New Mexico Books

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.

As anyone who reads her history columns in the Albuquerque Tribune knows, Mo Palmer knows Albuquerque's history. Now, here, at last, is a book she's written on the subject, a book that probably no one else anywhere was as qualified to write.
In addition to being an area history columnist, Mo Palmer has been a photo archivist for the Museum of Albuquerque, and here, in "Albuquerque: Then and Now" she draws from all of her knowledge to create a truly valuable portrait of Albuquerque, then and now.
Every one of this book's even-numbered page features an amazing old historic photo of a notable Albuquerque landmark, and every odd-numbered page features that same landmark (or whatever took its place) today. And all of the photos are captioned with interesting and concisely written information.
Any Albuquerque area resident willing to pick up this book and take the time to flip through it will be sure to find the experience transformative and enlightening. It will amaze you just how much of Albquerque's architectural history has remained behind, and sadden you just how much some things have changed.
Buy it, read it, keep it for yourself as reference and a reminder, or give it as a gift to friends in the Albuquerque area, or to friends who you want to have visit you here.

I love reading Albuquerque history from many different sources, and I love "then" and "now" photos, and I also love reading the books that Mo Palmer recommended to my son when she was his history teacher. Well this perfect storm of affections converged this past month when my son gave me Mo Palmer's "Albuquerque Then and Now" for Christmas. This is not just another collection of stories from Albuquerque's past. Many stories tend to get repeated from one book to the next - the story of the Alvarado hotel, the early tuberculosis clinics, the early schools and UNM's early days, the Sear's fire, and so on. When you read Miss Palmer's book it would appear that it did not occur to her that she needs to cover that territory for you. It is very fresh, most of the "then" photographs were new to me, and the commentary was very enlightening to me. Much of the discussion focuses on the early communities and what they were like. I hope she will publish again soon.

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!

Excerpts from a longer review by Judith Fein in HADASSAH Magazine August/September 2000: The book is sprinkled with Spanish, Hebrew, Ladino, and Yiddish. It is puctuated with love, questioning, humility, bravado, honesty, longing and anger.... At first the words seem tender and nostalgic and clever, but they begin to gain power as the diverse voices proliferate.... Of all the poems in the book, the Converso section elicits the most excitement. "I think this is because the phenomenon works both historically and metaphorically," Logghe says. "I ask,'What in your life have you kept hidden?' We all have hidden aspects of ourselves. The book is a vehicle for opening up dialoge with Jewsand non-Jews so we should find some common ground and hearts." Read the whole two page review and you will know why this book is a treasure to share.

In this diverse and masterly compilation, New Mexican Jewishpoets explore their Judaic identities as set against a backdrop ofarroyos, chili plants, and arid turquoise skies. Many of the poets are relatively recent transplants from elsewhere in the country, while a few have long made their homes in the Land of Enchantment. One of the Spanish-writing contributors is descended from the first Jews to arrive in New Mexico, fleeing persecution from the Spanish Inquisition in 1598. The theme of exile and searching permeates many of the works, with several poems inspired by the painful past-the Holocaust, the Inquisition. Other writers probe the wonder and strangeness of newly embracing their faith in this unlikely land. There are also numerous reflections on ancestors, family and religious holidays-one poem describes casting bread into the Rio Grande on Rosh Hashanah morning. Libraries serving communities with sizeable Jewish populations should consider this anthology a must purchase. Also recommended anywhere where interest is high in Western or Jewish culture, or just fine poetry.

Years ago, when preparing for my three-year 50-state road trip I'd purchased a load of travel guides to help plan what to see in each state, and was fairly satisfied until I stumbled upon my first ART OF STATE book in Iowa. This unique book made all other travel books pale by comparison. Although small and slim the books throughout this series are packed with meaningful information. Beautifully designed and written, they are thoroughly engaging and a joy to read--like finding an ancestor's scrapbook or diary in the attic and reading a fascinating family heritage while viewing images of a buried past. Each author in the ART OF STATE series must be a native or a deliberate transplant, for each state story is lovingly told with a deep appreciation of the state--and not just its good features, but the blemishes, too, described evenhandedly and complemented by photographs of architecture, landscapes paintings, crafts and memorabilia. Each book presents the state's history, climate, landscape, traditions, symbols, recipes, must-see destinations as well as a statewide calendar of events. I've since purchased all the books in the series (20 of the 50 states as of 2008). If your budget won't allow you to buy all 20, at least buy two: one of your home state and one of your adopted state. You'll be amazed at what you'll discover.

