Southwest Books

On September 17, 1868, Eugene Carr's Fifth United States cavalry guided by "Buffalo Bill" Cody, surprised and attacked Tall Bull's village of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers at Summit Springs, Colorado Territory. In one of the hastily abandonded lodges, a ledger book was found which had been initially captured by the Cheyenne during their retalitory raids following the Sand Creek massacre four years earlier. In the book were drawings of events of great valor done by Cheyenne warrior/artists.

The authors have reproduced the pages of the original ledgerbook in their original size and have added very detailed explainations of the drawings.

This book is very well researched and produced. David F. Halaas is the Colorado State Historian and Andrew Masich is a past president of that organization.

A GREAT BOOK ON A GREAT PART OF NA HISTORY OF A PROUD NATION

This is a comprehensive guidebook featuring all you need to know about hiking and camping in Canada's spectacular West Coast province. It covers the best trails on Vancouver Island, the North Shore, in the Squamish/Whistler area, in Pemberton and the Fraser Valley, and in Golden Ears and Manning provincial parks.
The author, Anita Cancian is an experienced outdoorswoman whose intimate knowledge of the area has lead her to share the secrets of how to access this magnificent part of Canada with other hiking enthusiasts. This book is an invaluable reference in any hiker's library, and a wonderful gift for anyone who shares a love for the great outdoors.
It also includes West Coast Trail, Mountain Biking, Camping, and hiking with your dog.
What a great book!!!!!!

'Classic Hikes' is one of only a few highly detailed and informative books on the subject of hiking the West Coast of Canada.

It is surprisingly detailed in the amount and variety of information it presents to hikers\ of of all abilities, from extremely precise hiking maps extending to information about area climate, blister first aid, hiking boots, keeping clean and basic hiking survival.

The photographs were taken by the writer and give a realistic and colorful view of the area being hiked. The sidebars are one of the highlights of the book, giving some valuable and fascinating information on things that you may see and do along your hike not normally mentionedd in a book on hiking. The topics may vary from Ice Worms to rock climbing to surfing and cycling.

The crowning highlight of the book is its feature on rarely known information concerning the world famous West Coast Trail hike, such as mandatory registration and limited allowable group size. The variety and scope of the hike is fully explored from the mafnificant coastline to the caves, lush rainforests, waterfalls and rich wildlife.

The information presented in the book is sensible, humurous and easily understood by the beginng hiker while not boring the more advanced hiker interested in specific information such as hike ratings and emergency shelter huts.

It is rare to see a hiking book that combines all of the above mentioned information written in a unique and humuorous style for the hiker interested in hiking the West Coast of Canada.

I loved this book. It has great detail and is very accurate with his rating of difficulty of each back road. The direction from both routes was even easy for my wife to read and understand. Great book!!

This is positively the most comprehensive guidebook for exploring numerous backroads around Silverton, Telluride, Ouray, Durango, Lake City - and generally the Southwestern portion of Colorado! There is so much detail in this colorful little book. The authors identify the old mines and ruins you see along the trails. There are history sidebars and TONS of photos. Mainly written for people driving SUVs, all the trails are rated for difficulty, although none of them are radically hard. Still, there is Black Bear trail that runs from Red Mountain Pass to Telluride, which is pretty challenging and they have included that with photos of the spectacular waterfalls along the route. Plenty of easy and moderate scenic drives make you feel like you are really exploring Colorado's fabulous backcountry. You won't get lost! It is really fun using this book to navigate the trails. GREAT quality, handy size, and highly recommended! It is by far the best book of it's kind I have found to-date. Backcountry Adventures Colorado (Backcountry Adventures)Colorado Trails North Central RegionColorado Trails South Central Region

Gerald Betty's work "Before the Reservation," is a testament to his skills as a comanche warrior, even today. Although he rides a Land Rover instead of a Palomino, I'm sure he could still survive on the open range. I laughed, I cried. Betty is a genius.

A highly recommended contribution to Native American Studies, Comanche Society: Before the Reservation by Gerald Betty (History Department, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi) is a meticulous and scholarly study of Comanche society from the beginning of New World Colonization by European powers through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Focusing especially on how the bonds of kinship affected the interplay within Comanche clans, and how the Comanches came to adopt horses, pastoralism, and other Iberian traits into their own culture, Comanche Society is a fascinating and analytical history of the evolution of this Native American nation.

If you've never been to the American Southwest, this book will inspire you to go. This detailed, easy to read book filled with descriptions of the best cuisine, museums, local treasures, and natural wonders is the best available guide to the Southwest.

The guide focuses on New Mexico and Arizona, but contains some information on West Texas, southern Colorado and Utah, and Las Vegas. The major areas covered are: Central New Mexico, Santa Fe, Northern New Mexico, Four Corners, Utah canyonlands, Grand Canyon/Las Vegas, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, and Texas Trans-Pecos. Whether you're planning a trip to see the Indian pueblos and Spanish missions, see the amazing natural wonders of the mountains, or just have some great food and fun with the family, this guide will do it.

Kerrick James's photography is enough to make you get in the car and GO! Great buy.

This, as well as all the other guides in the Compass series, is a fantastic resource! The text is witty, engaging and full of wonderfully descriptive information, with an emphasis on the historical and cultural background of the area. Not only that, but the pages of the book are peppered with gorgeous color photographs and sidebars relating historical anecdotes and extra tidbits of information. It also includes the standard information on festivals, tourist attractions, restaurants & hotels, but the value of the book, for me, lies in the writing. The deep love and enthusiasm of the contributing authors for this part of the country is infectious, and makes for great reading. I have spent hours poring over the other Compass guides in bookstores, although the American Southwest is the only one I actually own, and they all follow the same pattern; this will definitely be my guide of choice for any US destination!

