New Mexico Books

Red or Green: New Mexico Cuisine
Once again, Mr. Casey has encapsulated the diverse - complexity of New Mexico Red and Green chili into authoritative simplicity. Mr. Caseys' refinement of organization with explanation of history, process and selection of fine New Mexico products is a real winner. A absolute requirement for the novice or culinary professional.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoy Clyde Casey's latest cooking book:
1007 - Red or Green New Mexico Cuisine is Clyde's newest publication. It is superb, interesting, scholastic, educational and very informative --- It is just outstanding.

The author has a way of making you want to read his descriptions of New Mexico cooking - clear-cut and succinct. I especially enjoyed the section on New Mexico wines. I particularly got a kick out of his suggestion to keep ice cream along with milk and yogurt handy for those over zealous cookers.

I probably would have said "it can't be done - if someone was to tell me that Clyde had published a new cooking book or New Mexico and those wonderful Southwestern flavors.

- 1997 - Sassy Southwest Cooking - Vibrant New Mexico Foods.
- 1994 - New Mexico Cooking - Southwestern Flavors of the Past and Present.

All three books are a must for your Southwestern cookbook collestion.

Finally...a cookbook that captures the utilitarian essence of New Mexico cooking!! If you are looking for a book full of presentation photos or recipes that must be followed precisely, move on. The author, forgoing these parlor tricks, has chosen instead to focus on the reader's personal taste. In doing so, he encourages the flexibility and experimentation that is the root of this cuisine's popularity. In keeping with that premise, he has sprinkled informative facts and historical tidbits throughout his basic guide. This further inspires the user to create individualized versions, tempered to their own palate. A marvelously flavorful way to travel to the Land of Enchantment inexpensively and as often as your taste desires.
Todd & Terry~

I've lived in New Mexico 16 years and never could tell one chile from another! Now I get it, thanks to Mr. Casey. And, like the other reviewer, I didn't know a thing about wine. I always had to tell the waiters whether I wanted dry or sweet, and they had to recommend something. So I've learned about two things of which I've been totally ignorant!

The bonus is all the wonderful recipes--favorite foods to order in a restaurant can now be prepared at home, such as chile rellenos and sopapillas!

Thank you, Mr. Casey!

This was such a well written and concise book to follow. I really enjoyed the wines area and the history of New Mexico foods and beverages.
I recommend this book to anyone looking to get a 'flavor' of the state!

Mr. Bennett has penned a work of spiritual fiction that follows the Native American Shamanic revelations to guide the main character from the rational world to the invisible realty of the dream world.
The story is full of intrigue, tension, and characters that hold your interest from the first page to the last.
"Spirit Circle" is a well-written, thoughtful, informative book of ideas and information on how you can find peace, strength, or power through dreaming. It teaches you how to see beyond our own conflicts and passion to find universal wisdom that helps transcent self-involvement. "The shaman's stories remind us to look and listen through the eyes and ears of other people."
This is a beautiful bookk that lingers with you long after you finish reading it. It allows you to open your mind and heart to the people and world beyond us. Spirit Circle is a book that you will read many times to find more nuggest of information that will help you enrich your life.

Spirit Circle demonstrates the power of storytelling to weave a tale that both teaches and entertains. Ancient and modern shamans dare to journey into the vastness of the unseen realms and come back to the world of five senses to report on that which they have seen. The shaman is the messenger but the truth is for all of us. Spirit Circle is a shaman's tale written by one who knows the path. At once fun and believable. A great read.

Ancient ruin -- ragged rock wall, wide window into the shamans' realm. Step through the window -- they're waiting. Waiting to show you luminous landscapes, ephemeral as adobe. Waiting to suspend your book-learned sense of space and time in ceremonial smoke. Waiting to introduce you to someone -- your self.

All the voices ring true, the surroundings are painted with a knowing and loving brush, and a shaman likely breathed the life into each character.

