New Mexico Books

I thoroughtly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting and multi-dimensional. The plot was interesting and the writing style made it easy to read. Very well done.

This book was similar to Tony Hillerman books, but even better! It is more contemporary, and very nicely written. I liked the comfortable chapter development, so that I could set it down, and yet still finish it in a few days. Linden really turns out some interesting ideas and phrases, and he uses intriguing imagery of the Southwest. Also, it is very culturally revealing - I mean, haven't you just wondered what modern rodeo cowboys might be like? Or how the Native American peoples might live today -- their personalities, their unique traditions? If you live in the southwest, and you know some cowboys and indigenous people, then can you imagine how these people interact? With cleverness and humor, by Lindens account! I'm not really much of a reader, but this book I just loved! I plan to read the continuing series, as it comes out, because the quality appears certain to me. It has what I like in a book --no wasted words, no repetition -- it was just right.

D.W. Linden's Sand Creek is a mystery set in southeastern Colorado with an unlikely sleuth, a broken down cowboy, hunting down Native American history to unearth a serial killer and save his friend from murder allegations. Sand Creek is a mystery with an intriguing romance subplot. Superb characterization and themes make this a 5+ mystery read. Ex-rodeo man and now laid back sheriff Johnny Hart's life is fairly much lost down the bottle. He hasn't been to a rodeo in a while, his wife has left him and his superiors are always warning him. He is even finding it difficult to track down the cattle rustlers. It could not get much worse, but of course, it does. His friend and rodeo buddy Char Sixkiller has been pegged by the FBI as the serial killer mutilating blond white women and dumping them on historic sites of Native American massacres. Can broken down cowboy Johnny save himself, his friend and Sandy?

This mystery focuses mostly on the friendship between two men and the hunt for a killer. Johnny and Char have a long history fro their rodeo past. Both are broken cowboys from past scars but loyal friends. In searching for the identity of the serial killer, Johnny and Char must face their past and rely on their friendship. Can the present hunt also heal their past and teach them how to forgive? Although the mystery focuses on the friendship between Char and Johnny, two important women in this mystery make Sand Creek a 5 star+ read and more than a mystery. Barbara, Johnny's ex-wife, is a divorcee with a career and independent. Sandy Cross is an independent unmarried woman, running her cattle ranch mostly alone since Mr. Cross is just too old. She is a Christian but she is spending a lot of time with a man with different spiritual beliefs and a Native American when Native Americans are seen with suspicion in this part of the country. Will she calmly break the law when push comes to shove? Sometimes a girl has to do what she has to do! Sandy is blond and smart and breaks all stereotypes. When the going gets tough, she doesn't reach for the hair dye or the comfort of the big city. Sandy in this book can be described with one word --- fortitude. She may seem preachy for one small moment or two but circumstances have to mellow out her fortitude and make it less rigid. The Christian element is balanced by the Native American massacre reality and the character of Char who also sees more than beyond his viewpoint. Actually, all the characters in this novel are written without rigid good and evil traits.

Linden's description of the locale draws the reader into the culture and landscape of Southeastern Colorado. A slightly melancholic tone in the beginning was a nice reading change from the typical mystery read. Readers will enjoy hearing about the history of the Native Americans and the massacres. Sand Creek has some nice twists and turns mystery-wise. The first third of this book is more about the rodeo life, the area, and the building of the friendship between Johnny and Char and the life of Sandy.

This was not a romance per se but readers may particularly enjoy its multi-faceted take on love: friendship, love and understanding that divorced people might still have, love emerging, the love of a father for a child, a Christian understanding of love, a Native American approach to spirituality and love/friendship. Sand Creek offers an intriguing insight into history and the massacres. A very nice read...a mystery but also a view more expansive and some insights readers may remember and ponder even after finishing the last page.

A serial killer is dumping the dismembered bodies of women at historical Native American massacre sites. The killer knows his history. With each body he leaves a token recalling the butchery of the past. The shame of America's nineteenth century western expansion has returned as a twenty-first century nightmare. Deputy Johnny Hart, a flawed and charming lawman, is stumbling through his life in middle-of-nowhere Kiowa County, Colorado. A "stove-in" rodeo rider, a man clinging to the last threads of connection to his wife and children, a beer-for-breakfast alcoholic, Johnny Hart is caving in under the debris of his misspent youth. An old buddy, Char Sixkiller, fits the description of the murderer and a lovely woman whose struggling ranch includes the site of the Sand Creek massacre is the likely next victim. It falls to Johnny Hart to save the people he loves, the few people who still love and care for him, and in this perhaps to save himself.

