North America Books

"I am here.
I am here, now.
I have been here, always."

Edmund J. Ladd (Zuni).

In 1989, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM, began to put together a project designed to present Native American culture, traditions, and contemporary life from an Indian point of view: not looking in from the outside but looking out from the inside, not analyzing in the way of anthropologists but giving its Indian contributors themselves a place to raise their manifold voices. The process thus begun resulted in a fascinating permanent exhibition presenting all aspects of Native American life from its historic origins to modernity, from arts and crafts to farming and hunting, and from the sacred to the secular (if that distinction applies at all, for there is a profoundly spiritual element to every single act performed over the course of the day). Endowed with a multitude of exhibits - many of them of priceless value - and using traditional displays as well as a multimedia approach combining various audiovisual tools, from its inception the exhibition rested on one inimitable centerpiece: the multi-timbred choir of the First People's very own voices.

Bearing the same title as the exhibition and illustrated by numerous photos, "Here, Now, and Always" provides an additional forum for these voices and sends them out into the world at large. "Listen carefully. Let the stories carry you to the center created by each Native community. Here, at the intersection of sky and earth, you will find the Southwest's people," the museum's former archeology curator, Sarah Schlanger, is quoted at the end of the introductory text to the book's first part, "Ancestors." And thus, the book's Dine (Navajo), Hopi, Zuni, Apache, Tohono O'odham (Pima) and manifold Pueblo contributors become messengers of their respective peoples; talking about Earth Mother, Sun Father, Changing Woman, Spider Woman and Spider Man, Salt Woman, the Great Spirit, the formation of the first clans and their wanderings, the sacred places marking their world and the meaning of home and community, the interrelation of the elements and man's interaction with them, the significance of clay, salt, corn, and tobacco, of minerals and precious stones, and of farming and hunting, the cycles of life, time, and the seasons, the importance of language, oral tradition, and sacred ceremonies in cultural preservation, and obstacles overcome and new challenges arising.

"Each mountain carries precious knowledge. Each is symbolized by certain birds, insects, trees, plants, songs, and prayers. Try to remember this when you think you might want to bulldoze these mountains. Let the sacred remain," warns Gloria Emerson (Dine) in the chapter entitled "Elements." Anthony Dorame (Tesuque Pueblo) explains about cycles that they are "circles that travel in straight lines." In the chapter on agriculture he recounts how his people revived their already-forgotten life as farmers, and wonders, "Today, we again hear the musical thump of a watermelon being split open in the field. Will we forget again what we now remember?" and later on, he adds that "[w]hen the branch is broken, the twig cannot survive. Without our language and without our ways, you cannot survive as a people." Similarly, recalling the young Zunis shipped off to Pennsylvania in the 1800s, all of whom died from loneliness after having been cut off from their cultural roots, Edmund J. Ladd (Zuni) - whose words also provided the project's title - reflects that these days, it is his people's language that is dying from loneliness. In the chapter entitled "Arts," Michael Lacapa (Apache/Hopi/Tewa) adds that the word "art" does not exist in his language at all, and muses, "We make pieces of life to see, touch, and feel. Shall we call it 'art'? I hope not. It may lose its soul. It is life. It is people." And in talking about a mid-20th century professor's prediction that traditional Indian life would vanish within a matter of years due to the spread of a cash economy, federal relocation policies, and WWII veterans' reluctance to return to their prewar lifestyle, Dave Warren (Santa Clara Pueblo) points out that like the footprints and handholds left behind by their ancestors in the southwestern canyons, cliffs, and plateaus, "tradition is deeply etched into our very being. ... [W]e are of these spaces, places, and times. We leave our footprints for another generation; we leave our handholds to steady their journey."

Bringing together all these and many other voices, "Here, Now, and Always" pays tribute to the rich heritage of the Southwest's Native people, and builds a unique bridge to a way of life, traditions, and beliefs sidelined and on the brink of extinction practically from the moment the first white man set down his conqueror's foot in the region, although these very traditions had survived in (largely) peaceful coexistence for centuries before. A slim volume of less than 100 pages, the book is nevertheless powerful testimony to the First People's resilience and ability to adapt to altered circumstances while maintaining the core of their cultural values. As such, it is highly recommended reading - and hopefully, also an incentive to one day go and see the exhibition from which it originates.

"Together we traveled,
in search of the center place.
In numbers we grew.
The center place had not been found.
The gods divided the people.
Some traveled north,
to the land of winter.
Some traveled south,
to the land of summer.
We are the people."

Edmund J. Ladd (Zuni).

