New Mexico Books

This book gives a well rounded look at the work of Edward Sheriff Curtis in a size that is easy to handle.

After viewing on PBS, a documentary of Edward Sheriff Curtis, I was moved to purchase this excellent work.
I was touched to my soul, by the photos, and how well they conveyed a race of people who have all but vanished.
The text that goes with the pictures is also quite good, and tells a remarkable story of a man obsessed to tell the world a story which we all need to hear and see. Curtis sacrificed his own finances and marriage, and did succeed in completing a very exhausting pilgrimage.

This is perhaps the greatest book authored by my uncle, Victor Hugo Boesen. He worked diligently with Curtis' daughter and other members and friends of the Curtis family to research and to write this book. The photographs are stunning. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the American Indian and Curtis' crucial role in recording this history. This book has been translated into French and German. Victor Boesen served as a war correspondent for Liberty Magazine during World War II and was present at the signing of the peace treaty on the USS Missouri. His writings appeared in Life, Look, the Los Angeles Times, and other major periodicals and newspapers.

[Review by Larry Blumenfeld, Blumenfeld & Aswsociates, Post Office Box 2831, 660 Circulo Nomada, Tubac, AZ 85646-2831, (520) 398-3371, published in COUNCIL FIRES, The Publication for Western Americana Enthusiasts, Vol. 8, Issue #1, January, 1998, p. 16-17.] E1 Llano Estacado: Exploration and Imagination on the High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, 1536-1860. Written by John Miller Morris. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, First Edition ($39.95). El Llano Estacado is an extremely well written new work of Southwestern History, brilliantly revealing the historical core and heart of one of America's most history-packed regions--the mesaland of the Southern High Plains in Texas and New Mexico. From the Canadian River in the north to the Edwards Plateau in the south, from the Pecos River in the west to the awesome canyonlands of the Red, Pease, Brazos, and Colorado Rivers in the east, these 50,000-square miles of what is commonly referred to as "the Llano" are here chronicled over a period of 300 years, revealing the history, cultural grandeur, and mythic wonders of this special ruggedly beautiful land. A knockout read for both historians and buffs alike, Morris's new book is his song to this unique environment, revealing, melding, and analyzing a diversified series of Spanish, French, Mexican, and Anglo-American explorers and adventurers and how they made their mark on this remarkable land. The book opens with an examination of what is known as the Lost Coronado Trail, pursuing the question of where did the Coronado Expedition go in 1541. What follows is nothing short of a breakthrough analysis of what they saw and how they remembered it as revealed through their personal accounts and journals. The second part of the book, which deals with the Llano Frontier, continues its unique approach to the study of the three centuries of Spanish exploration and imagination following Coronado. Here we revisit this extraordinary land through the eyes and imaginations of the conqueror, Juan de Onate, the accounts of the French explorers, Pierre Mallet and Paul Mallet, and the travel diaries of trailblazers Pedro Vial, Jose Mares, and Francisco Amangual. Part Three then explores and analyzes "the invention or discovery of the Llano through the Anglo imagination," including the "prose of the poet Albert Pike, the grand deceits of Alexander Le Grand, the reasoning of Josiah Gregg, and the legendary collapse of the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition" as chronicled by George Wilkins Kendall and Thomas Falconer. Together the author analyzes what he calls the "American rhetoric of romantic discovery." The Great Zahara, the last of four parts, deliciously delves into the "perceptual approaches of classic U. S. Explorers James W. Abert, Randolph B. Marcy, A. W. Whipple, Andrew Gray, and John Pope...." Powerful, unusual, stimulating, and nothing short of brilliant, El Llano Estacado is one of the finest works of cultural and mythic history of a region I have ever read. Morris has penned a great work of both history and imagination, pushing the boundaries on historical scholarship to limits that I would have never thought possible. This book should change the way history is not only written but perceived. You must read this mmagnificent book!!