D.W. Linden's suspenseful new mystery of the contemporary west has everything we want in a good read. He gives us characters we can care about, suspense that never stops, and a climax that surprises and satisfies. Along the way, we meet the upright and the low-down, the crazy and the big hearted, the cowboys, the Native Americans, the FBI agents, and the ranchers. The "Sand Creek" story is rooted in the history of the Southwest and Native American culture, giving us a story of contemporary lives freighted with a very particular past. D.W. Linden's characters are gritty, real and memorable, struggling with the shadows of death and loss, looking for life.

"Sand Creek" is a great read and I look forward to the next installment in the Johnny Hart Mystery Series. This promises to be an exciting ride.

R.C. Knight

A terrific book, full of lots of photos and colour reproductions of advertising posters etc. Was dissappointed in that it had no detail on the actual trains re locos and consists etc, but more on the PR side of the Chiefs. If you are after more in depth detail I recommend the book "Santa Fe Streamliners" the Chiefs and their Tribesmen by Karl Zimmermann. A must have addition for the set.

In Santa Fe: The Chief Way, railroading enthusiasts Robert Strein, John Vaughan, and C. Fenton Richards Jr. collaborate to present an informative and totally engaging presentation of the famed Santa Fe railroad, and its legendary"Chief" locomotives that powered the trains along the New Mexico terrains. Blending historic photography with period advertisements, and thematic artwork, Santa Fe: The Chief Way is a welcome and much appreciate contribution to any American railroading history collection. Also available in a hardcover format (0937206717), Santa Fe: The Chief Way is an ideal giftbook for railroad buffs as well.

Gorgous photos, paintings, and old advertisements along with informative text, this book is for anyone who has ever been drawn to the serenity and beauty of new mexico.

Robert Strein, John Vaughan, and Fenton Richards effectively collaborate to provide an informative and fascinating history of the Santa Fe railroad in Santa Fe - The Chief Way. Illustrated throughout with many unique historical photographs enhancing the "reader friendly" text, we are presented with highlights of those prestigious trains and their luxurious accommodations on the Santa Fe run. A welcome and highly recommended addition to any railroad buff's collection, Santa Fe - The Chief Way also touches upon the railroad hires of Native Americans guides to ride the trains through New Mexico for the edification of the passengers, as well as citing the film stars and cinematic moments associated with Santa Fe railroading history.

I stumbled upon Steven Havill's books by perusing Amazon's amazing resources. Though I write books for young readers (www.grahamsalisbury.com), I read mysteries for R&R, and am always thrilled when I discover great new (to me) writers. Steven Havill is the best of the best, in my opinion. His Posadas County series is as comfortable as a snapping fire in January. What makes it great is the chracterization. Bill Gastner and Estelle Reyes Guzman are endearing in every way, making Steven Havill one of my all-time favorite authors. The greatest mystery of all is why Steven Havill is not as widely loved as such fine authors as James Lee Burke, or Tony Hillerman. He's every bit as superb as they are. Try a Posadas County Mystery. You'll love it. And want more. Promise.

It was with some trepidation that I started reading Steven Havill's latest book, SCAVENGERS, knowing that it was the start of a new direction in one of my favorite series. Bill Gastner has retired as Undersheriff of Posadas County, and Estelle Reyes-Guzman, his young protegee, is taking over. Havill is about as good at bringing the small world of a Southern New Mexico town to life as anyone could be. My fears were soon set to rest as I was reassured that he can also write well and convincingly from the point of view of a female, and a Latina at that. SCAVENGERS is just as sound in its police work, real in its evocation of the desert, and touching in its portrait of one busy woman in a small town. The U.S.-Mexico Border has many facets, but this series realistically portrays one of them, where the mixing of cultures is constant and taken for granted. A sound detective story in an endlessly fascinating setting.

Billed on the front cover as "A Posadas County Mystery" this reader was immediately alerted that after nine Undersheriff Gastner novels, this was not the tenth. It has been a great run and while I was hoping for a tenth, I expected due to the way the character has developed that there would not be a tenth. Unfortunately, my expectation proved correct, but while different from the Gastner series, this book still retains the flavor and color of the previous novels. However, since it is not Gastner it does take some adjustment to get used to the new style and tone of the series.

