James E. Cook

James E. (Jim) Cook was an Arizona author who wrote ten books about the state, including his final work 'Half a Sack of Cats' published in 2011, which recounts his childhood experiences in 1940s Arizona. He claimed Peoria as his hometown but was born in Phoenix, graduated from Flagstaff High School in 1953, and earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State College at Flagstaff (now NAU) in 1958. After retirement, he humorously titled himself the 'Official Arizona State Liar' and founded the 'Wickenburg Institute for Factual Diversity,' publishing the 'Journal of Prevarication' online.