Using historical writings of early explorers, the author captures the mystery and magic of the great Llano Estacado or "Staked Plains" that begin in West Texas and extend north and west. Particularly amusing is the efforts of early railroad surveyors to find underground water at the edge of the Llano (aka the caprock) only to miss one of North America's largest aquifers (the Ogalla) by a matter of miles and in some cases yards.

We were going on a trip to see the Llano Estacado and the canyon in west Texas.This book gave the trip so much dimension and understanding at how hard the life was for the explorers and the pioneers in this harsh land.Very cleverly written,holds one attention. Wonderful

"These stories are at once bittersweet, tender, and funny without ridiculing. We recognize ourselves or know someone in those shoes and they touch our hearts. We root for or pray along with them as they try to unravel the puzzle of their lives. Romo skillfully maintains and heightens the momentum and allure of the story with folkloric intrigue: how and why has the Rio Grande turned red?" -- Liz Raptis Picco, for El Andar.

Imagine Joyce's Dubliners set on the Rio Grande. Like life itself, this book is sweet, sad, beautiful, astonishingly interconnected, and all too short. When Tomasita burns the beans, she sets in motion a series of events that touches the lives of a dozen other women, and attracts the notice of millions. Romo employs a series of brief vignettes to tell powerful, emotion-packed stories of life and death and love and pain, and ties them all together into an exquisite package. Short, but delightful in its richness and complexity, this is a perfect gem of a novel, and one of few works of fiction this reviewer has read recently that didn't cry out to be edited down. All of the main characters are Mexican-American women, so women and Latinos may find this book especially endearing, but such is the power of Romo's achievement that this slim volume can readily be appreciated by everyone.

"Romo has a pleasing, unpretentious writing style, and he sometimes exhibits a real eye and ear for the ordinary moments that give life meaning. Throughout EL PUENTE, I was frequently reminded of John Steinbeck. Romo isn't as obsessed with social and economic justice, but he has a similar knack for describing the lives of plain, simple folk on the street.... EL PUENTE shows a lot of promise."--Steven Robert Allen

This book is set in the "last frontier" of western New Mexico, which to a large extent remains the last frontier to this day. As always, Luckey's characters jump out from the book and into your heart and soul. The story brings up some life changing events in the American West - the introduction of barb wire which forever changed the open range and the vast range holdings previously in existence. Burn English, the tough and solitary mustanger, is caught in this, at the time, cruel introduction of wire fences crossing the open lands where his wild horses roamed. Highly entertaining, but on a much deeper level than your average Western, I recommend it to anybody interested in the history of the West.

The English Horses is a classic Western, though the character depth far surpasses one's (at least my) expectation from that genre. Not only do the characters stay with you after you finished the book, but the story is fascinating. Tidbits about the introduction of barb-wire into the West is something I had never before considered. Luckey does a phenomenal job of mixing history with story line. It is a quick and fun read, something that I would recommend to anyone with an interest in the West or horses.
My only criticism is that I wish it was longer, but another review mentioned a sequel, which is something I definitely look forward to seeing, especially if it is about Burn English; he is a character that won't leave your head for a quite a while!

This book is, happily, a continuation of the author's captivating style - gritty, realistic, true to life storytelling of the old west. Not cloying, not romanticized, but real existence in the American frontier. The characters are richly fleshed out in vivid detail, (as is the entire book) you will see them in three dimensions, you know them - you feel their angst, their pain, and their struggle to exist in a harsh, unwelcoming environment. Burn English barely exists, making a scant subsistence from rounding up wild mustangs. I found myself feeling his extreme discomfort, and a little in awe of his way of life, his ability to survive, it seems, on nothing but steel-hard nerve. You will be drawn into the characters interactions and relationships, however subtle or dramatic, they are complex and intriguing. It's a page-turner I couldn't wait to get back to every night to be transported to another time. In addition to a fabulous story, credit must be given to the publisher for producing such a beautiful book that it will be a handsome addition to anyone's library. The jacket says the next book is simply entitled "Burn English". I can't wait.

