New Mexico Books

I came across some of the still photos from this book in a video on Youtube -- of a song called "Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?" Mr. Burckhalter is a magician with a camera. He has captured truly incredible portraits of Mexicans/Sonorans -- some of the most proficient, touching photos I've ever seen. These are photos of TRUTH and BEAUTY. I am highly recommending the book based on my viewing of the Youtube video.

Beautiful tribute to ordinary people of Sonora. I came across it while doing research on my family at the time of the Mexican Revolution and it didn't help for that paper, but it was a great viewing nonetheless. The photographs are incredible.

Superb black and white photographs, with accompanying essays, concentrate on ordinary people. The result transcends its geographic region; this is about people who just happen to live in Sonora. Winner, Border Regional Library Association's 1998 Southwest Book Award.

This book is incredible -- an honest and sensitive portrait of life in the changing Sonoran desert. I picked it up yesterday and haven't been able to stop looking at it since. Apart from the photography, there are two wonderful essays. In the second, "Another Country", Thomas E. Sheridan tells of falling in love with a place in a way that speaks intimately to my own experience of and passion for Mexico. But I'd better stop before I give a whole dissertation... Buy this book! You won't regret it.

If you like Nora Roberts, then you will love this short novel that reads like a fast paced movie. Her charachters are well formed and at one point, I was shedding some tears. It's pure entertainment and easy on the mind. There are forty seven more books in the collection "Language of Love", and I thought I had read all her books, but boy was I wrong.

Victoria Ashton (Tory) is the sheriff and justice of the peace in a small town and arrests Phillip Kincaid, a movie director. It is a very entertaining and comical book. Reminds you of Mayberry, NC but you love the characters. A "feel good" book. Totally enjoyable

Very cute book about the woman sheriff of a small town and the big city movie director who comes speeding into town, scouting locations for his next film. After a brief stint in jail for a speeding ticket, he returns to shoot the movie there and falls in love with the beautiful sheriff. Really enjoyed it!
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"Director Phillip Kincaid could have sworn Victoria Ashton was smiling when she tossed him in the slammer for speeding. But as sheriff of Friendly, New Mexico, Tory had a job to do and falling for an out of towner was out of the question. If only she'd known how dangerous Phillip would be to her heart, she would have kept him behind bars for good!"

Another of Nora Roberts' early romance tales involves the characters of Victoria Ashton, affectionately known as Tory and Phil Kincaid. Tory is acting sheriff in Friendly, New Mexico, a small town that hasn't changed in years. Phil Kincaid is a big time movie director from Hollywood trying to find the perfect town to use as a backdrop for his next film. When he flies into town, he's stopped for speeding and then arrested when he refuses to sign the ticket. The typical romance plot takes over from there.

The characters in this saga are not typical romance characters!

Tory Ashton is only filling in as sheriff until the next election a few months down the line. It seems her father was the sheriff and died unexpectedly and she felt responsible to take over until the elections. Tory is actually an attorney from Albuquerque and also acts as judge for the small town of Friendly.

Phil Kincaid seems like the typical director type - always wanting to be in charge and has difficulty taking orders from someone else in authority. A bit on the spoiled side, and used to getting his way, as he is depicted when he refuses to sign the speeding ticket.

Merle T. is the deputy in Friendly and this character is fantastic. Merle T. should have been born in the 1800's and longs for gunfights, barroom brawls, etc. He even walks with a swagger! Merle T. is innocent, naïve and since he and Tory grew up together, she's always been the one to look out for him.

Tod is a local teenager who gets into trouble with a storeowner by hanging out with twins a few years older who always seem to be in trouble. Tod is caught by Tory and sentenced to community service when she senses Tod comes from an abusive home.

And Roberts throws in appearances from a wide variety of townspeople who are colorful enough to make the reader chuckle and wonder if a visit to Friendly, New Mexico wouldn't be a great vacation spot!

A few of the subplots seemed to be lacking. For instance, Phil convinces Tory to let him film her while riding her Palomino. You expect something else to happen with that "home movie", like showing up in the film or something. But it's just left dangling.

Another subplot that didn't go anywhere involved the twins that were always in trouble. I thought that something would culminate when the movie was being filmed but nothing happened with them either.

Other than these minor complaints, The Law is a Lady is a good book. It's a fast read and can be finished in one sitting. If you're looking for an escape from reality, then I'd recommend adding it to your reading list. If you're looking for something that makes your brain work, you should steer clear!