Les malades dans l'hopital de Sells, dans l'etat d'Arizona, prennent de la cuisine traditionnelle du sud-ouest. Se guerit-on lorsqu'on se sent lie avec le culture et la terre maternaux? En fait, les danses qui se font pendant la scheresse se servent de l'energie de la creation liee, depuis les danseurs, jusqu'aux ancestres, aux descendants et a l'univers entier. Les arts du sud-ouest, eux aussi, se font, pour lier le passe, le moment actuel et l'avenir du culture, du peuple et de l'univers. Ainsi sont-ils beaux et serviables, tels que de la poterie, du tissage, et de la vannerie. A vrai dire, les peaux-rouges se croient originaires des terres tout autour des rivieres Colorado, Gila, Rio Grande, Salt et San Juan, les destinations finales de tous leurs esprits lies aussi.

Patients in the hospital at Sells, Arizona, are away from what they're used to drink and eat. So they're served traditional foods. Respecting the traditional link to nature and people keeps up physical and spiritual strength. In contrast, in the 19th century, Zuni boys and girls were sent to Carlyle, Pennsylvania. They didn't feel part of a community or nature. They'd felt both in the southwest. They never made it back home. They died from loneliness.

In the southwest, life has always been about getting along with nature and people. One traditional way that southwestern cultures do this is through dance. Music sounds within the dancer. That energy joins the dancer to all creation. So the dancer becomes linked with human energy, such as ancestors and future generations.

The dancer also links to natural energy, such as rain clouds. This is why the Hopi rain dance brings rain. In fact, the Hopi say that their corn, grown unirrigated, and their way of life, in harmony with nature and people, will save the world. The Apache also got through war, reservation poverty, depression and censorship by drawing energy from community, nature, and prayers.

It should be no surprise, then, that a southwestern work of art has a link and use too. Pottery stands for the sacred earth bowl. Traditional designs keep the tie strong between past, present and future generations.

HERE, NOW, & ALWAYS comes out of an exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Along with artworks, such as beautifully useful basketry, pottery and weavings, there are also audios, videos and writings of southwesterners on ancestors, community, cycles of nature and people, and survival.

Southwesterners believe they didn't come from somewhere else. They've always been here first, right from the start, along the Colorado, Gila, Rio Grande, Salt and San Juan rivers. They'll also be the last. For example, the Hopi believe that the life of their people began at the Grand Canyon. That also will be their final spiritual home.

Braeking the state up into sections, the author does an excellent job of describing and presenting the various highlights of each. Equal treatment is given to popular and off-the-beaten-path areas, with sufficient detail for each. It made my recent visit more enjoyable!

This book was a wonderful guide to the areas of Montana we traveled through. There were several things we would not have seen if it hadn't been for the suggestions in the book and some excellent restaurants we wouldn't have stopped at if they had not been recommended by the book. We plan to get another "hidden" book for our next trip.

Hidden Montana appears in its third edition to cover inns, tours, drives, and outdoors explorations throughout the state. From Glacier Park to Yellowstone, this is packed with lesser-known byways. Recommended.

"Hidden Tennessee" like all the other Hidden books are really great for the traveler looking for something different. In our travels, we always attempt to avoid the commonplace and crowds, and the Hidden guides help us find the unusual.

I purchased this book as a birthday gift for my son-in-law who is an avid hiker and prefers naturalist areas that are less traveled. He was very pleased with the content in this book

We used this book to tour the whole state of Tennessee for our Anniversary. Every time we went to a "hidden" recommendation, we found exactly what the book said. We were never disappointed. We also used the AAA book of Tennessee. "Hidden" gave us a better idea of things to do and see. It had general descriptions of areas in addition to city information. We only used the AAA book when we wanted to stay in a chain hotel. The "Hidden" book only suggest non-chain lodging

Back cover reads:
"Once my mouth covers yours, there's no going back."
Even as his lips dragged roughly across hers, Danetta Marist knew her boss meant what he said. He was always arrogant and demanding, and this kiss was no exception. She could barely breathe for the intense heat that sizzled between them. But she believed in marriage, and Cabe Ritter was a terrible womanizer...
In fact, Cabe used his 'ladies' man' image; it kept him safe from women-like his pretty secretary-who wanted a commitment. But Danetta's innocence went to his head and, once he'd held her in his arms, he wanted to keep her there-forever!

I've yet to find a book by Diana Palmer that didn't end up on my keeper shelf. This is one of her classics - older man, innocent young woman ... but there are some unexpected touches as well that make the story fresh and fun. I give it five stars!

Description from the book back cover:

On-the-job training ... Danetta Marist didn't know what to do about her gruff, handsome boss. He gave her looks that made her spine tingle. And then there was that sweet, heart-stopping kiss in his office. But Danetta believed in marriage, and everyone knew rugged Cabe Ritter was a terrible womanizer ... In his heart, Cabe was no playboy. His "ladies' man" image had kept him safe from women - like his pretty secretary - who wanted a commitment. Cabe realized that young, fresh and deliciously tempting Danetta had a lot to learn about love. But now that he'd held her in his arms he decided that he had to be the man to teach her ... for the rest of their lives.

