Sandstone Sunsets

The mystery of Everett Ruess is a cool one. A guy walks into the desert, carves "Nemo" (Latin for "nobody") in two places on the canyon walls, and then disappears. It seems as if he set up his disappearance perfectly--he'd even talked about it before--and yet lots of evidence points to him being murdered. Seventy years have passed, and still no one knows for sure. If you're already interested in this mystery, or would like an introduction it, "Sandstone Sunsets" is a good read. It's full of interesting theories and evidences that aren't commonly heard elsewhere, and it's a fairly well written. It's funny though, in the About the Author, it says Mark Taylor has occasionally written for "Hustler" magazine, and in the book he often describes slickrock pinnacles and mounds as phallic, or breast-like. That cracks me up.

This book is a most thoughtful and insightful view into the reasons we seek out nature and journey into the unknown. Like Ruess, author Taylor takes us on his own personal journey into one of the most breathtaking geographys in the world. The book is not meant to be a definative work on what happened to Ruess but rather a deep reflective journey into our souls. Unlike the previous reviewer who referred to the book as a novel, it is creative non-fiction and was named best creative non-fiction book of the year 1998 by the western writers of America. I have read the book three times and all the published reviews, more than twenty. All consider the writing excellent, thoughtful and filled with bits of philosophy about life. Critisms include editing errors.

I recommend Taylor's book to you who have read W.L.Rusho's "Everett Reuss" and understand Everett's mystical nature in his exploration of himself as well as the wilderness he so loved. Also your appreciation will be greatly enhanced if you are familiar with the country Everett traveled. This book is not a serious effort to solve the mystery of Everett's disappeareance. Rather, as Taylor retraces Everett's steps he describes his own spiritual journey; his personal counterpart to Everett's quest over the same territory a half century earlier. Taylor writes, "I knew my search for Everett had become more important than finding him." Reuss was a romantic, so is Taylor. The inner exporation is what counts, the physical exploration merely the vehicle for self-undertanding. If you are literal minded this book will disappoint. Me, I enjoyed the book. I thought it well written and organized and a quick, easy read. It enriched my understanding of the spiritual journey of Everett and its parallel in my own life. A negative. I found the speculations about Emery Kolb, etc, so far-fetched as to be bizarre; but Taylor never offers these as serious possibilities. Still, it were better had they been omitted. There were some minor errors in the book as has been pointed out by other reviewers; but they appeared to me to be editing mistakes, not those of the author. All in all, for me a very worthwhile read; but then I am so in love with Everett Reuss I make no claim to objectivity.