The world of photography criticism is a confused one. Serious photographers often divide the process of image capture into two parts: technique and vision, or what most critics might call form and content. When a photographer thinks about criticism, he thinks about whether he had a worth-while vision and how and whether the techniques that he used, like framing, depth of field and shutter speed contributed toward conveying that vision to a viewer.

At the other end of the continuum is critical theory which is mainly concerned with the social and historical significance of photographs in general and usually is approached from one or more philosophical points of view, like semiotics, feminism or formalism. Critical theory for the most part seldom addresses photographic technique, and rarely, except by example, deals with the individual picture.

In between is what I call "public" photographic criticism which is usually written not from the point of view of the photographer but of the viewer. One might hope that such criticism, like the criticism of paintings or literature, would be aimed at helping other viewers to understand what a picture is about. (I suspect some people may already find me out on a limb by suggesting that a photograph is "about" anything.) Since technique often reveals what an image is about, or as literary critic Mark Shorer stated, "technique is discovery", I always hope that the public critic will explain the role of technique in the work of the photographer. Critics of painting will not only talk about the overall feeling of a painting and whether they cared for it or not, but also the way the light was used, and perhaps even the effect or use of brush strokes and other techniques. For photography, where many artists feel that viewers are not literate, the photography critic could serve a really important teaching role.

That's a long introduction for a small book, but it may prove helpful in understanding how I regard this book. A.D. Coleman considered himself a photography critic and many of his articles appeared regularly in the Village Voice, Popular Photography, the New York Times and Camera 35. I primarily wanted to read this book, not to see if I could learn anything about the works he reviewed, but to see what I could learn about criticism.

The short essays and occasional speeches and lectures of the author appeared between 1968 and 1978. (A book of subsequent writings, called "Depth of Field: Essays on Photographs, Lens Culture and Mass Media" has also been published.) Most of the works that appear in this book do not focus on particular photographs and their interpretation. When he does focus on a picture, as he does with Manuel Alvarez Bravo's "Striking Worker, Assassinated", it is to examine the content, and to speculate what the picture is about. He does note that the framing helped to convey what the picture was about, but there are few other references to Bravo's technique. Indeed, with the exception of references to the use of the range of light, focus and framing, there is practically no reference to technique anywhere in the book.

Instead most of the essays and speeches are concerned with the state of the art, examining, for example, the role of curators and photography education in modern photography. Coleman devotes more criticism to John Szarkowski's role as the chairman of the Photography Department at the Museum of Modern Art then to the work of any particular photographer. Of course, this may be the result of the selection process for the essays in the book, which may have eliminated the reviews of the work of particular photographers on the grounds that such essays were transient. But given that Coleman himself frequently despairs of the lack of photographic literacy, this seems unlikely to me.

Most of Coleman's work is closer to critical theory than to my ideal photography criticism.

Coleman's essays are short and capable of being read in less than ten minutes, although a few of the speeches that he made to groups concerned with photography are longer. His style is simple and easy to understand. Often one feels he has a brief against the older schools of photography as embodied by Ansel Adams. His attack on Minor White is deliciously nasty.

I found this book worth reading because of the insight that it provides into the nature of photographic criticism. For those interested in photography and its role in society, it suggests that photographic literacy is not just lacking in viewers, but to some degree, in photography critics.

LIGHT READINGS is 307 pages long and contains 25 separate essays, each from one to five pages. There are 34 reproductions in black and white. They are newsprint quality reproductions. The reproductions are large--full page--and include works by Wright Morris, Charles Gatewood, Duane Michaels, Geoff Winningham, Julio Mitchel, Jerry Uelsmann, and others. Thus, we have a nice selection of photographers familiar and unfamiliar to the interested public.

The essays include these titles: Paul Strand, Jerry Uelsmann, Roy DeCarava, Roger Minick, Photography and Conceptual Art, Diane Arbus, Minor White, New Japanese Photography, and others.

Regarding Paul Strand, A.D. Coleman writes, "There as been no change and little growth in Strand's image-making since the publication of The Mexican Portfolio in 1933, and his continued romanticization of the noble peasant seems increasingly mawkish and patronizing." (page 189).

Regarding Yousuf Karsh, "his much-vaunted style appears to be a trap from which he is incapable of escaping even momentarily." (page 213).

Regarding Lucas Samaras and Leslie Krims, "The subversion of expectations is central to all the contemporary arts, photography among them." (page 239).