I first read this book many years ago, along with some of the author's other works, and decided to take read it again. Time certainly has not diminished the power of the author, winner of the 1967 National Book Award for his book, "La Vida", to take the reader into the lives of others. This is an anthropological work that reads as if it were a riveting novel, so fascinating is its subject matter.

The author takes the reader into the lives of five different Mexican families for one entire day, so that the reader can see how it is that they live their lives. The families are both rural and urban and represent a cross-section of Mexico at the time that this book was written. All but one of the families portrayed are poor, yet they all share some similar characteristics.

Written during the nineteen fifties, this book is, for the most part, a look at a culture of poverty. It is also a look at a culture that is in transition, shifting from rural to urban with its often resulting poverty and pathology. Yet, it is also a culture into which, North American material comforts and influence were making inroads. That then nascent influence is often reflected in even the poorest of the families laid bare here.

The author basically gives the reader a typical day in the lives of each of these families. It is an intimate, objective look that creates a fascinating family portrait. It is a totally engrossing work of not only anthropological import but of historical value, as well. The author has managed to freeze in time a segment of Mexican life during the nineteen fifties. Who would have thought that reading about people shopping, preparing meals, and talking about their relationships would prove to be so fascinating?

Those who are interested in other cultures, as well as the way people live their lives, will really enjoy this book. The author provides a fascinating, freeze-frame glimpse into the lives of others. I simply loved this book. Bravo!

I just read this book, as I have read his other works. Oscar Lewis gives an extensive complete examination into the lives of extreme poverty. He gives exacting detail of the homes, lifestyles, and characteristics of the poor in Mexico. The last chapter delves with the poor who have accomplished "some wealth" and their upbringing still manages to evolve the same as if they were still poor. Wonderful thorough book!

I first read Five Families when I was a 23yo public health nurse from the Midwest, working in a Mexican-American barrio in East Los Angeles. A co-worker advised me to read this book in order to better understand the families I found myself working with.
I devoured it.
Then I came to realize that it's a seminal work in modern cultural anthropology, a book that will surely stand the test of time, a 'study' written in a style that makes it accessible to all readers.
Five Families is a dramatic and forceful account five poor Mexican families. It's a book that will leave you changed.

Every once in a while you encounter a murder novel in which all the characters are so interesting, you hate seeing anyone get killed. This is one of them.

The main character is a Dan Mahoney, an insurance investigator and a man you'd like to know. In some ways, he has the 'solid' feel of characters in John Lutz's novels.

He's also unflappable. In one of the best scenes, good ol' boy ranch hands set Dan up with an ornery horse, and I loved how he handled the situation.

The unwinding of the story is more cinematic rather than whodunit. It has a little bit of tasty sex and a lot of characterization.

Bill Roland Eklund, the owner of the Double Horseshoe Ranch in Tatum, New Mexico lost three heads of cattle over a three-month period. He has filed claims worth over $600,000 with United Life and Casualty but before they remit such a huge some of money, they want to make sure there is no fraud involved so they dispatch Dan Mahoney to find out what is going on at the reach.

Before he reaches the ranch, Dan witnesses a double homicide. When one of the victims, Eric Linden turns up alive, he contacts Dan to tell him that he took the fall for Billy a drug charge and expected two million dollars waiting for him when he got out of prison. Now Eric wants revenge and he intends to find the evidence to give to Dan that will send his former employer to jail for life. Dan has a lot of problems with this scenario including the fact that he likes Billy and is in love with Eric's wife who is divorcing him.

The hero doesn't realize why he is out in the field after years behind a desk, but that doesn't stop him from solving the case in a very unique manner, helping the FBI find the real drug dealer and falling for his sister's best friend. Though relationships make solving the case harder on Dan's conscience, the story line is exciting and action packed. Susan Slater's new series is compelling and will lead the audience to want to read the next installment as soon as possible.

