New Mexico Books

This is the book to buy if you've ever floated through the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos and, as you passed beneath the John Dunn Bridge, someone on your trip asked, "who exactly was John Dunn?" As a river guide you have full authority (and some would argue a professional obligation) to make up whatever answer you like, but I've found it helpful to occasionally sprinkle facts among the many assertions I've made to trusting passengers over the years. This slim volume, only 163 pages, is full of wonderful information about the life of John Dunn for whom that bridge is named, as well as northern New Mexico from the late 1800's through 1953, the year Mr. Dunn died. By reading this book you will be well prepared for passengers' questions and, as a bonus, you'll glimpse a lifestyle that predates most of us. For me the few early photos of the Rio Grande, all from pre-boating years, and the building of the John Dunn Bridge are alone worth the price of the book. The regional history and the life of John Dunn are exquisite bonuses.

John Dunn apparently was an irascible and only sporadically honest fellow, the sort of individual whose life story is fun to read about. His is not an exception. You'll learn about his early years in Texas, his later life in New Mexico, and the various legal and not-so-legal enterprises in which he was engaged throughout. I don't think I would have liked being around John Dunn, but I did enjoy reading about his adventures. I suspect you will too.

Dorothy Hoard doesn't just present a book on hiking the Los Alamos outdoors. She leads the hiker on a guided tour of the environs, its geology, its people, its natural and social history. She walks the walks of the ancient Pueblo Indians as she explores the niches of their art, lifestyle, and work. She introduces the hiker to the area's unique rock and land formations, and the fragile yet resourceful flora, while inviting the hiker to appreciate the strength of this ancient land and the art and work of its innovative people. This is a book not just about hiking; this is a book about discovery in the land of the Ancients.

This is the second book in Monty Joynes' series about Anglo (aka Booker Washington), a white man who has meandered his way into the spiritual center of a contracting Pueblo Indian community.

I discovered LOST IN LAS VEGAS after stumbling across the initial work, NAKED INTO THE NIGHT, in my local college library. I was quite impressed, all the more so because I discovered half way through reading it that the author lived in my relatively obscure mountain town! I found him in the phone directory, gave him a call, and after a half-hour conversation, immediately went out and bought the other two books. I was not disappointed!

LOST IN LAS VEGAS takes Anglo, who has by now earned a place of controversial respect among elders of his adopted Pueblo tribe, on the onerous task of retrieving a lost young Indian leader who is squandering his special dancing talents in the irreverent casinos of Nevada's gambling capitol. With characteristic sangfroid and guileless generosity, Anglo eventually wins the trust of the cynical dancer and even the high class prostitutes who control him. Anglo assists Dancer on an extraordinary vision quest in the desert outside Las Vegas, which realigns the young man with his Native roots. While the outcome is predictable, the journey is uplifting and often spellbinding. This is my favorite of the three works published so far.

All the books in Monty Joynes' series belong in the category of what might be called spiritual or allegorical fiction. Although the stories are obviously imaginary, they evoke perennial truths and awaken an intuitive sense of the sublime. I am really surprised these works have not received greater popular acclaim. I found them much better written, more profound and believably realistic than such recent bestsellers as CELESTINE PROPHESY and CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD. Perhaps they'll be the sleepers of the year.

New Mexico is outrageous, mysterious, weird, funny, aggravating, and a vital part of our world. Latham goes where no tourist dares and says what no C of C suit dares whisper. His newsman's eye and artistic soul create a work of highway and waterway art that traps the soul of the state in a sculpture of words. Like his quest for a good cup of coffee, the search goes on to define this place. All the fun is in the journey. . .or reading about it.

I bought this book as a present for a friend from New Mexico and ended up wanting to keep it.The pictures and stories are rather amazing and anyone with a thing for cars should check out this book.

Now you can enjoy great tasting Mexican food without all of the fat and cholesterol. The authors have created simple fat busting recipes that will allow you to enjoy savory food without having to buy a new wardrobe.

Imagine learning how to prepare low-fat tacos, flautas, enchiladas, chicken, seafood and more without any loss of the fantastic flavors that have made this cuisine one of the most popular in the world. At the same time, you will discover how to combine these recipes with virtually unlimited quantities of "fat minimum" foods such as potatoes, pasta, rice, beans, fruits and vegetables to create completely satisfying meals for you and your family.

Although this is not a book on nutrition, you can use these techniques to make other styles of cooking wholeness and delicious. It will help you make good health and great eating a way of life.
--- from book's back cover

This is a collection (denominated a "trilogy") of three short novels by William Eastlake -- GO IN BEAUTY (originally published in 1956), THE BRONC PEOPLE (1958), and PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST WITH TWENTY-SIX HORSES (1963). According to a note at the beginning of this volume, the collection was "revised" and retitled by Eastlake in 1995. I don't know to what extent the individual novels, as originally published, were changed as part of that "revision."

All three novels are set primarily or exclusively in the part of Northwest New Mexico known as the Checkerboard Reservation; the principal theme or dilemma of all three novels (though it is much more prominent in the second and third novels) is the relationship between the Navajo Indians (often as stand-ins for all Native American Indians) and whites and their customs and modern technologies; and there is a definite similarity in style among the three novels. In those respects the three works indeed comprise a trilogy. But the Circle Heart Ranch of the title is featured only in the second novel, and the sub-title, "The Bowman Family Trilogy", is a little bit of a misnomer. While all three novels feature one or more members of the Bowman family, that relationship is more a matter of authorial fiat than narrative thread or continuity. The three works definitely are more stand-alone, independent novels than parts of an integrated whole.

I was introduced to these novels via the middle one, THE BRONC PEOPLE, which is a superb novel, with a unique, magical quality. I separately reviewed it for Amazon, awarding it five stars. I have now read the first and third novels as well and can report that, sadly, they fall far short of THE BRONC PEOPLE. While each has its moments, neither is the sort of sustained, inspired storytelling that THE BRONC PEOPLE is. Individually, I would give three stars to GO IN BEAUTY and four stars to PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST WITH TWENTY-SIX HORSES. If you never get around to reading either of those two novels, no great loss. But if you love quirky and/or humorous contemporary American literature, or literature of the American Southwest, or literature sensitve and sympathetic to Native Americans, you will not want to miss THE BRONC PEOPLE. And since THE BRONC PEOPLE currently is not in print except as part of this trilogy, I have to give the trilogy five stars.

Ah Mabel! I have been to your house in Taos, slept in your bed, and bathed in that wonderful bathroom where you painted the window panes with flowers. Lois Rudnick reveals your life brilliantly. Here is a book alive with heartache and joy, some meaness, and much searching and discovery. Mable Dodge Lujan--an amazing life; a complex and talented woman who, indeed, was a "mover and shaker". "Her desire for self-importance attracted her to some of the most stimulating and creative talents in America." Lois Rudnick details a wonderful biography of who, what, when, and where. Thank you, Lois. You made Mable's house come to life and her life fill the house.

I love this story. Would love to turn it into a film someday. Very detailed as only an anthropologist of Knab's caliber could deliver. Highly reccomended for those into anthropology, those who buck the idea of direct involvement in ethnographic studies or those who love freaks, eccentric types and flat out crazy people.

Of course, you need to be able to read spanish to understand this, but I am bilingual and I was needing a book that actually approached "magia" in Mexico from a historical and anthropological view. Lilian has published other books and I reviewed several of them as well as reading this one and I am comfortable that she is a scholar and not a "whole cloth" inventer. Having grown up in Mexico I could cross-correlate many things she said to end up convinced that the work is indeed scientifically sound.
It's also well written and organized and extensively bibliographed.