Regarding Wright Morris, A.D. Coleman writes, "Coming to terms with one's past is hardly an original theme . . . all is vanished [in the locations photographed by Wright Morris] the people moved or dead . . . only the photographs endure to prove that any was more than a dream, thus they take on an awesome significance, like a handful of scattered potsherds at an archaelogical site." (page 245).

Regading the difference between black and white photography and color photography, "You can shoot a Buddhist monk burning to death in color and it's almost a pretty picture. In black and white, it's horrifying. Here lies the difference, you can hide in color but not in black and white." (page 87). (Here, A.D. Coleman refers to protests by the monks in the 1960s against the Vietnam war.)

Regarding Ansel Adams, A.D. Coleman writes, "His prints are supreme examples in photography of the result of one-track technical perfectionism . . . emotionally and intellectually they fall into the same plane as the works of Rockwell Kent and Andrew Wyeth, they are almost aggressively accessible." (page 123).

As one can see, A.D. Coleman has a certain axe to grind. For reasons unknown, he automatically likes to criticize his subjects for discovering a successful technique, and not wavering from it. Hasn't Mr. Coleman heard the expression, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."

Also, contrast A.D. Coleman's knee-jerk method of photo-criticism with an opinion from Richard Estes. In an interview, Mr. Estes was asked, "Have you felt pressured to stay within the rather limited parameters of your subject matter and painting method?" Mr. Estes answered, "What's wrong with doing the same thing over and over again? I think the most--the silliest thing to try to come up with some new gimmick each year. It's better to really develop and expand on one idea." page 22 in RICHARD ESTES:THE URBAN LANDSCAPE (1978) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Please note that Richard Estes is one of the most successful artists in America.

To conclude, the book contains an abundance of short sections. If you don't like one, you can always move to the next. Any photographer will be able to find one or more inspirational comments within LIGHT READINGS.

" . . . When [W. Eugene] Smith turned his activist attention to the mercury poisoning of the waters of Minamata, Japan, in the early `70s, then-New York Times photography critic A. D. Coleman wrote, `It seeks to be, and succeeds in becoming, not a product but a process, a tool for change.' While some may take issue with aspects of Mr. Coleman's oeuvre of humanist criticism, none would deny that as this country's first and foremost photo critic he has made a singular contribution to the field, broadening both the definition and discussion of photography. " A collection of his writings from 1968-1978 called Light Readings has long been a must-read for anyone serious about photography, and has now been reissued in an expanded second edition."

--Taylor Holliday, The Wall Street Journal, December 4, 1998

I wish I had read A. D. Coleman's "Light Readings" years ago when I was studying photography. I have no doubt I would have become a much better photographer than I am now, taking to heart his profound commentaries on photography when it became accepted finally as one of the fine arts. Not only was A. D. Coleman the first major photo critic in photography's history, his early essays set a literary and intellectual standard which few have attained. In this newly revised, updated edition of "Light Readings", Coleman offers us some fascinating remarks on the Museum of Modern Art and its pivotal role in shaping the direction of fine art photography, most notably through the personal tastes of John Szarkowski, its autocratic director of the photography department. In one of the unpublished essays now appearing in the current edition, Coleman offers a harsh criticism of a book regarded by some as an important collection of photographic criticism, written by a well known novelist and essayist. Those interested in reading some of the most important themes and issues confronting photography in the late 1960's to mid 1970's will find Coleman's book an invaluable resource. And yet, it is more than just an important first-hand history of photography, but a thoughtful, penetrating look at the medium by one of its most astute critics.

Massacre of the Dreamers is Ana Castillo's transdisciplinary book about the deconstruction of Mexic pallocentric "pyramids," as she herself puts it. By re(w)riting history, Castillo reconfigures the role of the Amerindian/Xicana/Mexican woman, allowing her to draw strength from Mesoamerican female goddesses. In this remarkable text, furthermore, Castillo employs her "own raw materials" (104) as an antidote to male-centered cosmic consciousness that operates in binary frames of dualisms, dichotomies, and schisms. In resurecting her spiritual mother goddesses, Castillo, like Anzaldua and Cisneros, reinserts "the forsaken feminine into our consciousness" (12). By exposing the manner in which the xicana has been "gagged" for hundreds of years, Castillo rejects colonization and mapps a xicana history with a difference that allows the Amerindian woman's various selves to coexist simultaneously, reinforcing her identity

Ana Castillo is an inspiration/orguyo to all Latin women. A role model for the latin women, who still fined them selves confined to their social imprisionment and traditional impairment. In this book, Ana Castillo through a collection of essays touches on a wide range of controversial issues, which many Latinas-surprisingly-will fined they relate.Castillo writes on topics; such as, Machismo, a women's sexuality and lesbianism. Castillo also writes about her experiences and struggles with society's exceptances in the oppression of the Latin women. Trough her struggles, she stays true to her values and never conforms to social pressures.Castillo a true woman in every senses of the word, resilient, bountiful, and amorous. There is no doubt in my mind the Castillo intended this book to give voice, strength, and hope through her words of inspiration and examples of triumph. To those women not yet free, because of their social and religious imprissonment to submission.I recommend this book to any women who wishes to be enlightened, inspired and empowered by Ana Castillo's ideology.

