New Mexico Books

After book one, the author fast forwards a few decades and introduces the adult children of the first book. It is done very well, with enough of the familiar to make the reader comfortable, enough new to keep interest and more than enough intrigue for me!

There are, again, four short books in one. The first, The Heart's Calling, is Pamela's story. She is a rebellious young woman who loves the shady Brady. Her parents attempt to stop this destined to fail romance and send her away to live with her grandmother. While there, sulking and hoping to run away, she is suddenly abducted, but not by the man she hopes has come for her. Threading the story back to book one, the reader immediately knows why the kidnapping happened and who it was intended to save. However, I am not sure who was the more surprised, the kidnapper or the victim!

Forever Yours follows, with 23 yr. old independent, stubborn Daughtry Lucas trying to escape the smothering she perceives she is getting from her father, Garrett. As a remedy, she secretly answers a mail order bride ad. She decides to suddenly run away to accomplish her "freedom" all the while having no idea that even as she is using Nicholas Dawson, he is using her as well! He is her ticket to freedom from her home and father, and he, himself has a less than open and fair agenda.

In number three, Angeline is chasing the cause of womens' right
to vote. She meets and follows a strong but deceptive Willa and an even more dastardly Douglas on the circuit for suffrage. She is very young, headstrong and stubborn but finds herself in grave danger and finally realizes the value of an old childhood friendship. But does she realize this just a bit too late?

The last story takes place a little later still - Come Away My Love. Joelle Dawson plans to marry the handsome pilot son of the local town doctor, Daniel Monroe. Howver, while they are engaged, John's horrible accident threatens their relationshop and redirects their lives. When John finds himself paralyzed, Joelle has some serious decisions to make. John tries to make her hate him for the less than whole man he has become. She, on the other hand makes his recovery her purpose in life. In the small Texas town of his rehab, a horrible, violent accident takes its toll on Joelle. This time, it's not only physical, it is mentally, emotionally and sexually destructive. How do these two young Christians in love survive the incredible odds of ever finding happiness? This last story was my favorite of them all. You will be surprised with the ending of this wonderful Tracie Peterson duo set in the young New Mexico wilderness.

If I could have given this book a thousand stars, I would have. I would like to see more like this from Tracie.

In "The Heart's Calling" Pamela thinks she is in love with a man back in Kansas City whom her parents disapprove of and believe is only after her money. When Pamela learns of the Dawson's plans on going to Colorado she invites herself along. Going for a midnight walk she finds herself kidnapped, believing it is her love come to rescue her she offers no resistance. Much to her shock, she finds out that it isn't her love, but a complete stranger named Jim. Jim has a surprise in store to, he thought he was kidnapping Zandy.
On his way back to bring her home, they are set upon by another set of kidnappers. They leave Jim for dead and take Pamela for ransom. In all this turmoil both Jim and Pamela grow up enough to realize who they really love.

In "Forever Yours" Daughtry Lucas runs away from home when her father and brothers become to overbearing. She sees an advertisement for a bride in the paper and she writes to him. When he writes back she is quite taken by the way he signs his letter. Forever Yours. In one last attempt to reason with her father, he refuses to back off, so she leaves that night to become Mrs. Nicholas Dawson. They are married by proxy and she arrives at her new home, but Nicholas is nowhere to be seen. She spends days cleaning the house and falling more and more in love with her husband, who she has yet to meet. When Nicholas finally arrives he realizes how much God has blessed him with this little wife of his. Both hide a secret from each other, one is hiding from her father, the other from a group of outlaws. As they face each of there pasts their relationship grows, as does their love.

"Angel's Cause" is all about a strong minded girl who always has a certain cause. This time she's taken up the women's suffrage movement. She runs from home to join her new political friends and her parents send Gavin Lucas out to fetch her home. Gavin becomes more and more worried about her as he overhears conversations of her so-called friends. He then comes to her rescue when she needs him the most.

and finally in "Come Away My Love" Joelle and John plan to be married until John is in a plane crash and is in danger of never walking again. Joelle tells him that it doesn't matter and that she can support them both. But he thinks if he can't support her like a proper husband then she must find someone else. Joelle is determined and she slowly brings him around, until tragedy strikes again. When renegades attack to kill all soldiers, Joelle and John's mother try to hide him and Joelle goes out to try and hold them off. When all is clear, and John's mother goes out to find Joelle, she meets with a horrible sight. Feeling used and unclean, Joelle refuses to see John, thinking she is no longer worthy of him. He begs her not to do this to herself but when she finds she is with child she runs away. John begins to learn to walk again with one thought on his mind, to go and bring Joelle, his only love, home . . .