The story and the teller move me deeply. I read of the gateway to the shamans' gathering ground and I'm swiftly swept out to the ruin on the western ridge at Chaco Canyon, to a wide window filled with brilliant December morning light. I could have stepped through...

A few months ago and quite by chance, I ran onto this author/writing instructor in the strangest way. I was surfing the Internet and happened to find this website for writers. It's a very informative website with a little bit of everything for everyone in the literary world. I clicked on the discussion board to see what was happening. I'm not one to join a discussion group because I don't have the time, but like I said, the website is full of writing information. The discussion group actually has comments posted by published authors, giving helpful information to the fledgling writers. In so doing, these published authors not only have my respect, they have my attention. After reading some of the informative posts by Hal Bennett, I was impressed with what he had to say. I sent him an e-mail conveying my compliments. Being a man of intelligence and good manners, Bennett thanked me via an e-mail, thus allowing me access to his website by his reply. I think I would have eventually found it anyway, but it saved me a lot of time. Bennett's book on "Write From The Heart" took my attention first and I ordered it. Very impressive. I concluded the man knew how to write a non-fiction book on the subject of writing. I rated him as being in the caliber of Brande, another great one. So, figuring he knew how to write non-fiction and hold my interest, I'd find out if he could write fiction and still hold my interest. I'm a romantic by nature, always have been, but I'll read anything that's well written, whether it's mystery, suspense, self-help, non-fiction, etc. For a long time, I've stuck with the really big name authors, but eventually I think we all live and learn. I'm pretty gutsy and I'll venture spending the price of a book by any author who has my attention and interest. I don't know if you'd call it cheating when you open a book to the center or the end and read a few excerpts to determine whether it's a good book or not, but I'm famous for doing this. I DIDN'T DO THIS WITH "SPIRIT CIRCLE". I started on page one and read through to the end. I hardly put the book down until I finished reading it. The story was very different and touched me deeply. Bennett writes a book like I would venture to say he teaches writing, straight from his heart. The story plot, the characters, the vivid description of beautiful setting, his vast knowledge of Native American culture and last, but not least, the superb editing of this book, makes it an excellent read. Bennett is very gifted and well-educated, and quite obviously in good standing with his Muse. I do highly recommend this book to anyone.

Dr. Tara Fairfield, a young anthropologist, is on a quest to find her father, renegade tabloid journalist, Drew Fairfield, who has missed most of her life, but most notably has been missing for the last two years. Tara has received a letter from Drew containing photos and artifacts which she believes might be proof of the existence of a secret society of shamans hidden deep in the New Mexico desert. Either this, or it is an elaborate hoax, perpetuated by her father, who is not above foregoing integrity for a good story. To uncover the truth, she leaves her young daughter and travels to New Mexico, where her search leads her through a shamnic journey to find her own soul. She meets spirit guides who shape-shift and take her to places beyond the tangible world she knows. An old friend of her father's who has returned to his Zuni childhood origins, teaches her the way of the Medicine Wheel. She is at once the teacher and the taught as she takes the reader on a magical voyage between worlds, all the while tripping over her own skepticism. With an old shaman, she journeys to meet the crone, Mongwa, who tells her "You are a messenger. You have no choice." Tara's mission is to bring back to her world the teachings of the "fifth world," where understanding the Spiritual Source eliminates all appearance of separation between time, place, and physical identity. Bennett's writing is visually stunning, taking the reader into the quiet beauty of the desert mesa and deep into the caves hidden high on the cliffs. A masterful storyteller, he weaves spell-binding adventure and spiritual revelation. This book begs for a sequel.

Good lesson for children with vibrant, moving illustrations. It's nice to show that boys can have girl-friends at a young age.

This book was read to elementary students grades k-6, every one of the students loved this book and requested it be read again the very next week. We discussed the pictures (first gray and then color when playing and at the end), the connections with siblings and finally friendships. I highly recommend this book.

19 Girls and Me is a story of a kindergartener named John Hercules Po who finds himself in a class of nineteen girls. He is the only boy. His brother worries that he will become "sissified" from playing with all of those girls. In the end, everybody realizes that playing together can be a lot of fun.