It would be impossible to tell what this book did for me, especially during my days in law school. As a Chicana I felt isolated. I was often made to feel intellectually inferior. Castillo's brilliance soared like a flame to rescue my quickly freezing soul. If it weren't for this book I think I would have not survived that alienating environment bound to make me fail. She is not rhetorical but driven with reasoning. When women of color explain themselves we are dismissed as simply bitter. This book explained why I would have the right to be bitter and anger but why I must push forward. It saved my life.

Castillo has obviously tapped into her power for this one. Her fiction is moving, thought-provoking, angering, sometimes even humorous... but this essay collection is even more impressive. I'm sure some will consider her xicanista views extreme, but Castillo calls it as she sees it.

I recently moved to the Sonoran Desert but had no idea what treasures awaited me until I bought and read this small book. This guide has opened my eyes to what is around me. I've taken pictures of interesting plants along the roads but didn't know they were medicinal or edible until I read about them here. The next time I go for a walk or drive, it will be with newly opened eyes. The illustrations are good, the instructions are specific. Some of the explanations and narratives are so hysterically funny, you will have no problem understanding effects of either taking or not taking described potion or poltice. I heartily recommend this quide on several different levels.

I've been utilizing this book for over 10 years as a teaching tool and reference for my Medicinal Plants of the Baja class. Michael Moore is
a hoot, excellent research on plant constituents and medicinal uses. Couldn't have done it without him! Check out www.bajabotanicals.com
Thank you, Michael.

This book was very easy to use. I wished there was more color photos but with such good descriptions and drawings you really don't need them. There are color photos for about half the plants described in the book. I love the way Michael Moore writes. He makes it so easy to read and understand. This book will be used for years to come in my home.

This book makes it easy to understand the preparation and use of herbs for a variety of everyday family herbal-aid applications. The instructions include the part of the plant used - flower, root, leaves, berries, bark etc. It goes on to explain why fresh or why the dry plant is useful and how to deal with your own gathering of the plant and what to do in simple A to Z instructions.

Loved this book and all the wonderful plates of Mexican Folk retablos. Gives a comprehensive review that will answer questions and inform the average reader. Highly recommend.

I can't believe this is the 1st review...This inspirational, beautifully put together book was awesome. The research into the art work alone, is masterful. Then Ms. Giffords tells you a story about the pictures content and the symbolism in each artists work. This book alone, has inspired me to delve further into the lost art of retablos' and the lives of the saints. I recommend this book to art students, theologians, and anyone interested in igniting their sprituality!!!

This book isn't large, but it's full of the incredible beauty of Mexican folk art with 82 color illustrations. It's well written, very detailed, and in three sections.

Part 1, "The Mexican Folk Retablos": The origins of these small religious oil paintings, usually on tin, are described, as well as terminology, materials, the artists (mostly unknown), and much more. The chapter is completed with 28 images of the Holy Family, and each plate is described on the facing page. The wonderful piece depicted on the cover, "La Inmaculada", is one of them.

Part 2, "Saints as Subjects": This starts with the problem of identification, as finding out which saint is pictured is quite a feat. It goes into the function of these retablos, and their changing popularity as time progressed. It concludes with 36 images of saints, that are inspiring and beautifully executed. I find # 31, "San Antonio de Padua", extraordinary.

Part 3, "The Mexican Ex-Voto Painting": An ex-voto is a story painting, done as a commemoration to answered prayer. This chapter deals with the characteristics of these lovely pieces, their development and decline. It gives 17 examples of this unique art form, along with a description, as well as a legible printing of the writing on the painting, in Spanish and English. The back of the book has bibliography, notes, indexes, etc.

If you appreciate Mexican art, this will be a wonderful addition to your library, and if you like Russian icons, as I do, it makes a fascinating comparison, especially plate # 4, "Nuestro Señor de los Trabajos", and plate # 62, "Santiago", pictured with sword in hand and on horseback.