New Mexico Sunset is a wonderful set of stories. I've read them all a countless amount of times. Tracie Peterson is a marvel in the way she intertwines faith and life so there is no longer a difference, but they become one and the same.

We all experience those dark nights of the soul. A sure cure is to follow author and photographer Christina Nealson on her pilgrimages to out of the way places in the state Georgia O'Keeffe called "the near faraway." As I accompanied Nealson on her spiritual journeys, I felt the strong, luminous presence of artists and writers like O'Keeffe and D.H. Lawrence. Nealson makes New Mexico seem "near" enough, but she never treats a sacred site in a way that robs it of its "faraway" feeling. She also shows a sure touch in her moving and respectful renderings of Hispanic religious and cultural practices. Well worth the trip!

I think New Mexico was the greatest experience from the outside world that I have ever had. It certainly changed me forever...something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend. ~D.H. Lawrence

Of all the places I've visited in America, New Mexico is where I felt closest to the earth. The heat radiating from the earth as you walk free and barefoot contrasts with a sudden hailstorm where you have to find shelter.

Christina Nealson delves into this land of mystery and intrigues with her stories of places with great cultural significance. If you are a fan of D.H. Lawrence's writing, then you may want to visit the D.H. Lawrence Memorial in San Cristobal. Apparently Lawrence's ashes are in the walls of the shrine because his wife Frieda threw them into the concrete mix.

Each listing has detailed information:

Location
Description
Spiritual Significance
Solitude Rating
How to get there
Accessibility from highway
Facilities
Fee Area

There are 111 full-color photographs, 6 maps of New Mexico regions and color-coded tabs on the pages for easy reference. There is a list of Native American Feast Days and a Historical Time Line of New Mexico.

Picturesque churches, mineral spring resorts, tree shrines, white deserts, petroglyph sites, snowy mountains and Navajo hogans make this land a choice location for spiritual renewal. If you are planning a trip to New Mexico, then this guide will give you ideas for day trips and places to stay. The solitude ratings are helpful if you are looking for quiet locations.

Places I thought looked fascinating and a few quotes from this book:

Monastery of Christ in the Desert: "How long has it been since you've heard live Gregorian Chant?

White Sands National Monument, Alkali Flat Trail: "My brain said snow, snow, until I stepped from my air-conditioned car into the piercing heat and the immensity of a million great dunes."

Casitas de Gila: "A short walk down the bluff puts you next to the stream, where a hammock invites you to dawdle."

Of all the books I've read about traveling, this one makes me wish I was a travel writer, wandering through untamed lands. Christina Nealson's writing style is comforting and her knowledge of this area shows her love of travel and her deep appreciation for the need to find a sacred sanctuary where you can relax and heal.

~The Rebecca Review

This book made me want to get in my car and drive straight to New Mexico! Every page inspired me to visit yet another awesome, beautiful site. Not just the petroglyphs, but White Sands, and the Miraculous Tortilla Shrine! The descriptions of the sites and the fascinating historical tidbits kindled my desire to go New Mexico and see it all for myself. Not only am I motivated to travel to all these locations, I feel I'll approach them and even my home, with a renewed sense of reverence for the beauty all around me, after reading Nealson's inspired prose.

Stephen Mertz has written a great story and I could not put it down until I finished it! The story is suspenseful, fast moving, main characters likable, and he used a theme of romance, suspense, and the mystical, which really works. I do hope we have another book soon from Mertz. An enjoyable read!

Stephen Mertz has written a fast-paced, exciting novel. Robin Curtis and her son Paul move from Chicago to the small town of Devil Creek, New Mexico, so that Robin can escape from a bad marriage. Naturally, Devil Creek harbors all sorts of dark secrets despite its idyllic appearance. The plot edges over into Dean Koontz territory at times, and Mertz's sure-handed writing keeps things popping. This is a very entertaining book. Highly recommended.