Harriet Klausner

Bill Roland Eklund, the owner of the Double Horseshoe Ranch in Tatum, New Mexico lost three heads of cattle over a three-month period. He has filed claims worth over $600,000 with United Life and Casualty but before they remit such a huge some of money, they want to make sure there is no fraud involved so they dispatch Dan Mahoney to find out what is going on at the reach.

Before he reaches the ranch, Dan witnesses a double homicide. When one of the victims, Eric Linden turns up alive, he contacts Dan to tell him that he took the fall for Billy a drug charge and expected two million dollars waiting for him when he got out of prison. Now Eric wants revenge and he intends to find the evidence to give to Dan that will send his former employer to jail for life. Dan has a lot of problems with this scenario including the fact that he likes Billy and is in love with Eric's wife who is divorcing him.

The hero doesn't realize why he is out in the field after years behind a desk, but that doesn't stop him from solving the case in a very unique manner, helping the FBI find the real drug dealer and falling for his sister's best friend. Though relationships make solving the case harder on Dan's conscience, the story line is exciting and action packed. Susan Slater's new series is compelling and will lead the audience to want to read the next installment as soon as possible.

Harriet Klausner

As a native Lagunero (Torreon, Coah) this is one of the best books I've read about the Comarca. It is a must to understand where do we come from.

The Laguna Region has been mis-understood by many; not so a fellow from Australia and this William K. Meyers and some others, including Reed. How strange, that it will take "strangers" to document this part of Old Mexico, and then, so sweet... the Laguna was made by foreign peoples, not only of other States; Zacatecas would probably announce a good part of the population!

The Iritilas lost, of iniquilation due to sickness, and no monument to them: But the "river people" are richly disclosed by Meyers and adds a scholarship bibliography to the history of The Laguna.

If you have ever wondered how it is that the many peoples that inhabit this Region are so jelous of one another, this book could enlighten you. And, if ever you drank a drop of Lagunero water, not only will you recognize the value of IT in a desert, but she (the Laguna) will demand you to return it!

I, a Lagunero, am intriged by the many writtings that this book of Meyers uncovers, and finally come to rest on the "why's" and "porque's".

This scholarly discussion of the origins of the Mexican Revolution in the Laguna region of northern Mexico not only makes plain the complex strands of human interaction that ignited the Mexican conflict but goes far to explain how revolutions arise and dissolve generally. Meyers's style is direct and careful. And he really knows and loves Mexico. (By the way, that LA should be La.

almost every piece of pottery I have is represented in the book!

This is a wonderful detailed book of the the finest potters to be found in the southwest. This new expanded edition provides great family trees of the finest of Pueblo potters. If you're planning a visit to the Southwest and hope to meet some of these potters, it is the perfect companion book to The Native American Indian Artist Directory that will actually provide phone numbers and mailing addresses for many of the potters found in this outstanding edition.

For anyone interested in Native American pottery, this volume is a must-have.

We are lucky enough to have met Florence Chavarria Browning of the Santa Clara pueblo, and to have purchased one of her spectacular black pots.

These particular pots are not glazed, but fired specially to create the pure, colt black of black onyx, darker than coal, and softly glowing. Very few artists have skill enough to burn these amazing pots, and this book, introduces readers to the best of them.

I've been a fan of Frida Kahlo since high school, and as an artist, I've been on a quest to find a book that includes all of her paintings and portrays their colors and contrast accurately. Many books increase the contrast so much that you can no longer see definition in the dark areas of her painting, but not this one! Likewise, many books only show a few of her more popular paintings, but this large volume dug many up from obscurity and presents them in vivid, full-page detail.

If you would like to own one book that covers all of Frida's works, this is it--look no further! This has a poetically written account of the political and social conditions she grew up and flourished in, as well as details of her paintings that are amazing.

