History of Northern Arizona University

"This book ought to be read by anyone who loves Flagstaff and by everyone interested in higher education in Arizona."--Bruce Babbitt, Former Governor of Arizona, on the back cover of Mountain Campus: The Story of Northern Arizona University by Platt Cline.

You could very appropriately add to that statement: "This book should be suggested reading for all NAU students and parents." I would use the phrase required reading, but that somehow implies that this book might be something to look forward to with less than enthusiasm. Reading this book is anything but a chore.

Platt Cline loved NAU, but he also put on his newspaper editor's hat when he wrote it. The result is an extremely readable history of both the university which started as a normal school in 1899, and the town that supported it. This paragraph from the book's introduction gives you sense of connection between the two:

"The reader will early find that the school owed its conception and birth directly to the small town of Flagstaff, then only a few more than a dozen years from its founding, and I hope he shares my delight in how this extraordinary achievement was brought about by the community's leaders as they maneuvered astutely, patiently, with good will--and also a sense of humor--to attain their goal. It could only have happened in Flagstaff! While there could have been a Flagstaff without the school, there could never have been the school without Flagstaff."

Please consider picking up a used copy (it's out of print) of this excellent history. You'll never feel the same about Flagstaff and its Mountain Campus.