19 Girls and Me is a delightful story that shows kids that it is okay for girls and boys to play together. Girls won't become tomboys just because they are playing with boys, and boys won't become sissies just because they are playing with girls. Everyone can get along and have a good time.

My five-year-old daughter likes this story. She also enjoys looking at all of the details in Steven Salerno's playful illustrations.

19 Girls and Me is a story for both girls and boys. Kids will enjoy reading about the wonderful adventures John Hercules Po and his new friends have at recess each day. In addition to a great story, there are glimpses into places around the world that may teach kids a thing or two. This is a book that kids will enjoy again and again.

I love this book for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that my daughter, in first grade, totally digs the story of John Hercules Po and his adventures with his 19 friends in Mrs. Ray's Kindergarten--19 friends who just happen to be GIRLS! The repetition is fun, and the imaginative adventures that the kids think up delight both of us! I've already taken the book to school twice and read it in a few different classes, and the kids eyes are big--and their smiles are bigger--as I regale them with the developing friendship between John Hercules Po and his 19 new friends! The book imparts an excellent message without clobbering the reader over the head with it--nicely done! Salerno's illustrations add to the fun!

Love this book as I love little hikes and this sends me off to wonderful places.

This book is awesome. Trails listed go from urban to wild (no trail). The directions to the trailhead and the description of the trails are very accurate. And the author gives additional information regarding the history, geology, flora and fauna that may be encountered along the way. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves getting out around Albuquerque

This is a wonderful book with something for anyone that likes to spend time outdoors.

Stephen Ausherman's new guidebook, "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque, including Santa Fe, Mt. Taylor, and San Lorenzo Canyon," is, without a doubt, my pick for 2008's Best Book About New Mexico.

I realize that, as I write this, the year has more than eight months left to go, and I'm aware that I myself am planning to publish a New Mexico title before the end of the year, but Ausherman's new book is honestly so good, so quirky, so informative, and so unique, that I feel I can go ahead and declare it as the year's best, without hesitation.

The book, as its title suggests, contains sixty hikes, all within about sixty minutes of Albuquerque--within sixty miles of the Big I, where Interstate 40 crosses Interstate 25.

What the title doesn't immediately reveal, however, is just how amazing these sixty hikes are, just how compellingly readable their descriptions are, or just how transformational this book has the potential to be to anyone willing to go out and experience them.

The book's preface lays out the book's contents, and I challenge any resident of central New Mexico--anyone with even a spark of lust for life or a smidgen of curiosity--to read that preface and not feel overwhelmed with a feeling that maybe this place you've been living has more to it than you thought; in my case, it filled me with an almost caffeinated urge to rush out and see what it described for myself.

The book's sections include:
*The Duke City--featuring urban hikes within Albuquerque's city limits.
*The Salt Mission Trail--venturing down into the Manzano Mountains.
*The Turquoise Trail--heading up into the Sandias and beyond.
*El Camino Real--exploring natural wonders along I-25 toward Santa Fe.
*The City Different--snooping around Santa Fe and its environs.
*The Cuba Road--heading down toward Cuba and Cabezon Peak.
*The Jemez Mountain Trail--finding amazing formations around Los Alamos.
*The Chihuahua Trail--moving through wild desert toward Socorro.
And:
*The Mother Road--following Route 66 from west of town to Mt. Taylor.

Since being introduced to this title, I have already hiked a number of its hikes, and have already found my view of what surrounds Albuquerque completely altered. This place is amazing, and even though I thought I had an inkling of what its deserts and mountains hid, I now realize I did not. At all.

If you live in Albuquerque, just get this. Just order it right now, or go get it from Page One. You will not regret it. It's rare that a guidebook comes along that makes you want to just sit down and read it from cover to cover, but whose hikes are so unique and intriguing that you have little choice but to put the book down and throw on a daypack.