The author, Gloria Fraser Giffords, has done a marvelous work with this volume, bringing us an area of Mexican culture that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

Gloria Fraser Giffords does an excellent job in researching an often ignored corner of art history, Mexican folk art. She provides insight into how these images were made, but also helps the reader understand the devotional context in which these images were used by people in the nineteenth century (and are still used by people today). A must for a student in this area, especially as there is not yet abundant information in this field. The images are compelling and beautifully reproduced and the book is easy and interesting to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

this book made me cry. The pictures he captures, especially of the textiles are poetic and seriously moving. I am definately buying a copy of this book for my mom.

Jonathon B. Wittenberg's book does a wonderful job of capturing life as it is in Navajo culture through a Navajo-centered lens as opposed to a Western-lens. I think Tony Hillerman's quote on the back of the book does a wonderful job of capturing my feeling for the Navajo people after reading this book: " What I saw there [the Big Rez] sparked my love affair with The Navajos, their enduring culture of love, good humor and harmony, and the high, dry, dramatic landscape in which they endure. This is a beautiful and valuable book." I certainly fell in love with the Navajos after reading this remarkable book, and I encourage others to read this book to gain further understanding and appreciation for the incredible Navajos.

This is a beautiful, heart warming collection of images, outstanding for the quality of the photographs and above all for the choice of subjects, made with great sensitivity and an obvious love and admiration for the culture it portrays. Viewing Jonathan Wittenberg's photographs will be a memorable experience, especially for Tony Hillerman fans.

Navajo Nation 1950: Traditional Life In Photographs is a compilation of 100 black-and-white duotone-printed photographs taken by Jonathan B. Wittenberg to record and illustrate life on the Navajo reservation in 1950. Truly capturing with an artist's eye the dignity and beauty of an ancient Native American culture surviving in the midst of the broader mid-20th century American nation, Navajo Nation 1950 is a showcase of photographic excellence taken with a bulky, twin-lens reflex camera enabling the preservation through a photographic record of the Navajo people and culture that includes images from the Monument Valley, Black Mesa, Navajo Mountain, Lukachukai (a high bench between the Chuska mountains to the east and the desert plain to the west), Teas Toh (close to the old Highway 66), the Window Rock Navajo Tribal Fair, and the Canyon de Chelley. Enhanced for scholars as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in Navajo culture with an index to the photographs, and appendix (Progress of a Shootings Chant), and a Navajo reservation map, Navajo Nation 1950 is a welcome addition to personal and academic Photography and Native American Studies collections.

All successful gardening is a local phenomenon, and those who attempt to replicate what they learned "back East" will enrich the local nursery with endless re-plantings. Ms. Phillips guide is a vital one for anyone wanting to enhance their local environment. The book is a detailed and well organized compilation of her long experience. She writes with a certain élan, quoting one time NM resident, D. H. Lawrence on page one, and characterizing the difficulties of growing a "back East" lawn in the desert by saying: "Let Sisyphus continue to push his mower uphill."

In her introduction she discusses the best way of dealing with New Mexico's tough soils. There are also tables on precipitation and temperature statistics, by city, along with a useful graphic on the cold-hardiness zones. The overall book is divided into chapters on the principal plant categories: annuals & biennials; bulbs, corms, rhizomes, & tubers; cacti & succulents; groundcovers; lawns; ornamental grasses; perennials; roses; shrubs; trees; and finally, vines. In general, a page is devoted to a particular plant in which she discusses when, where and how to plant, along with growing tips, on-going care, companion planting and design, and a personal recommendation. There is a section which indicates bloom period and seasonal color, mature height and spread, and the appropriate growth zones. She has devised useful symbols which convey information on water requirements, fragrance, attraction of butterflies, hummingbirds, and other useful information.

The book is attractively organized by a color-code system, and virtually every page has a picture of the plant being described. It also has a glossary, bibliography and index.

Hopefully she will do yet another revised edition which would expand the plants covered, including the Japanese maple I am trying to grow, or perhaps she has already told me the answer on page 190, when she said it is most difficult.

A marvelous guide and an essential companion for those in tune with their natural surroundings.

Such a great resource for plants and how to take care of them. This is my second copy, since my first has gotten a little ragged around the edges.
Also, eazy to use....

I have scads of gardening books. When I moved South from Albuquerque and changed zones, I bought a half-dozen more.

As I slowly decorate my new desert I find myself constantly going to this one...rather than the giant tomes that I purchased.