This excellent book is both a mystery and a good character study of the two principal figures in the story. Set in the beautiful Southwestern desert, Mertz writes with both economy and a depth of description that leaves the reader fully immersed in the story. It literally was a book that was hard to put down and kept me up late a few nights, unable to stop at the end of the chapter. With diabolical skill gleaned from years of polishing his craft, Mertz leaves each chapter with a hold-your-breath cliffhanger scene that caused me to actually want to skip chapters to see what happened, and then backtrack. But of course, as readers, we can't do that! I particularly enjoyed the angle of the main female lead having recently moved to the new town with her 12 year old son. This is a book that has many moving parts and much for readers of all kinds to relate to.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the "knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories," is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the "knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories," is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories, is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

Diagnosed with brain cancer. What are you gonna do? Cry? Hide? Rend your clothes and take to your bed? Not Patch Rose. He chose to meet his experience head on, with honesty and humor, and to share it with the rest of us. I chuckled, sighed, shed a tear, and laughed out loud. He says he's an ordinary guy, and I believe him because he shares what are very common experiences. But his talent to bring us in close to share it all with him is extra-ordinary. This is a wonderful read. I'm a physician and have recommended it to my physician friends, patients, and patients' families.

A wonderful recounting of the ups and downs of living with cancer. Amusing and inspiring at the same time. It is neither pollyannish nor fatalistic, showing perhaps a middle way during what many would see as a hopeless time. I would recommend this book to anyone who has trouble in their lives (all of us), not just those with cancer.

UP-FRONT DISCLOSURE: Patch Rose is my brother... but I read him anyway... he's good, so give him a try!


Of the eighteen columns included, I smiled and laughed, nodded knowingly, and experienced blessings sent and received when reading A Woman Like Velma (you'll begin to think that an IMRT radiation machine is a real and powerful person... shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey), Little Missy (on the allure of comforting, but junk, food), Miracles (how Patrick's circle of support worked some), Cookie Crumbling (how Sylvia, Patrick's wife "Cookie," experienced care-taking and giving), 3rd & 10 (a creative account of cancer and recovery narrated by famed sportscasters), and, Two Phone Calls (writing about recovery helps someone clear across the country).

As I finished my brother's humorous and hopeful book I realized he has succeeded in doing what any of us may choose to do in the face of suffering, if we dare.... To make Light of it.

Great book, I read it for a Chicano Studies class but I enjoyed every moment of it. A good memoir for anyone interested in the daily life experiences of Chicanas in the U.S.

Beautifully told story of a young Mexican-American girl growing up in El Paso in the 1940s. Ms. Lopez-Stafford shares her recollections of her barrio and all it's colorful characters.

The author titles her story "A Place in El Paso." Nevertheless, any of the following titles, "A Place in My Heart," "A Place in the Sun," "A Place in my Life," would had been appropriate as well. To the careful reader the story will bloom like a flower in his or her heart and soul.

Even though the characters, the places, and the events are necessary to complete the gestalt of the story, the characters, and the events are not restricted to any particular place or to anyone in particular. It can happen anywhere to anyone.

The careful reader will examine the story "A Place in El Paso" by looking below the surface, below the gestalt of the story in order to reach the nuances of Gloria's coming of age and survival. Moreover, the grammatical structure of the story is, symbolically speaking, a ticket for the reader to shadow, follow, and observe her life, and in doing so experience her innocence and get involved in the vicissitudes in Gloria's existence. The reader will witness and feel not only the tragic sad and heartbreaking moments in her existence, but the events that made her strong to endure the various disappointments and disillusionments while trying to find the right place in her life.

I highly recommend this book whether you are Anglo, Black, Hispanic, and so forth; this story can very well be your story as well.

small streams ... and desire ... to find something wild beyond boundries and borders .. If you fish to catch fish ... you will find this book strange .. but if you fish to step out side ...

into a wild .. place

this book might suggest it is possible.

This is a fascinating exploration of a relatively unknown region of two countries. A study in determination and patience, Johnson's writing sparkles like the clear rills, pools and falls that I thought were gone forever. A refuge for survivors, from the Apaches to the rancheros, parrots and "narcos" of today, this is another view of the region Cormac McKarthy calls "not for old men". Complimented with great photography.

I really enjoyed this book. While its topic is not exactly fishing, not exactly enviro, not exactly travel - Johnson mixes opinions, observations and facts on trout, politics, south west history, people, and a look at how one may live in a very elemental style. He writes well. I will read it again and the photos are fascinating. I hope Rex Johnson does more books as this, along with his guidebook on trout in southern new mexico, are very high quality........

Wonderful illustrations make this retelling of this Cherokee tale very special. The author and the artist certainly compliment each other's work.