Highly, highly recommended.

I have been an avid hiker in New Mexico for the past 7 years, and own every other hiking guide that has been published for the state. This is by far the best one yet.

Though I have hiked all over the Albuquerque area (including all of the Sandia Mountains trails and about half of the Manzano Mountains trails), of the 60 hikes in this guide I have only visited 17 of them to date. I consider this a testament to Stephen Ausherman's skill in locating unique and unknown trails that can be enjoyed by rookies and veterans alike. Reading through this guide, it's almost as if I'm about to rediscover Albuquerque.

Probably the best feature, however, is the wealth of at-a-glance detail at the beginning of each hike... including (to name just a few) shared use, driving distance, nearest facilities, and trail traffic -- these features are not typically included in other New Mexico hiking guides. The only complaint I could even attempt to make is that there are no specific details on trail access for pets... but none of the other local guides provide this either.

No veteran New Mexico hiker should be without this guide, and for beginners in the area... this is the first one you should buy.

Degenhardt et al. have produced a first-rate treatment of New Mexico's herpetology. Their book should be on the shelf of anyone with more than a casual interest in the state fauna. Species accounts are thorough, describing the history of the species names, and excellent overviews of the natural history of each species. Even with difficult groups, such as the whiptail lizards, the keys seem to work well. There are color photographs of each species as well.

Detailed information for the herps of NM. Excellent dichotomous keys. Highly recommended.

Amphibians and reptiles abound in New Mexico: the state holds over 123 species, with almost fifty snakes alone. For a detailed, college-level review which includes technical art supplements, identification keys, distribution patterns, similar species outlines and more, make sure William G. Degenhardt, et.al.'s Amphibians And Reptiles Of New Mexico is on your bookshelf. Though a centerfold does pack in color photos, the meat of this study lies in its detailed natural history coverage, suitable for college-level study.

This book covers all known New Mexico herpetofauna (circa 1990's). Salamanders, snakes, lizards, etc, it's all here. There may have been some changes in the last decade, but this book is still the best I've found; the information it has is accurate, the diagrams, photos, descriptions, etc. are all clear enough to aid in identifying animals. Habitat descriptions are precise enough to actually be of use, etc. The language isn't full of technical jargon--it's actually accessible and understandable for people who didn't major in biology! All animals are dealt with as thoroughly as possible; sometimes there are gaps, but that's because we just don't know how common some animals are, or what they eat, etc. If the info for the animal is there, this book has it. Feeding, mating, size, range, behaviour, etc. It serves as my main (almost sole) reference for herps in NM. I bought it in the middle-late 90's in a bargin bin in some state park, and have used it to help me plan herping excursions everytime I've been there, and to help me ID dozens of herps. It's been worth every penny.

This is an excellent state work, with detailed and accurate text, excellent photographs, precise maps, and up-to-date scientific nomenclature. Common names are those standardized nationwide since 1978, with the exception of the names used for snakes of the genus Tantilla. Purchasers of this book should go to page 307 and simply cross out the tongue-twisting "black-headed" and replace it with Blackhead (so much easier pronounced; it just rolls off the tongue -- truly a common name). Highly recommended. Certainly the best book on the subject, and a must for all herpetologists. Buy it quick before they run out of copies.

This book is fascinating--it says it's a detective story, and it is, but with a twist--it's a detective story about people, and why they do what they do. It's a mystery where the writer tries to unravel how choices and fate and relationships and everything else all twist together to make and change lives, sometimes in sad ways. To me, it is the most interesting sort of mystery ever.

Which is why reading this book was such a total delight. It's like spending time with a really intelligent, engaging person dissecting events and following shreds of evidence, and there's this sense of loss when it's all over--you kind of want to stay engaged. A most excellent read!!