As the book opens, Gastner has been regulated to the sidelines in his role as Livestock Inspector. While he appears briefly a couple of times, the main action involves Estelle Reyes-Guzman. Long a fixture of the series she is now front and center and has her hands full. Along with her mother and her failing health, she has children who currently have the flu bug and her husband, a local doctor. Her boss, the newly elected Sheriff Bobby Torrez, is off at Quantico taking a course. As Undersheriff, she is in charge with all the usual problems that brings in running a department and then the bodies start showing up.

The first is found out on the prairie and has had half of his head blown off. The lower part of his face is shattered and according to the corner, he thinks it happened after the man was killed by the headshot. While the body is clothed, there are no personal effects and thanks to the weather and the assorted wildlife, roughly three weeks after the person was killed, there is not much to identify. As they start to work the case, within a couple of days, a second body is found. Certain clues with that body lead Estelle to believe that the bodies were killed by the same killer or killers and the hunt begins.

There are several secondary stories as well, but to explain them would violate the golden rule of a book review-don't reveal too much. Especially for those new to the series, the explanation of several of the secondary stories would render the reading of those books all but pointless.

While this is not a Gastner book, it does come awfully close. The stark beauty of Posadas County comes through once again along with all the colorful characters that make this imaginary piece of New Mexico landscape home. Fortunately, while the author did move Gastner to the sidelines, he wisely did not change the other characters that populate his books. So, while somewhat different, there is enough of the earlier books in this one to make it work once again.

Posedas County is a wide-open range between New Mexico and the Mexican border and for the most part it is a quiet place. There are some areas that are patrolled rarely because there is nothing there. One day a pilot flies over the area and sees what she thinks is a body. She returns to base and the local authorities are on the scene almost immediately. A man is lying in the dirt, his faced so smashed in that they can't obtain dental plates.

Now that Bill Gastner is retired and the newly elected sheriff Robert Torrez is in Virginia taking a law enforcement course, the case is headed up by Under Sheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. Even with her ailing and aging mother and her son down with the flu, Estelle copes with the investigation just fine until they find a second body buried in a shallow grave located a few miles near the first. Estelle thinks the two deaths are tied to together and Eurelio Scener, a person who acts like he knows more than he is telling, might have some answers but he has disappeared, perhaps involuntarily.

Anyone who likes to see an investigation played out from the beginning to the end will definitely like SCAVENGERS, a police procedural that has heart. Watching the Under Sheriff balance her home life with her work gives the audience an appreciation for the police performing duties that sometimes can be at the expense of their own families. Steven F. Havill continues to write excellent crime thrillers as his series keeps evolving with a true time line.

Harriet Klausner

This is a beautiful book! I am designing a garden in Australia, this has given me so many ideas, from plant selection, colours, points of view and interest. Incorporating modern art and traditional building ideas. I hope you enjoy this too!

This is a beautiful book for artists and gardeners. Wonderful color combinations in landscapes & hardscapes, all accented with inspiring art pieces. Good text but...the photos say it all! (No offense to the author, I know writing is hard work.)

The photographs, in The Secret Gardens of Santa Fe, offer a glympse of a very special place in the western states. Sydney Leblanc does a fine--brief--job descibing the history of Santa Fe, and the reasons the gardens of this unique area do so well. Charles Mann has the touch when it comes to photography. He captures the mystery, the spectacular colors and design, and the fabulous art that adorns many of the gardens. A terrific book that makes one want to visit New Mexico, and see for one's self the magic of the high desert.

Santa Fe is a pretty tough place to garden. At 7,000 feet, the growing season is short, winds are high, and a five-year drought has made watering your garden politically incorrect.

Nevertheless, serious gardeners persevere, and some of the better results are documented here. It helps to be rich, to have a private well, to have a gardener -- best if you have all three. The color photo reproductions here are simply splendid. The text ranges from OK to pretty good (but who buys flower-porn for the text?) Recommended for gardening and Santa Fe fans, who will surely drool over the lovely gardens, homes and art so beautifully portrayed here.