This is one of my absolute favourite book.....from the Boss,the Secretary , to the Iguana. Fun loving and captivating. I loved this book

This book is covers the development of African-American Business from The Colonial times to the present. It covers corporations, partnerships, banks and various other enterprises. You will enjoy this book.

This work fills a void in African American and general U. S. History. It is important for the general public, not just academia. Business success has became a negative image for too many youths, and this work shows that African Americans have always been successful within the capitalist system as entrepreurs, not merely consumers. It also demonstrates how African Americans have been a vital part of the economic development of the nation!

This book traces the development of black enterprise in America. It is a return to the days when communities, including those in the tradition of black Americans, placed enterprise at the very center of their activity. It also reminds us of the blue-print for success in America. More importantly, it is a return to scholarship which concentrates on the importance of self-help, enterprise building and the ability to think and act like a free person. Since the early 1960s, studies of failure have dominated literature on black Americans. This book returns us to literature which examine how people actually created economic stability in hostile situations. It also reminds us that the excellent literature on present day immigrant groups share a lot in common with the ealry literature on black Americans. A great piece of scholarship. It is also instructive to note that Madam Walker, Booker T. Washington, and Mr. Johnson are pictured on the cover. This denotes a time which entrepreneurs, rather than politicians and ministers, were the most important leaders in the black community.

I am puzzled and very disappointed that this book is not being widely enough read and written about. I suspect its reputation is growing underground as people pass on copies and recount their experiences in reading it. Collins is a fine writer who brings an awsome command of history, Biblical scholarship, cultural appraisal, literary studies into focus such that the reader is made to see in startlingly new ways what a mess America has been brought to by its present leaders. This is not a superfical glance at the neocons, G W Bush, the Iraq war; it is rather a deeply thoughtful consideration of much that has gone into the long prehistory of the American nightmare -- ancient narratives, the structure of the language, the nature of metaphor, the inner workings of the evangelical mind. The book builds to a conclusion that will have you thinking in new ways about the recent past, not necessarily with bright hopes. Collins has a wonderful sense of humor, low-key, understated, sharp. I recommend this book.

This is a marvelous work of scholarship that exposes the dangerous myths powering the American worldview. Ought to be required reading in American political science curricula.

Review of Homeland Mythology, by Christopher Collins (Penn State Press, 2007) 262 pp.


Christopher Collins' Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture exposes layers of sediment that have occluded our view of what is American. To all those who love to quote one side of a coin, "In God We Trust," never turning it over to read "In Diversity United," this is essential reading. All cultures survive and perish on their stories, but the unexamined story, as Collins demonstrates, is a perverse lie, a tool for propagandists and tyrants. It is one thing to suspend disbelief when listening to a work of fiction, but if we carry our fairy tales into adulthood, then we risk delusional behavior on a collective level. Worse, we act on beliefs we believe are already ordained by God, with drastic consequences: imperialistic expansion, racism, disregard for human rights, disregard for the environment, war.

Collins traces a direct line from the Christian interpretations of Biblical stories from the beginning of European history and Anglo history in the New World right to the current White House and to a vast array of rhetorical givens in the media and collective consciousness. He shows that not all narratives assume the same idea of time or history. The Hebrew Bible looks to the past, embracing ancient traditions: Isaac "follows" Abraham. The Christian appropriation of The Hebrew Bible, much like the Islamic, imposes a tortured interpretation, declaring the Hebrew Bible to be a foreshadowing of the coming (and coming again) of Jesus Christ, a forward narrative movement.

Pointing out how politicians have scoured the Bible for fear-mongering language is pretty easy, but exposing how they have used Bible stories, already embedded in a collective psyche, to justify horrific acts requires insight and careful documentation, which Collins has achieved. Collins' work is to the study of the Judeo-Christian traditions what Bernard Lewis' works have been to our understanding of Islam. And Like Lewis, Collins is scholarly without ever being pedantic. Bringing together literary analysis, rhetorical theory, and cultural anthropology, Collins adeptly presents us with a book that is both profound and reader friendly.

Marlon L Fick

This book was a great help in my quest to acquire more information regarding the interaction between the Native American People and their horses. It is very difficult to find any information on this subject, let alone such specific information about the interaction between a particular tribe and their animals. I highly recommend this book. Now someone needs to do the same thing for the other Native American tribes.