I am a former fifth grade instructor, a National Board Certified Teacher, and a college professor in Teacher Preparation. I highly recommend the Grandmother Stories series to elementary and early childhood instructors and parents who are homeschooling their children. The books have appropriate vocabulary and tell stories that explain nature in a creative manner. I learned several things I did not know about nature and its interactions from these books. Children love to have the books read to them and to read them to themselves. Duvall and Jacobs are a wonderful creative force as they merge their talents to produce books that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

One of the traditional Grandmother Stories, Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting is here freshly delivered, proving the eternal value of traditional lore. Ji-Stu the Rabbit gets involved in adventures in the Smoky Mountains with Otter, his friend, as they attempt to catch a wood duck. The illustrations that accompany this tale are striking black-and-white line art, heavily framed with traditional design elements. The text and art combine to produce an elegant statement, contemporary but respectful of the past. - Kim Long

This is an amazing book because it makes a real combination of Mexican traditional tastes with the mexican history

This cookbook is more than a cookbook! I've been working on a historical novel about Mexico circa 1850 and of several cookbooks I've purchased, found this one to be far and away the best history book. The recipes are proceeded with whole chapters which outline the education of women in Mexico in the 19th century, what cooking was like in the convents, on farms, and lots of other detailed information- even with old photos, letters and newspaper clippings. I recommend this book highly, not only as a cookbook but as a delightful read!

"Recipe of Memory: Five Generations of Mexican Cuisine" is much more than a cookbook - although the recipes are wonderful, unusual and very rare. They reflect a Mexican cuisine that most Americans are unfamiliar with. We are talking "haute cuisine" from a family kitchen here - not mere chile con carne, enchiladas and tacos. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Victor M. Valle and his wife, Mary Lau Valle, have artfully compiled a treasure trove of recipes, along with a family history going back five generations, 19th century photographs, and journal entries to make a very special book, which was nominated for two 1996 Julia Child Cookbook Awards and a 1996 James Beard Award.

The material used to compile "Recipe of Memory" is from an antique chest left to Sr. Valle by his great aunt, and dates back to 1888. There are over 50 very authentic recipes here which beautifully capture the varied tastes of Mexico, including: Rabbit in the Garden, Roast Leg of Lamb with Mole, Peas in Tablecloth-Staining Sauce, Chiles Stuffed with Shrimp, Squab on a Bed of Saffron Rice, Chiles Stuffed with Mincemeat with an Almond-Caper Dressing, Mango-Orange-Banana Ice Cream and Prickly Pear Sorbet. I lived in Mexico for many years and these recipes bring back memories of some wonderful meals savored at the homes of Mexican friends. You won't get this kind of food in a restaurant.

In Mexico, as in many cultures, much that is important in family life revolves around the dining table. This extraordinary cookbook, cum social commentary, cum family history reflects this tradition. It makes a wonderful gift too!
JANA

History, a great story and an authentic historical craft! Not only that, but just the right size for girl-sized hands. A+++++++ Cannot be beat!

"A Reward for Josefina" is the first Josefina short story that was published. It is set in the Fall shortly after Tia Dolores's arrival to Josefina's family, possibly putting it shortly before or during the time period in "Josefina Learns a Lesson". Tia Dolores is a new adult in the family, and Josefina desparately wants her to think of Josefina as being special. The family and their hired hands go out to gather pinon nuts (pine nuts from a Pinon tree), and as a motivator, a reward is offered to the one who gathers the most. Josefina hopes it will be her, until she is left behind to tend to her oldest sister's two young sons. Josefina and her three year old nephew, Juan, find a way to gather the biggest treasure of nuts without leaving their camp site. Somehow, the reward, a cone of sugar, has run off with a squirrel (in exchange for the nuts?), but Josefina finds the reward that she is looking for.

This is another one of the American Girls Short Stories series about Josefina Montoya, a nine-year-old girl living in the New Mexico of 1824. In this book, when the family goes searching for pine nuts, Josefina's father offers a reward for the one who gathers the most, and Josefina can't wait to collect the most and impress her aunt Dolores. But, when she is ordered to stay at camp and watch her nephews, Josefina is crushed. She refuses to give in though, and seeks a way to do both what she is told, and what she wants to do!

The final chapter of this book looks at rancho life in 1824, and gives directions for making a pastel (a spicy pie that includes pine nuts). As always, Jean-Paul Tibbles has produced some excellent illustrations that add a great deal to this already excellent book. My daughter and I both highly enjoyed this book, and we recommend it to you.