I visited Cafe Terra Cotta in Tucson a year ago and was amazed by the most delicious chile rellenos I had ever tasted. On my second visit, I ordered the chile rellenos again, and picked up the cookbook on the way out. Every recipe I have made from this cookbook has been delicious. The book contains a basics/ how-to section that presents helpful hints and explanations of the ingredients. The instructions are clear, the ingredients are not impossible to locate, and the recipes are easily improvised upon. I love this cookbook so much I am buying one for my friend!

This is an excellent collection of Southwestern recipes with stylistic touches. Especially appealing to me are those with fruit or dried fruit, such as Lamb Chops with Dried Cherry-Chipotle Sauce or Spinach Salad with Figs and Jicama or Tangy Cheese-Stuffed Quail with Mango-Chile Salsa. New discoveries of combo flavors are Muchroom, Jarlsberg and Parsley Salad and Corn Risitto. Also tantalizing is Dessert, Taquito or the Arizona Princess Cake, rich with apples, tequila, chocolate and pecans. Another well done TenSpeed Press output, with sources and nice, large format with super color photos and clear instructions and ingredients. Certainly, those who love Southwestern food will add this to their collection.

Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of South West France is my absolute favorite cookbook. The food of South West France has always been intriguing to me and Paula's book is the best by far on the subject. Thusfar I have cooked over half of the recipes inside (working on the Air-Dried Duck Breast as we speak) and have the goal of completing all of them. The recipes range from the simple and delicious (Eggplants w/Garlic, Asparagus w/Asparagus Sauce) to the complex and delicious (Cassoulet in the Style of Toulouse, Garbure). In addition to great recipes, there is a great introductory section and excellent intros and notes for almost all the recipes. It would be a great read even if you never cooked from it (though that would be a shame). My personal favorite is Andre Daguin's Fava Bean Cassoulet. This is a book that should not be missed.

I simply couldn't believe that anyone hadn't already reviewed and raved about Paula Wolfert's Cooking of S-W France. More than a cookbook, Wolfert takes us on a journey through one of the most wonderful regions of French cuisine. Written in an intelligent and passionate manner, she provides all the classics and adds many other recipes and insights collected during her travels through the region. If you adore french country cuisine, and you haven't seen this book already, you've missed something! Together with Jeanne Strang's "Goose fat and Garlic", I would rate this in my top ten French cookery books.

This is my favorite book on the topic of the Spanish explorations into what is present-day America. In particular, this book covers the journey by Coronado through what is present-day Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado & Kansas. The book is a fantastic historical account but also a very interesting read. The author does an admiral job of painting a fair picture of Coronado and thus doing his part to reject la leyenda negra!

Even though the book is now more than 50 years old (!) it remains a very timely piece in Spanish Colonial history in the southwest.

Dr. Bolton has modified my view on Coronado considerably after reading his wonderful biography of the famous conquistador. Many people ideate Coronado as a bloodthirsty, overpowering man who unwontedly killed every Native American in his path for riches. Not so according to the unbiased research and scrutiny this author puts forth.

After hearsay of gold, silver and wealth to be found in our present-day southwestern U. S., the Viceroy of Mexico sends Coronado with over 300 men, several hundred Mexican Indian allies, more than 1,000 horses and mules, sheep, etc. to the north in search of these fabled fortunes.
Although the expedition as far as locating vast amounts of riches was a flop, Coronado's knowledge of the Indians and geography helped future generations of Mexico to settle and establish themselves in Arizona and New Mexico.

One adventure after another awaits the Coronado Expedition and this is what makes the book a page turner. There were battles fought no doubt, but basically when no alternative to peace could be reached among the Native Americans. As Bolton asserts, Coronado was the "gentlemen's conqueror" and compared to Pizzaro, De Soto, Cortes and others his exploits were gentle and mild.

An enjoyable and perceptive read.

Readers of American history in general and Southwest events in particular will find Crisis In The Southwest, a survey of the US/Mexican struggle over Texas, to be clear and well done. The logic and events of the Mexican War and Texas Revolution come clear with a story which covers both ideologies and underlying roots of conflict.

The latest addition to the outstanding Scholarly Resources "The American Crisis Series", historian and civil war expert Richard Bruce Winders' Crisis In The Southwest: The United States, Mexico, And The Struggle Over Texas is a thoroughly "reader friendly" historical study clearly laying out facts, battles, and the profound impact the conflicts had upon history of Mexico, the European powers of the day, and the emergence of the Republic of Texas, eventually culminating in the role Texas was to play in shaping the events that were to ultimately result in the American Civil War. Black-and-white maps and illustrations enhance the carefully researched text, which presents life-and-death struggles in direct and simple language accessible for readers of all backgrounds.

According to the introduction of the book, this story was told in the indigenous language of Keresan by a well-known elder of the Cochiti Pueblo near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1928. This traditional story is part of a larger tradition of Native Americans in teaching values and right ways of living in community through storytelling. Crow is impatient and leaves her eggs in order to do the things that she wants to do. In essence, she gives up her responsibility towards her children. When Hawk comes by and sees the eggs abandoned, she sits on the eggs, hatches the eggs and feeds the chicks. She has taken on a responsibility that was not originally hers and will not give it up even when Crow comes back and is indignant that Hawk will not give up the young fledglings. While it is a hard story for Crow, one does notice later that Eagle is comforting Crow in her loss. As for the colorful and vibrant illustrations, childen will definitely enjoy them as they are led to think about personal responsibility and the costs associated with giving it up.

This book reveals how modern adoption suits should be handled. The answer was plain, simple, and correct--how ironic that the bird which symbolizes America could see it so easily.