I enjoy the authors convictions in preserving the Blackfoot Indian's knowledge of horsemenship. He provides an excellent review of early pre and post white contact and horse knowledge. Out of all the subjects I have studies within the field of Anthropology and the books I have read from archaeological subjects to cultural material of pre contact and paleoindians of the High Plains Ewer's book is by far the best I have studied. I would give my eye teeth to own a copy!!

As an early ethnographer of Native life on the northern Great Plains Ewer's work is always of interest.
He has been criticised for "inaccuracies" but I contend this is unavoidable in any work of ethnology or history. Change over time, inaccuracies of memory, and inconsistent accounts by different informants (and sometimes the same informant) contribute. Difficulties in language interpretation are unavoidable, even in native speakers. (Anyone who has ever played the game "Telegraph" knows this!)
The role of the horse was so central to Plains culture made it a clear window into Native culture in general. As with religion it was inextricably intertwined with most aspects of aboriginal life. Thus, the book treats not only with the horse but with economy, warfare, crafts, religion, nomadic patterns, ownership practices, hunting, and many other aspects of Blackfoot life.
Highly recommended.
Also see the excellent works of Hugh Dempsey, Beverly Hungry Wolf, Adolph Hungry Wolf, Paul Raczka, and Clark Wissler.

This collect of Native American poetry is excellent. Joy Harjo relates her experience in a way that is accessable and meaningful. Mrs. Harjo is a poet that needs to be read and read again to explore her depth. We discussed several of her poems in a Great Books book club.

I have followed Harjo's poetry (and recorded music) for many years, ever since I saw her on PBS reading from "She Had Some Horses". This volume contains selections from her available books: "She Had Some Horses", "Secrets from the Center of the World", "In Mad Love and War", "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky" and "A Map to the Next World". As is frequently the case, the selections for this book are not precisely the poems I would have chosen. It does include the most powerful poems, for example "She Had Some Horses" with it's pounding litany rhythms, "Letter from the End of the Twentieth Century" which is the title track of her cd, "The Creation Story" with its exquisite line "I never had the words / to carry a friend from her death / to the stars / correctly." Somewhat to my surprise, the poems from Secrets from the Center of the World which fit the photographs so precisely in their original context, also succeed as poetry only in this volume (although I'd still recommend the original).

New to me in this volume are the poems from her early chapbooks "The Last Song" and "What Moon Drove Me to This?" as well as new poems from 1999-2001. The chapbook poems are interesting as the beginning of Harjo's development as a poet as well as being interesting poems in their own right .."Four Horse Songs" and "I Am a Dangerous Woman" stand out. In the new material, "Morning Prayers" has memorable lines "the nothingness / is vast and stunning, / brims with details ..." as does "Faith" with "I might miss / The feet of god / Disguised as trees."

Harjo's poetry is strongly political - a Native peoples voice angry at the European invaders/immigrants. More importantly, her voice is one seeking a way to live well in contemporary society where living well requires memory of a time we lived with greater respect for our environment, greater responsibility for our network of relatives.

It is profound, inspiring experience to read this collection. These writings are courageous and life-affirming.

Excellent little field guide. Great writting and very nice art. Great for adults and children.

My grandmother had this book, which was a gift from my mother. A friend borrowed it and failed to return it, which almost broke my grandmother's heart! She really enjoys her hummers (averaging 25-30 on just two feeders!), and refers to this book on a regular basis. It's full of facts that everyone can enjoy.

I wrote on my Backyard Habitats page that this is a wonderful little book, perfect for putting in your purse. It's as informative as it is artful. Gorgeous drawings and tons of info about all of the hummers found around the USA

Of course, everyone loves the feisty, peppy hummingbird with it's glorious colors. This book shows details that the average birdwatcher never sees. The close up photos, some in action sequence, are a delight and there are pictures even showing the nests made of cobwebs, feathers and lichens.
The text supplements the photos giving details of the author's observations on hummingbird behavior.
One section covers the different hummingbirds, giving each variety a two-page spread. There are several photos plus a listing of the field markings, range, breeding range, winter range, nesting, migration and habitat for each.
Additional graphics are quite useful, like the one showing the names for the body parts of hummingbirds. What a useful (and beautiful) book!

The wife and husband team of Esther and Robert Tyrrell logged over 30,000 miles of travel to photograph and document the 16 species of North American hummingbirds. Using his own special high-speed strobe techniques, Robert has photographed the tiny colorful birds in a variety of activities flying, perching, and nesting. The book contains over 200 amazing photographs, reproduced in dazzling color. In her text, Esther has culled information from hundreds of sources and provides a comprehensive and well-written overview of the birds' anatomy and behaviors. A must for any bird lover!

This book conains the most amazing photography imaginable (the authors' companion book Hummingbirds of the Caribbean is just as wonderful). Dazzling colors and awesome stopped-action shots. I can't imagine how it was done.