Happy gardening,
Peter D. Tillman
Santa Fe

Another fantastic poet pushed to the chest of oblivion of women's achievements, in spite of her Nobel Price of Literature. Touching and profound stories of innocence, longing for one's roots, lost loves, and nature's beauty. The Spanish original poems are so rythmic and endearing, and yet, the excellent English version maintains the purity of its message. A book worth reading and re-reading.

This book gives you great insight about the amazing writer Gabriela Mistral. I wish more translations were available.

This bilingual collection offers a superb selection of poetry from all of Gabriela Mistral's volumes. Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957)was the first Nobel Laureate from Latin America, teacher to Pablo Neruda, forerunner of writers such as Garcia Marquez and Rigoberta Menchu. Her work is hardly known in the United States in part because Mistral was not (unlike these other, better-known writers) identified with any particular political platform. She was always, first and last, a writer and a teacher...and incidentally one of Latin America's first celebrities, a public intellectual in every sense of the word. This collection draws from Gabriela Mistral's poetry alone (excerpted from five volumes; short selections of Mistral's poetic prose have been ably translated by Stephen Tapscott, published by the U of Texas, while the hundreds of journalistic pieces that Mistral wrote and circulated all over the Spanish-speaking world are still unknown to US readers).

The editorial standards in this text are very high. Pages have been laid out so that it is easy to consult the corresponding lines in Spanish and English. While LeGuin states in the introduction that she has little prior experience translating from Spanish to English, she makes clear in her introduction that she worked on this project for years, aided by associates fluent in both languages, and her motivation throughout was the desire to bring this extraordinary, brilliant, hard-to-classify poet's work to English language readers. LeGuin has succeeded admirably. The translations are close to the feeling of the Spanish, yet they avoid wooden literalism.

At all moments LeGuin opts to communicate the mood of the poem, and her choices of poems to translate is clearly dictated by a combination of elements. She chooses, first, what can be most readily translated - she prefers the narrative poems over most of the "songs" (cradle songs and rounds) since the rhymes and rhythms of latter are difficult to convey. Also the book selects more or less equally from the volumes of poetry that Mistral produced over her lifetime, so that we get an excellent overview of this poet's development. Finally, the translator has worked with poems that are among the poet's most intellectually complex works, ones that show the poet's utopian vision for the Americas, her unique feminism, her fascination with landscape and her travels all over the world.

A simply outstanding addition to any personal or academic poetry collection, Selected Poems Of Gabriela Mistral is an extensive anthology of poetry by Gabriela Mistral who is the first Latin American writer to earn the Nobel Prize in literature. These free-verse poems are presented side-by-side in their original Spanish and expertly translated into English by Ursula K. Le Guin. Impressionable imagery and powerful, sweeping themes of the human condition mark this truly exceptional collection as highly recommended and memorable reading. Evening: In this sweetness I feel/my heart melt like wax./In my veins runs/not wine, but slow oil,/and I feel my life slipping away/still and soft as a gazelle.

What I like best about this collection is that the author (or editor, really) tells you a little bit about the people who tell the stories. He also includes the original Quechua, which is an interesting touch even if I can't read it. At any rate, if you enjoy fairy tales, and are interested in hearing them from other cultures (there are a few parallels to the traditional Brothers Grimm in this book), this is a good book to buy. If you aren't interested in fairy tales, this is a good book to change your mind.

An enchanting book! Here is a unique opportunity to read stories never before written down, much less translated. The author was told them in the original language in the high Andes by Quecua storytellers. Now he has translated them into English, and in She-Calf and Other Quechua Folk Tales we find, opposite each translated page, a page printed in the original Quechuan language. Fascinating! Johnny Payne further enriches our experience by sharing the similarities that he observed between these stories and stories with which we are already familiar. Included as well are wonderful background stories of experiences and people he encountered in the story-gathering process. For those interested in stories, folk tales, oral tradition, antropology, history, language, travel... This is not only a must-read, but a must-own. It's a keeper!

This is a marvelous collection of Quechua folktales, told by various Quechua speakers to anthropologist Johnny Payne. These are short and "catchy" tales printed in English with the Quechua version on the facing page. This gives you a chance to get acquainted with the sentence structure of the Quechua language which I found very helpful. The author also shares interesting insights into the people who tell the tales. I love to travel in Peru and I am going to pass this book on to a Quechua friend who will surely enjoy it as much as I did. If you're interested in the cultures of the Andes, or if you plan to travel there, don't miss this book! .