Tired of reading all the Kahlo biographies full of facts in a "documentary style" format..? Then this book is for you. This Kahlo biography, with a splash of Mexican history, presents an in-depth look at the private life of this famous Mexican painter in the style of a novel. This book is written for young adult readers and is very well written, well organized, easy reading and full of tidbits of information not found in other books. Once you start to read it you can't put it down. When you're finished you will know and understand the real Frida Kahlo. Highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.

If you are looking for information on her paintings you won't find it here. Not much is said about her paintings and there are only 6 small color and 3 black & white illustrations of her paintings and 6 black & white photos. In the back of the book there is a very brief chronology.

This book is amazing. If you're a fan of Frida Kahlo, don't hesitate to check it out. For one thing, the book itself is well crafted. Along with the gorgeous prints (and various fold outs to show details), there's a good amount of photographs and a well-written biography.

Another great book on Kahlo is "Frida Kahlo: The Painter And Her Work" by Helga Prignitz-Poda. It has a slipcase so perhaps it'll appear to be "better," but Lozano's book is less than half the price, a bit larger and contains just as much, if not more.

I'd imagine poring over this book is as close as one can get to viewing her work in person without actually being there.

What a mesmorizing account of a woman's life! I could not put the book down and found that Dorothy McKibbin's image of being a "power girl" ignited my own need to move forward and make a difference in life. Steeper has done an incredibly thorough job capturing the details of not only McKibbin's life and life-long contributions, but also the events of the time period. I highly recommend this book and plan to buy more for my "power girl" girlfriends around the world!

What a mesmorizing account of a woman's life! I could not put the book down and found that Dorothy McKibbin's image of being a "power girl" ignited my own need to blast forward and make a difference in life. Steeper has done an incredibly thorough job capturing the details of not only McKibbin's life and life-long contributions, but also the events of the time period. I highly recommend this book and plan to buy more for my "power girl" girlfriends around the world!

Undoubtedly there were thousands of unique perspectives to World War II, but one of the most interesting views was had by a lone woman who sat behind a desk in a small office in the ancient adobe hacienda at 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her name was Dorothy McKibbin. During the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer and his gathering of scientists at Los Alamos designed and produced the first atomic bomb. McKibbin took care of just about everything else. A Smith College grad, Dorothy McKibbin had seen some difficult times in her early life, despite coming from a well-to-do Kansas City family. She spent a year as a "lunger" in a sanitarium in the mid 1920s, and she was widowed with a10-month-old son at the age of 33. But McKibbin was a survivor, a woman of determination. She picked up her young child, pulled up roots, and started over in the small, off-the-beaten-path town that had captivated her as she recovered from tuberculosis in 1925-Santa Fe. The move placed her at a crossroads with history, where in 1942 she would become the Gatekeeper to Los Alamos. She arrived in Santa Fe in 1932 with no job nor any prospects of one, but soon she had a bookkeeper's position at a trading company and was building a stunning adobe home that is now one of Santa Fe's historic properties. She made friends with the "cultural mix" of the Santa Fe area, among them photographer Laura Gilpin, architects John Gaw Meem and Katherine Stinson Otero, poets Witter Bynner and Peggy Pond Church, artist Cady Wells, and such legendary locals as Edith Warner and Tilano Montoya. Life was unhurried and unaffected. Then, in 1942, she met Robert Oppenheimer and that all changed. She was offered a new job at that meeting and took it immediately, saying years later, "I never met a person with a magnetism that hit you so fast and so completely as his did." It was an overwhelming job, but, through it, she and Oppenheimer formed an extraordinary friendship. A strong bond developed between them that lasted throughout their lives. In his history of the Manhattan Project, David Hawkins said it best. "Dorothy loved Robert Oppenheimer. He was her special one, and she, his." Pricilla McMillan of Harvard University has summed up this book well in saying, "this is the story of the beautiful, high-spirited woman who helped Robert Oppenheimer create the Los Alamos Laboratory and became its link to the outside world during World War Two. . . . It is exciting to read and just really excellent in every way."