New Mexico Books

even though this is a short and easy to read book, it hooks u into reading other books that go more into deteail about the same topic. reveals many truths about history that has been hidden from us. everyone of indigenous decent should definately read this book.

Whatever opinions you may have on Xikano-Mexikano people, the truth is that we're not illegals on this land. Tlapoyawa gives it to you straight and tells it like it is. Citing acclaimed and reknowned scholars and authors, he takes you step by step through the different chapters of historical Mexican culture and identity. After reading this compelling and thought provoking book, there will be no doubt in your mind of the ties and right Mexikah people have on the land now known as the Southwest. Aztlan is not a myth; it is a documented historical ancestral homeland of the Nawatl speaking people, and we, the descendants of the original people of this continent, have the right to migrate freely back and forth as we please, following in the tradition of our ancestors. This book is a must read for truth and culture seekers, myth de-bunkers, and students in Indigenous/Native American and Chicano Studies.

"We Will Rise" is based on the belief that Mexicano/Chicanos must begin our liberation from the correct point of reference. The book
begins not with the Chicano Movement of the 1970s, or the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848, or even the Spanish invasion of Mexiko in
1519. It begins with our origins in the present-day Southwest U.S. thousands of years ago. It brings the reader full-circle to our current situation as an occupied nation in the Southwest. It offers a system for lifting ourselves to our former greatness and unity as a people, not through violence, but through Mexikayotl, in solidarity with our northern native brothers and sisters. It does all this in a very easy-to-read style, with clarity as well as beautiful original artwork. It is perfect for students of all ages. A truly uplifting book.

A couple of years ago, after moving to Las Vegas,NEW MEXICO, our local bookstore proprietor suggested I read Howard Bryan's book regarding some of the more violent pieces of local history. I read with interest and disdain how it was that the US Army under General Kearney's command wiped out the village of Los Valles near here and nearly destroyed the Taos Pueblo, "leaving a few houses standing to shelter the women and children." That was in 1847 during the period of "pacification" after the US had defeated Mexico.

As appaling the events at Los Valles and Taos Pueblo were, at least there was a modicum of human decency in US Military Policy. There was a certain respect for the humanity of the native peoples, a desire to provide some protection for the women and children. All that changed in the next 20 years or so as witnessed at Wounded Knee where women and children were slaughtered by the US Army.

We have a beautiful public square known as the Plaza here in "The Meadow City." Bryan discusses the historical fact that public hangings were a frequent event of some degree of entertainment. The executions took place from a windmill in the center of the Plaza. Today a bandstand sits where the windmill executions once occured. As Bryan points out the hangings stopped when one day Las Vegans came to the realization that the executions were having detrimental effects upon the younger generation: children had taken to playing at hangings! What better rationale can we find in modern times to end our current versions of capital punishment?

This is a must read especially for those fascinated with the history of the American West.

I'm a native of this town (born there in 1923) and found Howard Bryan's book an outstanding and worthwhile account. I've recounted some of his tales to people in other states and countries, and encountered disbelief. It sounds too much like a B movie to be credible, but it's all true. In fact, it's understated.

My father had one of the original posters which is reproduced on the back of the jacket, and I can testify it is authentic.

Most people find it hard to believe such a tough town could stay that way for as long as Las Vegas NEW MEXICO did. The original Las Vegas was established a hundred years before Bugsy Seigal the mobster started his air-conditioned, neon-lit palace for city dudes, hundreds of miles away, in the Nevada desert.

The photographs are also historical artifacts of great value.
I recommend the book with great enthusiasm.

This is a very easy reading book, with some of the most compelling short stories (true short stories) of the Las Vegas, New Mexico area, during the 1800 and very early 1900s. You pick up some amazing historical facts... and hear some tales of famous, or infamous characters that simply amaze!

Low cost, easy to read, and gives you several of those "Oh my ...." moments when you least expect them. A great read.Wildest of the Wild West: True Tales of a Frontier Town on the Santa Fe Trail

This is a regularly updated work which gives a great overview of the work and styles of Zuni jewery makers. It is a must have for anyone interested in collection this exquisit art.

This is a great book to use as a reference guide to look for and purchase jewelry created by many of the Zuni jewelry artists. Great photographs of a wide selection of jewelry with corresponding artist names. Highly recommended for collectors.