In the late 1960s the author's father and mother joined a countercultural enclave in New Mexico, where their marriage floundered and Anna's father committed suicide. Anna was five years old at the time. Twenty years later the discovery of some old photos sends her on a journey to learn more about her father: her reconstruction of her past is charted in ASSEMBLING MY FATHER: A MEMOIR and provides a moving personal history which will also inspire any conducting their own family history search.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I often randomly choose books to read, without reading reviews or recommendations. Sometimes that method backfires and I'm stuck with a stinker, but not in this case - I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Perhaps it was the writing, perhaps it was the loss of my own father when I was very young (probably a combination of both) - this book touched me in a personal way that no other book has for some time.

Prior to reading "Assembling My Father" I was lucky enough to attend a writer's workshop with Anna Oliver in Boise, Idaho, and I must say she is an incredible woman. She is not only intelligent and insightful, but also extremely well read- all of which show up in her writing. In "Assembling My Father," she experiments with style and form, including extensive primary records such as pictures, news articles and writings from her father's journal which add to the overall theme of a "detective story." The inclusion of Anna's own tale of personal growth alongside her discoveries of her father's untimely demise create a depth of emotion and a unique poignancy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in writing memoir, especially family history, or for anyone who is interested in the counterculture of the 60's and 70's. I cannot reccommend it enough.

I can see I'm in the minority of reviewers of this book here. I had high hopes for this memoir that haven't panned out.

The story is simple on it's surface- a woman grows up in an off kilter family and realises as a young adult that she is adrift because she doesn't "know" her father. Of course, she can't because he committed suicide, but what she doesn't have are his stories. Slowly- and it felt slooow- she sets out to discover what she can about him.

She talks to whomever she can locate who knew him, including his childhood friends, and she gets what she can out of her mother who often refuses to talk about any part of her past. She collects what photographs she can- a task made more difficult because her father was usually the photographer. She reads his journal and tries to obtain copies of college work, including his undergraduate thesis and tapes of a "college bowl" contest which "put Rennsalaer Polytechnic Institute" on the map as a better school than people had previously thought.

She experiments with different formats in her writing- including some lists of things he would never know about her, and how she feels that he will always be a man who died at the age of 35.

Be forewarned though- it's not an easy book. It's boggy and uncomfortable. It very well may be intended to be that way- after all, the subject is a young father and the events leading up to his suicide. I kept returning to the photo montage in the front, contemplating this beautiful man and wondering what could have caused him to pull the trigger. of course, only he really knows, no matter what anyone else can say about him.

Here's my confession- I haven't finished it. At 2/3 through, I feel like I know what he did, but his daughter, like all of us, will never really know why. And he'll stay dead for her- sad as it is. If I do finish, I wonder if my feelings about the memoir will change.

I just recently (2008) purchased this book from Amazon.com, after reading Carey and Schmitt's Witness to Roswell. Carey and Schmitt's book is a truly convincing, and well-written, update on the Roswell crash, and I recommend it highly. But, I was very surprised to find this book by Hesemann and Mantle (Beyond Roswell) that was written about 10 years earlier and which contained a lot of the SAME witness accounts that one finds in Carey and Schmitt. In addition, Hesemann/Mantle present convincing research and testimonials about the "OTHER" Roswell crash that took place on May 31, 1947 (SW of Socorro), as well as about the Santilli "Alien Autopsy" film. Rather than give my reactions here to what these authors have written, I would prefer that YOU get ahold of this book and read what Hesemann and Mantle have discovered. I cannot imagine that you would find his book to be anything less than amazing and thoroughly convincing.
Mr. Hesemann interviewed the Native American Robert Morning Sky for this book, as Mr. Morning Sky claims that his grandfather had contact with one of the "aliens" who managed to escape from the crash that took place on May 31, 1947. Morning Sky's comments about the Santilli "Alien Autopsy" film are very revealing (pp. 235-236):
"Whereas we, and other Native Americans, know about the authenticity of Santilli's film [as the "alien" on the autopsy table was identical in appearance to the "Star Elder" who escaped the crash site], we believe that in the end it will be proved that the material is fake. The UFO believers have to be discredited, the contents of the film must be drawn through the mud. The "powers that be" have to keep their control over the people. I don't know how it will be done, but the film will be, has to be, exposed as a fake."
It is also interesting, and PAINFUL, to be told by an eyewitness to the May, 1947 crash that our military treated the aliens very roughly, and that one alien might even have been shot in the head (page 202, per Prof. Ballone).
Please buy this book and broaden your perspective on the whole "Roswell Incident."

