Tucson author captures border life, history

TUCSON — For most folks, the 1,956-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border is a faraway place where the federal government intends to build a fence and halt illegal immigration.

This is just a fleeting moment in border history. In his latest book, Tucson writer/photographer John Annerino manages to explore the area’s rich flora, fauna, legends and tragedies to give an increasingly curious audience the bigger picture.

Vanishing Borderlands (The Countryman Press, 1st ed., $30) is a breezy, 128-page read that covers the border in three parts. After a highly descriptive introduction about crossing over into Mexico on foot with his family, Annerino starts the adventure in West Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.

The first chapter is a model for the rest of the book. Stellar landscape photography anchors a storyline that weaves border history in with Annerino’s real-life experiences hiking, canoeing, camping and conducting interviews along the border.

Many of the photos feature scenes from state, federal and Mexican parks and biological preserves at sundown or sunup. The stories date back to the late 1500s and feature plenty of Spanish explorers, murderous encounters, greedy forty-niners and, of course, the famed Pancho Villa.

Annerino even dredges up the old tale of Ambrose Bierce, an American journalist who accompanied Villa during the outlaws forays. He apparently disappeared during a gun battle in January 1914. Annerino writes:

No one knows where he fell, but in an earlier letter, Bierce wrote: “If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it a pretty good way to depart from this life. It beats old age, disease or falling down the cellar stairs.”

Vanishing Borderlands is full of these little gems, with wide margins and plenty of photos to speed along the adventure. Though some of the canoeing photos appear to be dated, it’s easy to ignore that considering the peril Annerino faced to get some of these images. Few would venture back for that “perfect shot.”

The historic tales, scenic photos and personal essays are a good setup for the final sections about crossing the border and a photo essay about smuggling’s toll on the environment and the human element. Annerino manages to avoid the politics while exploring how well-meaning residents and federal agents are caught up in a social exodus and criminal enterprises that do not respect political boundaries.

In summary, this book is a worthy addition to any border enthusiast’s library. The $30 price tag seems a bit much, but the imagery, personal essays and handy maps with historic blurbs make Vanishing Borderlands a good get for the coffee table or the reference library.