ery our state has to offer. You’ll see a Lake Powell sunrise overlooking Wahweap Ma- rina on the Arizona-Utah border. You’ll learn that two former Phoenix cops opened Alpine Pizza in Flagstaff in 1973. You’ll discover that Apache Junction was once home to the Apacheland Movie Ranch, a western town built circa 1960 that later burned down. If you’re inter- ested in Arizona, past or present, Corbett’s a must-follow. EEEEE T.J. Newman Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block We’re thrilled for these Phoenix-based veteran journalists that their April 2021 book, Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe Ar- paio Versus the Latino Resistance, is getting national acclaim (including a recent rave review in the Los Angeles Review of Books). But we’re equally gratified that the book exists as an invaluable chronicle of the 24- year Arpaio Era, one that saw Arizona gain an international reputation for illegal, cruel treatment of Latino people. Driving While Brown, which was published by Uni- versity of California Press, is meticulously researched and includes crucial backstory on Arizona history and the early life of Ar- paio himself. You’ll probably spend a lot of your reading time angry about the things that happened here, but don’t forget to be appreciative of the wave of Latino activism that arose during that period of time and that continues to advocate for equality and immigrant rights. EEEEE Mesa native T.J. Newman used to stock shelves at Changing Hands Bookstore and fantasize about seeing a book of her own on display — a not-uncommon aspiration for a would-be novelist, but one that rarely comes to fruition. Newman bucked the odds this year in grand fashion, though, when her debut novel, Falling, was pub- lished in July. Newman, a flight attendant, wrote her thriller — about a pilot who must crash the plane he’s flying or else a terrorist will kill his family — while working cross- country red eyes, and after rejections from 41 literary agents, she got a yes, a two-book publishing deal, and a seven-figure ad- vance to boot. Perhaps most poignant of all, she got her very own book event at Chang- ing Hands in Phoenix (the first in-person event at the store since the pandemic be- gan). Newman’s family, friends, co-work- ers, and fans gathered to hear her talk about her first novel (she’s already deep into writing the next one) — and to watch a dream come true. EEEEE Natalie Diaz Wins a Pulitzer Prize A man wearing a Vic Hanny suit walks into Rosenzweig and Sons Jewelers and finds a young Barry Goldwater eyeing a pocket watch. Private eyes lunch at the Saratoga; characters name-drop Carl Hayden and Governor Hunt and Winnie Ruth Judd and Otis Kenilworth, the barber. Jon Talton’s latest crime novel follows a former homi- cide detective who’s chasing down De- pression-era missing persons when he discovers a dismembered body beside the train tracks. Because this is a noir mystery, the murder is linked to powerful people, both good and bad; and because it’s a Tal- 42 As the founding director for ASU’s Center for Imagination in the Borderlands and a Mohave language preservation activist, Natalie Diaz has been exploring the inter- sections of language, place, and identity in her work, which this year expanded to in- clude her second poetry collection, Postco- lonial Love Poem. It was well-received upon its release, then it became very well- received when it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. During a year filled with conversations about social justice related to health care, immigration, and police brutality, Diaz’s poetry created space for readers to consider how one can love and be loved in the context of colonial vio- lence, and gave voice to Diaz’s experiences as an Indigenous, Latinx, and queer woman. ton thriller, the gumshoeing goes on in Phoenix. City of Dark Corners is bursting with cameos by long-gone local celebrities and well-loved places, but even for people who live in Schenectady, the latest from the beloved local historian (Talton’s Rogue Columnist blog charts Phoenix history) is another tightly drawn winner. EEEEE BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 me g al o p olit an lif e B OME T T ES C D R F B E S T NEW N Driving W Br O NFIC o V TI O N wn: Sheriff Joe Arp er e sus the Latino R hile aio sis tanc e B E S T SH OU T OU T REAM alling UE B E S T NEW FIC D TI Cit O N ark Corner on y o f Jon T alt s