This is the most complete attempt to syntheize the facts, the probable facts and the improbable facts into a self consistent model. There is an incredible amount of detail. It is well writtn, well researched and a joy to read. Even for those of us who are convinced that the "alien autopsy" is a hoax, this work may soften somewhat our stance on this issue

So there was a ship or what ever, why cant we see it some is bond to know what it is, if you read a lot of alian books.I just wont to see it.I dont care what it is I wont to see it.It might be a space ship it might not. I think if kids who read alian books should see it they might know what it is you know they can get beater info in there heads of what it might be you know.See kids have beater imaganations then adults do.So why keep it a secret people know abot it already, let use see what it is for our selfs...I might even know what it is but I dount it.Who know I might know what it is,its not hard you know..& what I wont to know is what does WAA mean?

If you are interested in this subject matter this is full of good information. Also recommend Robert Doherty's AREA 51 and its sequel AREA 51 THE REPLY. Doherty is former government special ops, so what he writes is interesting.

This is the most complete attempt to syntheize the facts, the probable facts and the improbable facts into a self consistent model. There is an incredible amount of detail. It is well writtn, well researched and a joy to read. Even for those of us who are convinced that the "alien autopsy" is a hoax, this work may soften somewhat our stance on this issue

The 1920's are famous for grandiose stunts and promotions. One of the most arduous was the great bunion derby of 1928. Brainchild of promoter Charles C. Pyle, this was a foot race from California to New York, spotlighting the newly laid Route 66. This grueling race attracted trained athletes from across the United States and beyond. But most participants were amateurs, ill-suited to the trial before them. They came for the glory, or the thrill, or perhaps the $25,000 prize. Of the 199 starters an ama zing 55 men completed the race.

Kastner's account follows African American, Ed Gardner, through the torturous ordeal. This is history that reads like a novel - absorbing and well-paced. Kastner brings into sharp focus the motivation, the perseverance, the will, the grit that made Gardner a hero of his day.

What began as a quick browse for me became an adventure. I had expected a book which might appeal to distance runners only (a punishment to which I will never aspire). I found myself rooting for a number of the participants and marveling at their progress. There was little Olli Wanttinen at 4 feet nine inches; how many more steps must he have had to take to match the taller runners' strides. Fifteen-year-old T. Joseph Cotton, eldest of seven siblings, wanted the prize money to help feed his family. Then there was experienced competitor, Charles Hart, who, at age63, was two and three times the ages of most of the racers.

But this is more than just a book about running. Mr. Kastner has done a laudable job of portraying a fascinating, little known facet of American history. It is a literate account of one of the greatest publicity stunts from an age of outrageous stunts - of marathon dancing, goldfish swallowing, and flagpole sitting. There is all the pathos of an America rife with pockets of extreme poverty and hardship, class and color discrimination, optimism and perseverance.

The book is meticulously researched and generously illustrated with archival photographs. Several appendices tantalize with glimpses of future ultra races (post 1928). I hope another book will soon be forthcoming.

This is a beautifully written and well-researched story, and to that extent it is a good book. Chuck and Mary Kastner are friends, and frequent visitors to our Bed & Breakfast, so I won't say any more about the book than "Buy it" you won't be disappointed!

The story on the other hand belongs not only to the book, but to American History. The racers formed a cross-section of American society, with some fascinating foreigners thrown in for good measure. The trials and tribulations of all the runners amazed me and their sheer persistence could not help but become fodder for the story. But more than that the story is of ordinary people whose characters and personalities were forever changed by their phenomenal efforts. When the leaders of the race cross into New York State, there is a gesture by the leading racer which brought tears to my eyes. I leave it to you to buy the book and read the story, and admire these Bunioneers.

