Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink: Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest

by Tom Miller

A vivid, incisive portrait of the American Southwest captures the unique quality and characteristics of the region as it covers such themes as "tierra," "art," "violence," and "food, religion, and politics" and discusses topics ranging from the origins of "La Bamba" to the regions continuing problem of illegal immigration. Reprint.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Tom Miller has been writing about the American Southwest and Latin America for more than three decades. His ten books include The Panama Hat Trail, which follows the making and marketing of one Panama hat, and Trading with the Enemy, which Lonely Planet says "may be the best travel book about Cuba ever written." Miller began his journalism career in the underground press of the late '60s and early '70s, and has written articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, Natural History, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, Regla.

Reviews

[Hazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice collection of nonfiction pieces centered mainly around the Southwest and, in particular, Arizona. Miller's got a flavorful writing style and, while some might be turned off by some of his political positions, he's very open and honest about it.

One of Miller's strengths is the ability to write sympathetic but balanced pieces about his subjects. He may write about his interactions with Edward Albee, but he shies away from hero worship and is perfectly willing to put some of Albee's flaws on display (particularly his racism).

Miller also deeply cares about his subjects and has the skill of a writer vastly superior to some of his better known contemporaries. He doesn't constantly go off on endless tangents and philosophical musings like, say, Tom Robbins. And when he does decide to put in his two cents about something, it's actually relevant and often to the point.

You actually learn something from reading his pieces.

Mainly, though, his subjects, whether they be a Brazilian actress or a union boss or an English-born cowboy or the owner of a one-book bookstore, take center stage. And thus the book is all the more flavorful and balanced because of it, like a well-made chili with the best ingredients.

He also has a fondness for themes, as many of his articles are strongly related to one another, whether it's the origin of pop hits like La Bamba or El Paso, or the labor union struggles against a copper mining giant, or just bumping around Conchise County to give an overall overview of the flavor of the place.

If you're interested in Arizona as a topic, you should pick this up along with John Alcock's "Sonoran Desert Spring". While they're both different in their approach, they complement each other very well.

[Marcia Chocinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really starting to enjoy travel writers/stories, at least those of the Appalachian & Pacific Coast trails, Roads by Larry McMurty and now jack Ruby’s kitchen sink. I’ve read a lot of McMurty’s fiction but need to read more of his non-fiction. I also need to read more of Mr Miller as well as Bill Bryson. I enjoyed this book immensely as it revealed characters both geographic and human (oh yes and plant life - don’t forget the story about man vs saguaro ... spoiler alert the plant wins). This entertaining volume kept me turning pages quickly as if I was reading a good mystery. The author has written a lot of local color stories that have been published in monthlies. I only wish they had been carried regularly in my local paper. My former hometown newspaper had a sports writer that was so enjoyable to read that even though I wasn’t a sports fan, I would read his column. This book is like that for me. I normally wouldn’t read a travel book but this was wonderful!
Thanks Mr Miller ... hope to read you again soon!

[Bigglysquiggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed a good deal of the information and stories in the book, I would find my self scanning over the parts where he would start writing about politics, which would take over the narrative, leaving me wondering what this really had to do with the southwest other than that it just happened there. It could have been the same story in Oklahoma or North Dakota, etc. I felt he was trying to convince himself of his views because I seriously couldn't have cared less about what he believes. To save you the trouble of meandering through those areas of the book, a quick synopsis is unions=good, corporations=bad. Those parts were the most wordy and boring parts. But then there would be stories that I became quickly absorbed and wanted to know more. All in all, it was enjoyable.

[Becky Colosimo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book club selection and a fast read. While I am interested in the Southwest, I don't feel I got much out of this book. It had no central theme or organization, and I suspect the author, a freelance journalist, just collected some feature stor...ies he had done over the years and put them into a book. While some were humorous, the stories were so anecdotal that they really didn't contribute to a feel for the area or its history. Instead it reminded me of the kind of trivia that Cliff Claven would tell you at the bar, if the bar were in No Name, New Mexico. There were also a lot of references to movies I had never seen, and information that would only be interesting on the extras of the movie's DVD.

[Mojavejen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I liked this idiosyncratic collection overall, the stories in this book are quite dated; for example, the chapter on immigration and border issues never mentions the Minutemen or Joe Arpaio. The author is vague about chronology throughout the essays, and it seems part of the reason is that he's revisiting stories that took place in the '80s or earlier. Still, I thought Miller chose a fun collection of Southwestern icons and clichés to discuss: bolo ties, chimichangas, guns, cockfighting, "La Bamba". I also liked his journalistic style, though sometimes he gets stuck on an idée fixe that is not as interesting to the reader as it is to the author (see the repeated references to Jack Ruby's kitchen sink).

[Justus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Another book of essays off the beaten path (like my recently read Offramp by Hank Steuver) and also a great read. I really enjoy books that find complexity and compelling stories in a situations that might be considered mundane.

[Lori Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different look at the Southwest. I got the feeling that the author didn't understand people in the Southwest, and I'm not sure he wanted to. The stories were quirky and sometimes weird. I like the title story the best, I guess because I am a little morbid that way.

[Jrobertus · Rating 2 out of 5]

a series of essays on contemporary southwestern life. some are amusing and some interesting. an ok book only.

[Aida]

best travel book of 2000

[SadieKate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Southwest history and travelogue all wrapped up together

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great travel book of the Southwest. No one does it better than Tom

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll let you read this and be the judge of its genre. To me it is just humor lit at its finest from a seasoned author.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Miller's quirky commentary about the culture of the Southwest. Some insights seemed purposefully neutral which was interesting.

[Angela]

I just couldn't get into this collection of tales of name dropping in the Southwest

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/2540216

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated, mainly contains articles written for various magazines. The author got paid twice that way, yeah I know, they all do it.

[Betty McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Miller's a great essayist. If you want some insight into the southwest, read Tom Miller's Revenge of the Saguaro (the saguaro story is worth the price of the book).