Even though these are obstensibly for the information of collectors, all the Schiffer books that I have ever gotten are magnificent just for the those who wistfully wish they could afford a piece. The reader can't handle the actual pieces, but it's about as close as one will get in a picture. And if one ever does get enough money to buy a piece, one will know what one wants.

This is full of well-done color pictures and packed with a lot of information about the history and contemporary makers. There are other books with gorgeous shots of turquoise and silver, but the reader of this and the Bassman's other books will come away with some real understanding of the different styles, schools, and the cultural milieu of their creation.

As a resident of Southern Colorado, I was looking for a guide of nearby geological, historical, archaeological, and topographical interesting day hikes and backpacking trips. This guide is exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend it to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge and opportunities for adventure in Northern New Mexico!

i own many hiking guides, but this one is a favorite! i highly recommend it for all levels of hikers.

Adela Breton (1849-1923) was a well-to-do English Victorian woman who did not begin her unique work of painting Mayan ruins until she was 50. Even for her age, in this she displayed an adventurousness, energy, and individuality reminiscent of Isek Dinesen. Visiting the Mayan ruins during a travel excursion known as the Mexican Grand Tour, she became absorbed in the ancient Mexican civilization's archaeology. Combining this new-found interest with her practice of painting and sketching archaeological objects of Scotland, Egypt, and Africa from her readings in anthropology, Breton's Mayan paintings are of interest not mainly for any innovative or exceptional skill, but for their verisimilitude. Some of her paintings are the only documents available for lost relics or ones which have deteriorated. Her congenital interest in archaeology and anthropology combing the enthusiasm of the amateur with the reflection and understanding of the professional and the appreciation she had for her subjects is seen in her bright colors, clarity of line, and the attention to detail. The biography by an independent scholar with a law degree portrays Breton in an almost novelistic manner--she is not simply a subject, but a character of a story too. Quotes from diaries and letters of hers and from letters to her and writings of others about her at the openings of chapters are particularly pertinent and revealing about Breton's significance in the archaeological work being done in Mexico in the early 1900s, her feelings for what she was doing, and the special regard of others for her. The conflict and instability of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 brought an end to the archaeological work of Breton and her associates. But not before she had managed to paint and sketch numerous Mayan relics of all types from pyramids to murals to pottery.

This well written work is a fascinating account of how an English gentlewoman's color art saved a record of images painted by Mayans 1500 years earlier. Accompanied by her Indian guide, this incredible women spent several years in the Yucatan jungles making the only copies we have of this aspect of Mayan history. Most of those images deteriorated rapidly in the early years of the 20th Century. Highly recommended reading for all, even for those not familiar with that great civilization.

James Josiah Webb was a young enterprising man in his twenties who made several trips down the Santa Fe and Chihuahua Trails in the 1840's and this is his account of what life was like then. While not exactly filled with tales of high adventure or edge of your seat drama, it is a good character study of relationships between Americans, Mexicans and Native Americans. The chapters on his 1846 trading venture during war time Mexico are very insightful and gives the reader a feeling for what it must have been like going through those tense and turbulent times of political unrest. A good book.

In January 1888, a few months shy of his 70th birthday, James Josiah Webb sat down in his Connecticut home and began writing his memoirs of his days as a Santa Fe trader, which had consumed 17 years of his life from 1844 to 1861. Unfortunately, a year later, after writing about only the first three years of that experience, Webb died. Although unfinished, this is Webb's manuscript as it lay in his desk the day he died.

After settling in St. Louis from his family's home in Connecticut, Webb became interested in the trade caravans that took goods between Independence, MO, and Santa Fe (and other points in Mexico). In 1844 he made his first trading expedition; although it wasn't a huge success, he returned to St. Louis and, with a partner, planned another trip. This second venture the following year was a big success. But the war with Mexico threw a monkey wrench into things, and on his third trip the partners decided to bring their goods beyond Santa Fe to near Mexico City. They were arrested in Chihuahua, where they remained prisoners for a month, and when finally released, proceeded on to San Juan de los Lagos, where they sold their goods. His account ends with their return to St. Louis.