An excellent collection of stories -- not merely in the presentation of a different set of stories than those which reach the common awareness, but also in the insights it gives to the shape of the Quechua culture and people. It is not presented as an explication of the way these people live, the way the thoughts go, but the stories show that shape, show that means, bring the world alive in a way both subtle and profound.

The stories are presented both in the Quechua language and in English translation, and it is possible to see the shape and patterns of the language with careful text comparison; it makes it worth considering learning the Quechua tongue to pick out the nuances which are inevitably lost in translation.

Once a cowboy, Buck's now a magazine editor living in Los Angeles. He's married to Jan, a woman with two children and settled into the life of a grownup, though he remembers his carefree cowboy youth with pleasure, especially early in the morning when he's waking up. At that point, he dreams he's on a horse thundering over the range. In fact Slim Randles' SUN DOG DAYS opens with Buck's dream. Each time he wakes up, Buck shrugs off the vision and heads for the office, where he thinks he's happy. Then things go haywire. A freelancer misses a deadline and Buck must must write the article to fill the space, though he knows little about the subject he needs to cover. If it weren't for Jan and the kids, he'd "take this job and shove it," he decides. Suddenly, the phone rings. When he answers, his old partner, Smokey's voice invites him to go for a beer. Twenty-four hours and many beers later, Buck finds himself fired, tossed out of the house by his wife, and off to illegally round up some horses with Smokey. The choice leads to Buck making some critical decisions about the life he wants to lead.

In SUN DOG DAYS, Slim Randles paints a vivid picture of the range, and the processes by which cowboys do their jobs. He also offrers a good look at the psyches of these tough men. But Randles also does something more. SUN DOG DAYS is the story of a man going through a mid-life crisis and coming to terms with who he is. In the process, the man learns something important about making and accepting choices and their consequences. This universal theme makes SUN DOG DAYS accessible to everybody, not just cowboys. In fact for the non-cowboy, SUN DOG DAYS tells its story in a refreshing way. For cowboys or cowboy wannabes, it catches the spirit of why they want to be cowboys. With warmth and humor Slim Randles presents fleshed out characters that are very human. His style is simple and direct, but never simplistic. SUN DOG DAYS is both a fun and gently thought provoking read.

A true masterpiece by a true cowboy! Ever since I met slim, i've been impressed by his work. This piece is prehaps his best yet! Worth reading twice!

Sun Dog Days might appear as just a story about two over-the-hill cowboys, but it's much more than that. It's everyone's story. It's about what we fear as we crest the mountain that separates us from our youth. It doesn't matter whether we wrangle mustangs, wear a fireman's turnout, or climb a corporate ladder, there's still a part of us that wants one more feel of the reins of that thing that satisfied us most when we were in our prime. Sun Dog Days combines the thrill and the rhythm of one last great ride with the pathos of two ol' pards watching the sun set on what once was and will never be again. Buck and Smokey did what most of us only dream of doing, and in writing the story, Slim Randles' pen and easy-flowing dialogue proves there are still a few who can ride the crest for a long time. This may well be his best work. Wayne Winterton, author of "Whistler's Gold."

One of the most beautifully written books of our time. The first chapter will have you riveted to your chair with your eyes misting up. After the first three lines, I could see and hearthe horses; I could feel the melancoly mood. I could see Buck's eyes with a distant, almost vacant stare fixed upon his face. I was blown away. Several times during the book I had to stop and digest what I had just read. When I was finished, my eyes were stinging with tears and I felt like the old west was really still alive--at least in the eyes of real cowboys. I am still in awe of the beauty of this story. I can't recommend it highly enough. If there were 10 stars, I would rate it 10. CONGRATULATIONS TO SLIM RANDLES. I sure hope he keeps on telling his stories.

After finishing the "Ella Clah" series I was searching for something to read and it was suggested that I look at the "Sister Agatha" series. I just did not think that the same authors could possibly write two good series at the same time. I was wrong. This is a great series and once again I suggest that you read the series in order. Start with "Bad Faith" and read straight thru to "The Prodigal Nun". There is no way you can go wrong with this series.

Sister Agatha stops a robbery in progress by punching the felon in the nose; then rides back to Our Lady of Hope monastery where she will confess to the mother superior that she committed violence against another human being. Before her confession occurs, the archbishop talks to her.