Ostensibly a book about running - it is concerned with the cross country foot race from Los Angeles to New York in 1928 - it is so much more. It is a slice of American history, our pride and our shame. Runners and walkers from all over the globe were competing for a $25,000 prize - a vast sum in those days. Many who entered did so for the money and what it might do for their families. It didn't matter that so many of these men lacked the training, the support people, and the proper attire for such an endeavor. C.C. Pyle, the promoter of the race, and all the attendant side show foolishness that capped most days of competition, promised food and housing along the way. (The eleven-foot tall coffee pot fastened on a truck chassis, a famous curiosity of the day, followed the racers and served the runners and staff 90 gallons of coffee a day).

The reality was this: The food Pyle provided was inadequate to such an arduous venture. Lodging was minimal - tents or boxcars barely serving to keep runners out of the worst of the weather. When one of the front runners persisted in publicly complaining about Pyle's lack of sufficient attention to the men, he received a telegram stating that his wife had died. She had, in fact, died several years earlier; the idea was that he would rush home and forget about the race.

The Black runners fared as well, or as poorly, as the rest of the pack until they ran smack into the Jim Crow South. There they were harassed and threatened. Their treatment was referred to by the international runners as "the most disgraceful thing they ever knew anything about."

Kastner has illuminated what was great and what was wrong with America as it was in 1928. Despite the scorching heat of the Mojave, the sleet, the wind, and the altitude of the mountains, the filthy, sweat-soaked clothing and ill-fitting shoes, and threats and humiliation aimed at the Black athletes, 55 men completed the 3,400-mile trek. These men rose to a challenge and would not be daunted. Why did so many put themselves through such an ordeal? As one racer put it, "Every man who finishes such a race is a winner. He has shown strength of heart and purpose, which should uplift him with pride and uplift his children after him."

I found this book to be intriguing and inspirational. It is a book that anyone who is interested in the history of distance running should read. It tells the story of the 1928 footrace across the United States and the stories of the brave men who competed in the race. I couldn't put this book down. It was extremely well researched, and the stories of competitors were inspiring. I strongly recommend this book.

Not being a real fan of the shoot em up variety of westerns I found this book to be everything I wanted it to be. Mr Hyson is obviously a "real" cowboy and it is my guess he is putting a lot of his own life experiences into this novel.The book gives a taste of what real "cowboying" was ( and in many cases ) still is all about. It mixes fact and fiction in just the right doses, to make this an interesting and informative read.

I loved this book. Hyson really gives a tenderfoot like me the taste for the cowboy life. In it he also gave me a mystery, romance, and a number of really hard laughs! (RC really cracks me up!) I really enjoyed the book and recommend it. It is a really good read.

Hyson's novel is a curious mixture of tell-it-like-it-is cowboy life and melodramatic fiction. The setting is ranch country in the far northeast corner of New Mexico, and the time is the 1950s. The story is told by Frank Dalton, a half-breed from Oklahoma, with the name of a famous outlaw. There are numerous plot threads, most of which can be found in other cowboy novels - including the saving of a ranch, a bitter father-son relationship, and the education of a young cowboy into the ways of "the calling," or cowboying. There's also some Southwest history, dating back to Spanish colonial settlement. There are mysteries to solve. And there is not one but two love stories.

The romance of Frank and Roberta is an unusual storyline for cowboy fiction, where women rarely intrude into the all-male world of working cattle. The two characters fall in love and into bed without much complication, and Hyson describes the intensity of their love affair without embarrassment. For once, an author has written about a cowboy who doesn't reserve all his affection for his horse.