I apologize for raving so much about THE ART OF STATE series, but it was such a find for me, like discovering a diamond in a sea of glass. I can't help but gush.

Each book's frontispiece has a wallpaper design: a background color, unique to the state, dotted with a state motif. I've begun playing a game with each new book I purchase in this series trying to guess what the wallpaper motif will be before opening the boo. Sometimes I correctly guess the motif, but rarely the background color. For New Mexico, it's bright red chili peppers dotting a Yucatan yellow background. Sweet.

Now, about the New Mexico edition ... On the dark side, New Mexico served as the hideout for two killers: Billy the Kid and the atom bomb. But that's the only shadow on this sun drenched land. Read about the various Pueblo, Mexican, Spanish and American influences in this state of fabulous landscapes, luscious cuisine, turquoise jewelry, and clay art, architecture and crafts. The vast desert vast terrain and limitless sky not only attracted artists, but aliens, too, in the town of Roswell, where aliens landed and a museum marks the spot. The fabulous land of mountains, deserts, mesas and pine forests attracted writers and artists to Taos and Santa Fe which became celebrated artist colonies, by accident. In the 19th century two traveling artists broke a wagon wheel en route to California and stayed in the glorious state, founding artist societies in each town. Famed New York artist Georgia O'Keeffe spent the second half of her 90 years painting the doom of the New Mexican desert bones, abandoning her typical bold blooms. Writer D.H. Lawrence said: "I think New Mexico is the greatest experience from the outside world that I ever had. It certainly changed me forever. Curious as it may sound New Mexico liberated me from the present era of civilization..." No wonder the state nickname is "Land of Enchantment."

I loved the book. I have lived in N.M. for 27 years and find this book the best short history thru Art I have ever seen. It has everything you would want down to the UFO's.

An incredible writer, so far ahead of most contemporary novelists, and yet he lies forgotten. This book will last beyond literature.

The Bamboo Bed was published in 1969. Eastlakes vision of the Vietnam war is dominated by its absurdity. These two facts intertwine to support my summary that the book is the mother of all Vietnam war fiction.

Eastlake, a WWII vet, went to Vietnam and published some dispatches from there for The Nation magazine. His vision of the war as an absurdity long ago became a cliche in fiction and movies, but in 69 it was a revelation.

That alone hardly makes the book great, or even worth reading. What makes it so is wonderful prose and wonderful characters.

I love most of Eastlake's work but I am aware that his (what I call) over the top style is unbearable to some or at least disqualifies his work from being mentioned in the same phrase as literature. I of course disagree. The Bamboo Bed is a landmark of modern American fiction.

Carlos, who rides the hinge of time into old Mexico as centuries change from the 19th to 20th Century, narrates his story and you soon realize he is a haunted man in a haunted land. He is a young man on a quest, on a search for meaning that leads him to a dwarf, to Chavez, a guerilla chieftain, and to Joaquin Mueller, who abuses the land and its people as he grabs more and more land and power. The times are brutal and they turn Carlos inside out and let him see who he really is, and let him decide if he likes what he sees. Few people get to know how they will measure up in such a time, and you will thrill to a story well-told of a mission that is both raw and emotional.

I admit that this is a very biased review because I helped W.C. Jameson with the editing on this stunning story. However, Beating the Devil is such a memorable reading experience that no one can go away from this tale without being profoundly touched by young Carlos' adventure deep into the Sierra Madres. This is prose at its best: lyrical,fast paced, and succinct. Though often violent and gut-wrenching the underlying beauty of a man in search of truth, justice, love and himself is a strong and worthy saving grace. I highly recommend this novel without reservation. Laurie Wagner Buyer