He wants her to go to the retreat; a former monastery where religious folk art belonging to the archdiocese is on display. Someone is stealing some of the artifacts and replacing them with forgeries. The Archbishop wants Sister Agatha to recover the church property and catch the thief. Driving her motorcycle and having her guard dog Pax sitting in the sidecar, she goes to the retreat. Almost immediately she finds the murdered body of the art professor who was testing two objects to determine their authenticity. While Sister Agatha is there, more objects go missing, the handyman vanishes and Sister Agatha sees the `ghost' that is haunting the halls at the inn. At her wit's end, Sister Agatha baits a trap and hopes that the killer and thief fall for it.

Aimee and David Thurlo have written an exciting amateur sleuth novel showcasing a nun who is deeply religious yet is a witty, inquisitive and a brilliant crime solver. A convention of mystery writers is staying at the retreat, giving readers, an insiders' look at the world of writing and getting published. The mystery is well crafted, the characters are brilliantly developed and the storyline is so fascinating it is impossible to put THIEF IN RETREAT down until the audience finds out who killer is.

Harriet Klausner

I'm glad I was able to read Bad Faith first because I felt very comfortable reading this and I enjoyed it as much as the first book.

As usual the Thurlos do a good job with an engaging mystery.

Walter Noble Burns looked up Wyatt Earp with a view toward writing a story about him, as he had about Billy the Kid. His Billy the Kid helped establish once and for all the legendary status of the Kid. Wyatt Earp reported Burn's first visit to his friend, movie star, Wm. S. Hart, saying he was happily convinced Wyatt would allow him to do his story.

Unfortunately, for both Burns and Earp, Wyatt's friend John H. Flood Jr. had just written Wyatt's story, which was being circulated to publishers with the help of Wm. S. Hart. More unfortunately was that Earp loyally declined Burn's offer out of regard for Flood. The rub there turned out to be that Flood obviously couldn't write for beans. (Ask me. I found, bought and published his work after historians had sought for years this rare document, all copies of which had dropped out of sight.) As one editor said of Flood's work, it was "stilted and florid and diffuse." That may have been an understatement.

In any case, shifty Burns, despite what others have more kindly said about the sequel, tricked Wyatt into thinking he would instead do a book on Wyatt's intimate, Doc Holliday. And under that pretext he got a lot out of Wyatt, and used it to do a book that Wyatt finally concluded, was more about him than Doc. In fact when it occurred to him that he'd been tricked out of what amounted to the most interesting part of his life story he considered suing Burns. His friend Hart encouraged him, and thought he'd probably win big time. But suits cost time and money just as they do today. Moreover, Wyatt was old and tired. So Burns got away with his trickery, and brought out one of the most interesting, and accurate, books on what had gone on during what could be called the Earp, Behan, Clanton, McLaury, Cowboy Gang Feud. Behan was the crooked sheriff in spades. Burns did not learn that beneath much of the violence at Tombstone lay the fact that Wyatt had swiped the sheriff's cute, young, gal, Josephine Sarah Marcus. (Who later became his third and last wife, at least by common-law.) SEE THE STORY OF HER LIFE WITH WYATT ON AMAZON: "I MARRIED WYATT EARP."

Burns success in portraying things as they were was based on the fact that he found many of the participants still living, just as he had in the case of Billy the Kid. Burns was, however, basically a tenderfoot. For example, while researching Wyatt, an idea for another book occurred to him to cover the shenanigans of the many colorful old timers out in Cochise County, and he proposed to have the father of my old friend Ben Sanders act as his oracle and guide in seeking out old scoundrels. Bill Sanders reaction was: "You must be joking. These people are my neighbors!" If the implication isn't obvious to law professors from back East and that sort, he meant he'd have to move out if he blew the whistle.

In any case, this is a book well worth reading. It's author ended a colorful career shortly after the book came out, by dying quite young. Pity.

There is less fiction here than modern writers, who are shot in the pants with debunking, would like us to believe. Burns knew the foremost guide to writing such books was "stick to the facts, till you run out of them, and only make up as much as you have to in order to eat regularly." Editorial ethics then and now were much the same. In any case, Burns was not "stilted and florid and diffuse."

Since Flood's Ms. was not saleable, when Stuart Lake came along a few years later he took it over and made it that way. And Lake's so-called biography of Wyatt is a lot more truth than fiction. Read it, too: WYATT EARP: FRONTIER MARSHAL.