Webb must have had a phenomenal memory because his narrative is packed with anecdotes and encounters with other traders and trail travelers that seem fresh and complete. He apparently kept all his account books and business records for all his years spent in the trade, but there is no mention of him keeping journals. His style is breezy and informal, and the book hasn't been "doctored" in any way by the editor (except for spelling and grammar corrections). The editor, Ralph Bieber, has done an excellent job (in footnotes) in identifying geographical features mentioned and expanding on various people encountered by Webb. The only criticism I have is the book is lacking an index, which would be useful. It's a fascinating first-hand account of life on the Santa Fe Trail (and Mexico). Webb's manuscript ran some 250 pages yet covered only three years; one can only imagine had he lived longer to complete his memoirs how many volumes they would comprise. If the rest were only half as interesting and informative as this volume, they would still be worth looking into.

A friend of mine just moved to Albuquerque so I sent him this
book. He really enjoyed reading it and mentioned that the
author had some interesting insights into the growth and
modernization of the city. If your moving to this area of New
Mexico, or are interested in the growth of southwestern cities,
this is a good choice.

This is a wonderful book for anyone trying to make sense of the Duke City. It covers past history and politics. It gives you a sense of the city's future. It is a must read for anyone living in or moving to Duke City.

Polly Brown and Jane Bernard are the Thelma and Louise of Documentary photography, shooting their way down the Mother Road with eyes and hearts wide open. Steinbeck, Kerouac, Mick Jagger, and Elvis would all love this book, and so do I.

Jane Bernard and Polly Brown are accomplished, widely-published Santa Fe photographers who spent three years on American's most legendary trail. American Route 66: Home on the Road (172 p., Museum of New Mexico Press, 2003, $45) "winds from Chicago to L.A." These superb color and black-and-white photographs merge with their subjects mini-oral histories and the photographers' journal entries.

We discover that an elongated Lake Woebegone populated by people such as Charles and Gazelle Stewart, who have surrounded their petrified wood store with towering folk-artsy dinosaurs designed to make kids demand to stop the car. Gazelle recalls how Jerry Seinfeld came in one day with his bodyguard, "a little bitty man...with such a huge gun he could hardly keep his pants up." Seinfeld wanted a $3,000 meteorite, but the power was down, so they couldn't run his credit card. They trusted him anyway.

"We'd make more money," Charles says, "if I'd stop making so many dinosaurs."

This book has tons of color and B&W pictures and some of the best pictures of the southwest ruins you are ever going to find. It also has numerous site maps illustrating the ruins and their vicinity. The pictures are not just your everyday tourbook photos. They are spectacular. The author mixes numerous aerial shots that show you overviews of the sites and mixes in a generous amount of detail shots to help you see what the sites look like when you are there. There are also sketches and conceptual drawings which tell about the history. Just because there are a lot of photos, do not think the text is lacking. The book has all you would ever need to know about the sites including history, archeological finds etc. It accomplishes this amazingly enough without boring the reader. The most important thing about this book is that it is comprehensive. An example is its description of Mesa Verde park which is 44 pages of text and pictures. The section includes a detailed description of the stops you can make off ruins road as well as maps and pictures of sites you can't even access. Overall, this is the book you want to have when you plan your trip and the one you want on your coffee table to show your friends and family where you have been. A must have for anyone fascinated by the Anasazi culture.

I have found this to be an excellent resource for finding sites of interest and a faithfull companion for exploring the site once I have arrived. The information provides a nice addition to any anasazi library

I have read several books about the contemporary Maya, but the majority seem to consist of crackpot New Age theories. What Hart does is to ask the Maya themselves what they believe and how they practice their spirituality, and the result is both fascinating and profoundly respectful of those beliefs. We needed someone who avoids putting their own worldview and paradigms onto another culture's belief system, and that's what we have here.

The book provides a unique set of testimonies, mainly of contemporary Aj Q'ijab', or spiritual guides in the communities, speaking on many intertwined elements of Mayan spirituality - the Calendar, sacred places, the calling to the priesthood, healing, the contemporary social context in which the ancient faith is maintained, and many others.

Highly recommended.

Mr. Hart presents a superb overview of Mayan spirituality in a modern context, and does so with a depth of knowledge and sensitivity that is extraordinary. So far and above the usual disservice done to the subject by countless guidebooks and magazine articles, the many interviews are woven together to show a beautiful tapestry. Un muy buen trabajo, senor sacerdote!