Yes, Desert Solitaire would be on my short list. One more book that I can highly recommend is actually a history book called Arizona: A History by Thomas E. Sheridan. It emphasizes the three C's - copper, cattle, cotton - and how their economics affected society and culture over time. Regards.

Steve, thanks for your nice response. I was fortunate to live in Tucson in the early 80s, but did not discover this book until a few years later while seeking literary desert withdrawal therapy.

A personal favorite of mine is Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton. It is part travelogue, part autobiography, all set in SE Arizona.