body-builder believes they did and builds a convincing case to prove his point.
Reilly offers a practical program based on the way our bodies were originally intended to function. She breaks her book down into three parts. “Our Genetic Inheritance” spotlights the evolution of our bodies and the health and fitness we are genetically designed for. “The 5-Step Primal Body Program” is a step-by-step approach to eating, exercising, and restoring our body to its natural function. The third part, “Putting It All Together,” includes meal plans and exercise regiments tailor-made for specific fitness levels.
If you want to look and feel younger, increase strength, and eat an anti-inflammation primal diet that is fairly easy to maintain, this guide might just get you out of your cave and on the right track.

In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist by Pete Jordan (Harper Perennial, $15.00)
Pete Jordan decided to study how American cities could be made more bicycle friendly. Once he set foot in Amsterdam, however, his life shifted and he immediately fell in love with the city. In this part memoir, part history of cycling, and part fascinating street-level tour of Jordan’s adopted city, this highly readable book illuminates the bicycle’s integral role in shaping both the psyche and the actual city of Amsterdam.
Jordon’s previous book was “Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States,” and he has been featured in The New York Times and on NPR’s “This American Life.”

Native American Placenames of the Southwest: A Handbook for Travelers by William Bright (University of Oklahoma Press, $19.95)
More than a century ago, a small group of men would occasionally gather at F. Ronstadts Hardware Company downtown to name the streets of the city. That is basically how many of the older streets in the Old Pueblo got their names. Naming the towns, creeks, and areas of the American Southwest was a little more complex.
William Bright, a Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Anthropology at UCLA, has compiled a handbook that lists Native American placenames that occur throughout the Southwest. Anyone who has ever driven in our region has no doubt been curious about how such places as Tucumcari, Itak, Anegam, and even Tucson got their names. Organized alphabetically, the names of cities, towns, counties, parks and geographic landmarks are easy and fun to read. In this effort, Bright is assisted by Alice Anderson, a linguist, editor, and former Comanche language instructor, and Sean O’Neill, an Associate Profrsdsor of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma.
Curious about Tucson? According to Bright, the name is derived from the Tohono O’odham word cukson ‘black base,’ containing cuk (‘black’) and son (‘base”). The spelling with a t represents the old pronunciation. Since the eighteenth century the pronunciation of t before high vowels such as u has changed to ch, spelled with a c. Class dismissed.

Food Lovers’ Guide to Tucson: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings by Mary Paganelli Votto (Globe Pequot Press, $14.95)
This little gem of a book is the perfect size to slip into the glove box of your car so it is near and handy when out and about.
Mary Paganelli Votto, who is based in Tucson, earlier compiled “The Insider’s Guide to Tucson,” also published by Globe Pequot Press.
With delectable recipes from of the city’s renowned kitchens, this is the ultimate guide for food lovers to use and savor. Included are listings of favorite restaurants and landmark eateries, specialty food stores and markets, farmers’ markets and food stands, wine bars, local lore and much more.
Since businesses can vanished like snow in the sunshine in Tucson, it is best to call ahead when considering a place to visit featured in this guide. Case in point, after more than two decades, the iconic 17th Street Market shut down earlier this year.
Whether you are a seasoned resident of the Old Pueblo or someone who has just arrived in town, this is an excellent guide to have and use.

The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life by Ira Byock, MD (Avery, $16)
Dr. Ira Byock is Director of Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and author of several books including “Dying Well.” He has become a consistent advocate for the voice and rights of seriously ill patients and their families.
Dr. Bycock puts a human face on the issue of illness and patient care as he offers up a less traditional, albeit more humanistic and empathetic approach to death and dying in America. He explains why a heath care system that focuses only on treating disease is dangerous, the legalities involved in physician-assisted suicides, and why it is necessary to rethink medical care in this country. He also is convinced that we must curb unnecessary, exorbitant healthcare costs by avoiding procedures that will not prolong quality of life. Instead, the doctor believes it is better to offer counseling, encourage both shared decision-making and end-of-life planning.

The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France by John Baxter (Harper Perennial, $14.99)
In his follow up to “The Most Beautiful Walk in the World,” acclaimed film critic and biographer John Baxter sets out to cook “the perfect meal,” namely a sumptuous 12-course dinner comprised of rare, classic recipes from almost every corner of France. After living for 23 years in France, Banter noticed with alarm that the country’s revered cuisine is in danger of disappearing due in no small part to the withering away of the artisan techniques of agriculture, butchering, and cooking.
This highly readable book is part grand tour of France, part history of French cuisine and part memoir. This narrative builds to a tasty climax when Baxter participates in a traditional peasant “ox roast,” in which an enormous whole ox is cooked on a spit over coals. The recipe begins on a practical note, “First, catch your ox…”

Your Primal Body: The Paleo Way to Living Lean, Fit and Healthy at Any Age by Mikki Reilly (Da Capo, $17.99)
It’s no secret that our modern diet and sedentary lifestyle have contributed to such pesky conditions as obesity, diabetes heart disease and arthritis. The big question is whether our Paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors enjoyed a healthier life? Mikke Reilly, a certified fitness trainer and former competitive body-builder believes they did and builds a convincing case to prove his point.
Reilly offers a practical program based on the way our bodies were originally intended to function. She breaks her book down into three parts. “Our Genetic Inheritance” spotlights the evolution of our bodies and the health and fitness we are genetically designed for. “The 5-Step Primal Body Program” is a step-by-step approach to eating, exercising, and restoring our body to its natural function. The third part, “Putting It All Together,” includes meal plans and exercise regiments tailor-made for specific fitness levels.
If you want to look and feel younger, increase strength, and eat an anti-inflammation primal diet that is fairly easy to maintain, this guide might just get you out of your cave and on the right track.

In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist by Pete Jordan (Harper Perennial, $15.00)
Pete Jordan decided to study how American cities could be made more bicycle friendly. Once he set foot in Amsterdam, however, his life shifted and he immediately fell in love with the city. In this part memoir, part history of cycling, and part fascinating street-level tour of Jordan’s adopted city, this highly readable book illuminates the bicycle’s integral role in shaping both the psyche and the actual city of Amsterdam.
Jordon’s previous book was “Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States,” and he has been featured in The New York Times and on NPR’s “This American Life.”

Native American Placenames of the Southwest: A Handbook for Travelers by William Bright (University of Oklahoma Press, $19.95)
More than a century ago, a small group of men would occasionally gather at F. Ronstadts Hardware Company downtown to name the streets of the city. That is basically how many of the older streets in the Old Pueblo got their names. Naming the towns, creeks, and areas of the American Southwest was a little more complex.
William Bright, a Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Anthropology at UCLA, has compiled a handbook that lists Native American placenames that occur throughout the Southwest. Anyone who has ever driven in our region has no doubt been curious about how such places as Tucumcari, Itak, Anegam, and even Tucson got their names. Organized alphabetically, the names of cities, towns, counties, parks and geographic landmarks are easy and fun to read. In this effort, Bright is assisted by Alice Anderson, a linguist, editor, and former Comanche language instructor, and Sean O’Neill, an Associate Profrsdsor of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma.
Curious about Tucson? According to Bright, the name is derived from the Tohono O’odham word cukson ‘black base,’ containing cuk (‘black’) and son (‘base”). The spelling with a t represents the old pronunciation. Since the eighteenth century the pronunciation of t before high vowels such as u has changed to ch, spelled with a c. Class dismissed.