Burns was the first of the big name writers that started Wyatt Earp on the trail to fame and eventualy six-shooter Sainthood. I have a notion Wyatt would have liked the money in it, but not necessarily the fuss and bother of meeting celebrity seekers.

I read somewhere that more movies have been made about Wyatt Earp than all the U.S. presidents combined! There's something about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral that touches the mainspring of American imagination. Tombstone is the book that made Wyatt Earp famous and shaped forever our perception of him. I read Tombstone first when I was in high school back in the 1950s and I've since dipped into it countless times. Some might object to the author's purple prose and made-up dialogue and newer scholarly studies of the Earps and Tombstone may be more accurate and balanced. But Burns drew his material from interviews with old-timers and Tombstone newspapers and I'm confident that he comes about as close to fact as you can get. This is a magical tale and nobody could tell it any better than Burns.

Smallchief

One of the editorial reviews above says that this book is "a mixture of fact and fiction." It seems to me that it is no more so than modern works on the topic and perhaps may be more accurate.

Written less than 50 years after the primary events that made the town famous, and while some of the people who participated in them were still alive, Burns crafts a portrait not just of those seminal events but a general history of the town from its inception to what had become of it in the 1920's.

Many other works about the Earps and their opponents tend either to lionize or demonize Wyatt Earp. Burns takes a more balanced view of both sides in the conflict, exploring their shortcomings and their qualities. Modern writers on the subject could take a lesson from him.

tombstone the Iliad of the Southwest was a very informative book that keep me entertained as well as learning about the history of the people that shaped the southwest.I was very impressed how the author was able to interview many of the characters or speak to people that lived through that era.The book being writted in 1927 really brought out alot of history that would otherwise be lost.

Growing up in one of the towns of the Sandia Mountains, I can ashamedly say that I really didn't do much digging into the history of the place. I don't know why really, I guess I figured it was just there and left it at that. Then comes along this little dandy of a history book wherein the unique history of the place I grew up in is laid before you through non-run of the mill descriptions, quirky photos, and some fantastic quotes from the people who have made up and make these towns.
This book is published through Arcadia, which has about, I don't know how many, of these history/photo style books. I have read a few books from Arcadia and maybe it's because this is one that specifically talks about the place I grew up in, but Towns of the Sandia Mountains seems to sit a few levels above the others Arcadia has out there.
This book reads like a dreamy ride through the past on an old desert road. Starting on Route 66 in Albuquerque and lazily winding it's way up into the mountain towns, past the towns, higher into the mountian, down a back pass, to the front of mountian and back into Albuquerque, picking up the towns of Carnuel, Tijeras, Hobbies, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, Canoncito, San Antonito, Sandia Park, and Placitas along the way, as well as a brief concluding chapter on Albuquerque touching on its growth into the mountain. Some of the pictures in this book are completely astounding to see. There are amazing photos of areas with just a few cattle grazing around that now have freeways and strip malls running through them. Pictures of places, if you know that area, you would never recognize. Pictures of Hippies and TB patients alike escaping into the mountains. People who made this town that you never knew who now you can know.
This book does away with the dull page after page of random portraits of people with boring captions style of history writing and brings new life to history.
If you live in the Sandia, used to, or are just interested in a unique area then I would say this is a good little read for you. Eight thumbs up!

This book has wonderful stories of the rich history of communities of the Sandia Mountains. The photos are wonderful, and really add to the stories. The geographic orientation, beginning with Carnuel, and working around the mountain to Placitas emphasizes the rich variety of the area. I highly recommend it.

Out of all the Images of America books by Arcadia I have looked at over the past few months this one is by far the best. The book was written with love and care by someone who obviously loves the area and knows it very well. It is also the most imaginatavely layed out Arcadia book out all of them that I own. The book has many great photos as well as vintage postcards, maps, and advertisements. Needless to say its a must have for anyone living in the Sandia Mountains but also a wonderful addition to any New Mexico library.

It's hard to stop reading, engrossing, hard to stop reading!

My wife and are enjoying this book immensely, well written and the details of the areas of the places around us here in Tijeras are fantastic. This book brings the rich history to light in an enjoyable read. The photographs are amazing, to see the places as they were and are now.

Mike Smith, the author is extremely accessible for any questions or comments about his book, the region and the history.

Definitely a five star book, run now to get yours!