Southwest Books

"The Faustball Tunnel". By John Hammond Moore. Subtitled: "German POWs In America And Their Great Escape". Random House, New York, 1978.

When I pulled this book from the library shelf, my rudimentary German told me that the title was "The Fistball Tunnel". When I looked in my German/English dictionary, I found that "Faustball" was a form of volleyball, and this, naturally, was explained in the beginning text of the book. I should have started to read the book in the library.

It seems that German Prisoners of War (POWs) had the same ideas as their British counterparts on the other side of the world. The German POWs were mainly maritime individuals: either Kriegsmarine or German Merchant Marine. In their prison in Arizona, these German sailors hit upon the idea of building a volleyball court so as to hide the dirt that was coming up from the tunnel they were building. "Hide in plain sight". This was quite similar to what some British were doing in their prison camp in Germany (see "The Great Escape" by Paul Brickhill). However, the German escape into the Arizona desert was NOT made into a major motion picture.

In the Arizona camp, the American Army guards were lackadaisical, to say the least. Some Germans escaped. The German escapees were surprised by the distances involved, and Arizona is not as big as Texas! Further, they were surprised to find people who did not speak English, but spoke Spanish. In this regard, I wonder why the Germans wanted to escape to Mexico, a country that was also at war with Nazi Germany; the German POWs were at greater risk inside Mexico than they were in the U.S. Interestingly, after their recapture, the German sailors learnt that the buzzing noise in the desert was the sound of rattlesnakes shaking their warning tails and that rattlesnakes are dangerous. All in all, the German escapees were as deficient in their knowledge of North America as the contemporary American/British escapees were about Europe.

Oscar T. Branson's _Fetishes and Carvings of the Southwest_ is a wonderful volume of many color images with a manageable amount of text. Since it was written in the first third of the 20th century, it has a point of view unlike that of the popular modern titles on the subject, such as McManis' series, Bahti's books, the wonderful Rodee and Ostler volume and others. (It is however more modern than Frank Hamilton Cushing's original work.) Leekya Deyuse and his work are featured prominently, and there are many fetish necklaces shown, as well as a few pages about the ceremonial jars (with lots of photographs). There are also a number of photographs of prehistoric pieces, with brief but helpful text. Many of the photos include credits to the individual or organization (including museums, societies and shops) that owned the depicted piece(s). What I most like about this book, however, is its occasional spark of wit -- Mr. Branson included bits of humor in some of the page layouts. My copy at least is a large format book of 64 pages, and except for the title page and the back leaf (is that the word?), it is entirely composed of color photographs with small areas of text. I think this is a fine introduction to the subject, but if one is very interested, one should also find and read some of the titles mentioned above.

My wife is a first cousin twice removed from John Wesley Hardin (on his mother's side). This book adds some history to that we have known before, and agrees with what we have known.

It would be a valuable addition to this history to include explicitly the lesson of the tragedy of failure to secure the peace after a war.

Ya'at'eeh! As the editor/author of The Native American Indian Artist Directory, I found the Pages' book to be a perfect companion book. I would suggest reading the Field Guide first to learn about the arts and crafts that interest you, then read The Native American Indian Artist Directory to find the artists that produce the items you're interested in collecting for yourself. The two books together will help you have a wonderful experience in "Indian Country." Happy Trails!

Thank you Dana for your review. I would be curious what recipes you thought had "murky wording" as I always try to be very clear. And, regarding your stating that extra, extra virgin olive oil is not correct, I beg to disagree. In my work with several olive oil producers--the country of Greece and with Spanish olive oil, the notation of more than one extra indicates increasingly higher quality. Over all, it was great seeing you had noted the book, Dana. Best, Jane Butel

An a amazing account of the birth to present day state of the Texas cattle feeding industry. This book is written by a very astute man who is also a cattle feeder, and offers proof that some things will never change in this industry that goes from boom to bust over and over through time. A must read for anyone in the in business or any hardy business person who enjoys challenges.

I would like to say that Elizabeth Martinez did a great job in putting this book together. I feel every chicano/a should read this, it really is very in depth about our Raza. Every member of the U.U.C (united unknown chicano's and chicana's) has read this book, and now the U.U.C uses 500 years of chicano history as a text book teaching the mexica community there Raza thank you.

This book provides traditional Southwest American recipes--vegatarian style. Every recipe I have tried so far has worked wonderfully. Even though this is one of the newest of my cookbooks, I have used it way more than I have any other book! The recipes aren't too complicated and don't require too much effort.

Although some recipes are vegetarian, the author tries keep them vegan if ever possible, or has suggestions to veganize them.

(Planeta.com Journal) - This massive 700-page tome is the culmination of more than a quarter century of research in the magnificent Sonoran Desert by an eminent desert botanist. The study of more than 500 species of plants includes innovative identification keys to the families, genera and species. Common names are given in English, Spanish and the native O'odham languages. Abundant illustrations make this book a work of art.

This is not an "edible plants" field guide. It is an in depth review of Arizona, Sonora, and Baja desert plants useful as food and for other purposes. It is useful for building short term survival skills, for adding desert plants to ones diet, and as an ethnologic look at the indigenous population of the Sonoran Desert. It is an excellent book and one I am very happy to own.