While the various threads of plot hold the story together over the length of its many pages, what may interest readers more are the factual descriptions of ranch work, like the process of feeding cattle in the winter, the breaking of a horse, working a deal with a cattle buyer, and the way a team of men goes about branding calves. A section describing how a rodeo comes to town, the lives of rodeo cowboys, and the author's inside tips on bull riding make the novel come to life with a vividness and immediacy that do not come so easily on other pages. Also contributing to the realism is a surprising candor in the cowboy talk, often bawdy and humorously coarse.

I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cowboys, ranching, and the Southwest. Readers will also enjoy MacKey Hedges' novel, "The Last Buckaroo."

The books starts well and continues telling the every day life of a cowboy in New Mexico and the people he associates with. It is a history, a love story, a geography study of New Mexico. It is not a real fast read - it just stay interesting throughout.

Even though it is a fictional story, I suspect there is a lot of truth in "the way things were" in this novel. Hyson, having lived the life of a rancher/cowboy, allows much of his own experience to influence his writing. I believe this book to be an authentic depiction of ranch and community life in Northern New Mexico during a particular time period. "The Calling" has it all: romance, adventure, mystery, and binding human relationships. This story would make a great movie along the lines of "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Horse Whisperer."

My parents attended the same church as Dr. Hsi but this book came to me through my fiance's mother, a retired nurse in CO, who is passing this book around as a must read after receiving a copy from my parents. Through the years, she was horrified to experience the reduction in her & her peers ability to provide proper care as a result of "managed care" & opted to move into insurance rather than continuing her successful career as a nurse.
This isn't a typical reading choice for me but was eye-opening & a quick, absorbing read. I'm sure my seatmates on two different plane rides were wondering what was wrong as I dabbed at my eyes in vain to stem the flow of tears.
Decent doctoring is something we take for granted & we don't always know how or are made to feel guilty or inadequate when we press for answers or explanations from an authority figure such as an esteemed specialist or doctor. We need to push for change & I only hope that books like this become mandatory in the medical study curriculum!

To say that this is a profoundly moving work is understatement. It should be mandatory reading for any patient or care giver, but more especially for any who would be called "Healer". Simply stated ... closing the chart is a magnificient work. It will no doubt become highly acclaimed and will be appreciated by any care giver or patient in the modern world of medicine. It is rich in texture and flavor, providing a remarkable insight into the progression of change that occurs when a family is faced with a profound illness,and must come face to face with the methdologies of modern medicine. This work will provide the next level of understanding in the process of illness, such as that initiated by Norman Cousins in Anatomy of An Illness.

He describes so well what family members go through when a loved one is terminally ill. Doctors do need to look at the whole person, their family and their spiritual side and treat people holistically.
He spoke quite well of the pain that is often inflicted on those who are the most helpless by those in the position to be most helpful. This definetly is a gift to be given to those in the medical field or those who are thinking of entering it.
Steve was my doctor when I was growing up and we went to the same church. I remember praying for him when the calls would go out that he needed surgery while praying for my aunt who was terminally ill at the same time...what he describes about being a patient is not far off from what my Aunt experienced while she was hospitalized in Arizona.

As a brief patient of Dr. Hsi's and a memeber of the healthcare industry for 25 years, this book struck at the core of my very being. I not only see what he experienced everyday in my line of work but also expierienced it on a different level for myself. Anyone thinking of pursueing a career in medicine, should let this book open your eyes and your heart. It would make sense to have this be required reading for every nurse, pre-med student, intern, resident or seasoned physician. I know with some it would fall on deaf ears, however if it only made a difference in a few, what a difference it could make in so many lives.
Many thanks to Beth Corbin-Hsi, Jim Belshaw and of course Steven D. Hsi, M.D who gives us wisdom and courage through his words even now.

I am a nursing student. I happened to notice this title on amazon. I have to tell you, that I know that I will be a better nurse because I read this book. I think that it should be a mandatory part of the curriculum in the every program for all of the health care professions. It is very difficult sometimes, to know what it is like for the patient. This book made that realization abunduntly clear. Dr. Hsi's story is an inspiration. Definitely read this book, whether you are a health care worker, a patient, or just looking for a good book to read!