Why? Because Ms. Phillips tells you how to grow the stuff. And, she's culled the zillions of plants down to the best...the easiest...the most forgiving. She tells you why, gives you the best cultivars, suggests companion plants. And, again, tells you why.

Every time I ignore her advice, I'm sorry that I did.

Great pictures and great format. There is a picture of the plant along with all information about the plant on the same page, no need to search to match the plant with its picture.

Mr. Stone spent two years traveling around New Mexico searching out and rephotographing scenes first done by others over a period of about 1855-1945. The book is divided into sections (of the state) and each photograph, past and present, has details about it included.
Mr. Stone writes about how some of the locations have changed a great deal, some not so much, many he could get to (or at least close enough) to duplicate exactly but others he had to do what he could to approximate the original shot. He doesn't say much about what he used for equipment other than some very tall ladders or tripods, no film details, not much camera information either.
I found that some things have changed a great deal while it appears some would look almost the same today to the original photographer as the original shot did.
I wish the author had included a town by town index as well as the regional listing, if you know the name of a town but are unsure of it's location you wll have to search each section for it- assuming it is there.
This is a very fascinating book, I'd like to go see many of these locations myself.

Although this book is certainly lovely enough to be a ''coffee-table book'', it is much more. The photographer found interesting historical photographs of New Mexico urban and rural scenes and then went to the exact same sites and photographed what the scenes look like today. Some of theses sites are extremely remote, and also must have been very difficult to find. The comparison of photographs of New Mexico scenes from the modern times with historical photographs is fascinating,and the quality of the new photographs is outstanding. What surprised me about the book was how intriguing the narrative was. The author did an excellent job of describing both the backgrounds of the historical photographs and also the nature or reasons for the changes in the new images. In addition, he included very readable anecdotes about what efforts he went through to gain access to the sites and how he approached each ''shoot.'' This is a book that would be enjoyed by people who enjoy beautiful photographs and who love to read about New Mexico and the history of the American West.

This book was extremely interesting and informative. I have lived in Albuquerque my whole life and found it to be accurate. I ordered it for my boyfriend, Thomas, but we both have enjoyed. I will be getting the Albuquerque, Then and Now next.

Sheryl nanco

If you like history and art, you'll love WILLIAM STONE'S NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW. Using the principal of repeat photography--finding an old picture of a location and rephotographing the same spot--he created a photographic, geographic, and to a degree social history of the state called The Land of Enchantment. You'll have a good time looking through this beautiful coffee table volume. Like every region of the world, New Mexico has had its share of quirky places, where outrageous people did off the wall stuff. And--places where events were dead serious, and which still influence our lives, though they happened long ago. With his large-format camera and tall tripod, STONE has captured the best of The Land of Enchantment's spots for the now images. Even better, his then shots were taken by some of America's finest early photographers. William Henry Jackson, Edward Weston, and many others bring the pages of the book to life. STONE's captions add to the pictures, documenting his feelings and thoughts as he worked on each location. His writing partner, JEROLD WIDDSON's articulare essays tie the pictures together in a lively fashion. No dull paragraphs full of facts here. In fact, if you have sonmeone at home think's history class is boring, leave NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW around to be discovered. If you have someone who finds history exciting, NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW is the perfect coffee table book because it's designed to be opened and examined slowly--savored, in other words, like a nice, hot cuppa your favorite brew. In case you haven't figured it out, I enjoyed NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW. I did it on many levels. Though it focuses on one region of the country, it carries a universal message about change and stability that's fun to discover and think about. It gives us a sense of the American contribution to photography as an art form--and that contribution was no small one. It offers a glimpse of what the west was like to settle and live in--and what it's like today, as a result. NEW MEXICO THEN AND NOW will make a great addition to anyone's living room.

The written word with photos gives us some historic background of jews who came from Spain, because of being persecuted. While they gave up their jewish religion, we find out that many rituals were kept and practiced. Fasinating book.

This is a well written and very informative book about the survival of a tenacious people and about a part of the hidden history of the state of New Mexico. I would recommend it to any one interested in Jewish history, Sephardic Judaism, Crypto-Jews, Spanish culture and New Mexico history.

The culmination of years of heartfelt, dedicated work by a fine artist, the photographs reveal the depth and complexity of this story with beauty and true humanity.

I'll admit I am biased but this book finally puts a real human face on this southwest phenomena. Haunting images of a living glimmer of an almost forgotten people. Cary Herz performs a mitzvah by remembering us and in a small way provides help along the road to redemption of this small remnant.