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Let’s Run Up the Mountain!
Running Up the Mountain: Northern Arizona Altitude, Lumberjack Attitude, and the Building of a Distance Dynasty, by Matt Baxter and Ron Mann
Available now from Soulstice!
Running Up the Mountain is an inside look at how a remote outpost with no traditional powerhouse credentials built a culture of teamwork and a mindset of success that ultimately places its runners at the pinnacle of their sport. Author Matt Baxter was a three-time cross country All-American and a member of NAU’s first three national championship teams. Co-author Ron Mann is a Hall of Fame coach and the longest-tenured coach in NAU program history.
They talked to runners, families, coaches, and members of Flagstaff’s legendary running community, hungry to understand what it is about Lumberjack culture, the athletes themselves, and Flagstaff that made this unlikely success possible. Order it here. [$28.95 hardbound]
Books that celebrate our unique position in the Southwest
The San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff Through the Lens of Time, by John L. Vankat
In this eye-catching visual essay celebrating the San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff, watch more than 150 years unfold in over one hundred historical photographs and drawings precisely paired with their modern-day counterparts.
Ecologist, educator, and writer John L. Vankat reveals the telling details that bring the past alive. The result is an invitation to time-travel, appealing to anyone interested in nature, culture, or history.
Here in these striking landscapes at the apex of Arizona, humans have altered much of the natural environment, but the storied San Francisco Peaks remain a touchstone of beauty and emotion. Vankat gives us a chance to see and celebrate this special place as it was, to understand it today—and to consider what its past and present say about the future of the American West. Buy it here. [320 pages, $59.95 hardbound]
“Faithfully documented repeat photographs provide the context that helps us understand our beautiful and challenged mountain landscape.”
–Peter Z. Fulé, Regents Professor of Forestry, Northern Arizona University
Voices of Navajo Mothers and Daughters: Portraits of Beauty, by Kathy Eckles Hooker, Photography by David Young-Wolff
For anyone who wants to understand the lives of Native American women today, especially the lives of Navajo women, this book opens the door. Look and listen as Navajo grandmothers, mothers, and daughters open up about their lives, their culture, and their love for each other. In these compelling, multi-generational oral histories collected by Kathy Eckles Hooker, a former teacher with profound admiration for Navajo culture, women talk about their experiences in their own words. As they do, their faces are captured in defining portraits by photographer David Young-Wolff. Buy it here. [232 pages, $42.95 hardbound]
Voices of Navajo Mothers and Daughters: Portraits of Beauty
Barbed: A Memoir, by Julie Morrison
In this thoughtful debut, Julie Morrison explores what happens when you take a leap into the unknown and land in a saddle. Every hope and dream will be tested against a land where rocks are abundant, water is scarce, and love is the most unpredictable resource of all. Buy it here. [288 pages, $19.95 paperback, $9.99 ebook]
“An extraordinary memoir and one we highly recommend!” –Chanticleer Reviews
Walking Flagstaff: A Photo Journal by George Breed
This gorgeous book of George Breed’s photos and writings makes a meaningful gift or a wonderful keepsake for anyone who loves Flagstaff. Buy it here. [224 pages, $42.95 hardback]
Stories of human potential realized
Catch Me If You Can: Revolutionizing My Sport, Breaking World Records, and Creating a Legacy for Tanzania, by Filbert Bayi with Myles Schrag; Foreword by Segun Odegbami
Nearly half a century ago, Filbert Bayi revolutionized how middle-distance races were run. During that heyday of athletics competition before pacemakers were hired to take the lead, the unheralded Tanzanian served as his own ‘rabbit.’ The innovative Bayi set a blistering pace that dared formidable challengers from around the globe to, as his autobiography suggests, Catch Me If You Can. After an inspiring career that included two world records and an Olympic medal, Bayi took the same assertive approach into post-racing life as an educator, entrepreneur, and sports administrator. Today, he still embodies excellence in a school and foundation that bear his name as he strives to improve his country and community. In telling his long-awaited story, Bayi recounts hardships, including his mother’s encounter with hyenas while he was still in the womb, bouts of malaria, and an Olympic boycott, as well as enduring friendships with John Walker and other great rivals. Over nearly 70 years, his experiences consistently reflect the three values he treasures most—sacrifice, commitment, and confidence—resulting in an unforgettable example for anyone, anywhere to follow. Available wherever books are sold. Buy it here. [304 pages, $19.95 paperback]
Abdi’s World: The Black Cactus on Life, Running, and Fun, by Abdi Abdirahman with Myles Schrag
Abdi’s World is a quirky place where the only American distance athlete to compete in five Olympics shares the stories that shaped his enduring love of running and his laid-back approach to life. Enter Abdi’s World to join him on his insightful journey—and see what happens when you meet his stride. Buy it here. [240 pages, $19.95 paperback, $9.99 ebook]
Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil, by Pat Melgares
In this award-winning biography about America’s preeminent distance-running coach, author and Vigilante Pat Melgares shares Coach Joe I. Vigil’s tale not just through the consummate storyteller’s own words but also through those of more than 50 family members, friends, former runners, and foes who have been shaped by his presence over a lifetime. Buy it here! [300 pages, $19.95 paperback, $9.99 ebook]
To Imogene, a Flagstaff Love Letter, edited by Myles Schrag and Julie Hammonds
Written by Flagstaff runners, this gorgeous, hardbound book celebrating the local connections to Colorado’s Imogene Pass Run can be yours. Buy it here. [224 pages, $37.95 hardback]
