New Mexico Books

This is a collection (denominated a "trilogy") of three short novels by William Eastlake -- GO IN BEAUTY (originally published in 1956), THE BRONC PEOPLE (1958), and PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST WITH TWENTY-SIX HORSES (1963). According to a note at the beginning of this volume, the collection was "revised" and retitled by Eastlake in 1995. I don't know to what extent the individual novels, as originally published, were changed as part of that "revision."

All three novels are set primarily or exclusively in the part of Northwest New Mexico known as the Checkerboard Reservation; the principal theme or dilemma of all three novels (though it is much more prominent in the second and third novels) is the relationship between the Navajo Indians (often as stand-ins for all Native American Indians) and whites and their customs and modern technologies; and there is a definite similarity in style among the three novels. In those respects the three works indeed comprise a trilogy. But the Circle Heart Ranch of the title is featured only in the second novel, and the sub-title, "The Bowman Family Trilogy", is a little bit of a misnomer. While all three novels feature one or more members of the Bowman family, that relationship is more a matter of authorial fiat than narrative thread or continuity. The three works definitely are more stand-alone, independent novels than parts of an integrated whole.

I was introduced to these novels via the middle one, THE BRONC PEOPLE, which is a superb novel, with a unique, magical quality. I separately reviewed it for Amazon, awarding it five stars. I have now read the first and third novels as well and can report that, sadly, they fall far short of THE BRONC PEOPLE. While each has its moments, neither is the sort of sustained, inspired storytelling that THE BRONC PEOPLE is. Individually, I would give three stars to GO IN BEAUTY and four stars to PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST WITH TWENTY-SIX HORSES. If you never get around to reading either of those two novels, no great loss. But if you love quirky and/or humorous contemporary American literature, or literature of the American Southwest, or literature sensitve and sympathetic to Native Americans, you will not want to miss THE BRONC PEOPLE. And since THE BRONC PEOPLE currently is not in print except as part of this trilogy, I have to give the trilogy five stars.

Ah Mabel! I have been to your house in Taos, slept in your bed, and bathed in that wonderful bathroom where you painted the window panes with flowers. Lois Rudnick reveals your life brilliantly. Here is a book alive with heartache and joy, some meaness, and much searching and discovery. Mable Dodge Lujan--an amazing life; a complex and talented woman who, indeed, was a "mover and shaker". "Her desire for self-importance attracted her to some of the most stimulating and creative talents in America." Lois Rudnick details a wonderful biography of who, what, when, and where. Thank you, Lois. You made Mable's house come to life and her life fill the house.

I love this story. Would love to turn it into a film someday. Very detailed as only an anthropologist of Knab's caliber could deliver. Highly reccomended for those into anthropology, those who buck the idea of direct involvement in ethnographic studies or those who love freaks, eccentric types and flat out crazy people.

Of course, you need to be able to read spanish to understand this, but I am bilingual and I was needing a book that actually approached "magia" in Mexico from a historical and anthropological view. Lilian has published other books and I reviewed several of them as well as reading this one and I am comfortable that she is a scholar and not a "whole cloth" inventer. Having grown up in Mexico I could cross-correlate many things she said to end up convinced that the work is indeed scientifically sound.
It's also well written and organized and extensively bibliographed.

This remarkable little book is chock full of information on the magic, mysticism and religion of the Aztecs and Mayans of classical Mesoamerica. Gathering together archaeology, anthropological surveys and accounts from the Spanish conquistadors, this wonderful little book takes the reader on a merry romp through the cultures of ancient Mexico and occaisonal looks at modern Indian beliefs today. Theres tons of information about gods and demons, magic and witchcraft, shamanism, nagualism, the Aztec and Mayan calendars, astrology, Aztec holy texts, the Popol Vuh and even the philosophies of the region. Spence makes a point throughout the book of drawing comparisons between American and European mythologies, making it even more accessable to readers who may be aware of Greek, Roman and European beliefs but have little familarity with the more exotic traditions of Central America. Of course, some of his assumptions (such as the idea that a European presence must have penetrated Mexico at some point) are completely false and reflect the cultural bigotry of the time. Nonetheless, looking beyond such things this is a wonderful book for the more obscure occult beliefs of the Aztecs and Maya. Or at least a start. I certainly felt that each chapter gave a decent amount of information on the subject and I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the magic and religion of the Native Americans of Mexico.

The artist herself bills her work "Taos Expressionism", and this collection of her various artistic achievements provides many dramatic full-color reproductions of her works. New Mexico author Dispenza provides the biographical introduction to Frank's life, opening for a revealing, involving gathering of her achievements.

This is a huge book (540 8.5x11" pages) with a great deal of interesting material, which I'd split into roughly 3 parts. It should be read by:

- people who want to understand some ideas that economics really needs badly.
Read ONE and THREE, and sample TWO.

- people who work to help less-developed countries, or how in any way help fund such efforts, to understand how such efforts go awry.

ONE: Chapters 1-6 point out many problems with mainline neoclassical economics as having become divorced from the real world of land, the environment, energy, and sustainability thereof. They continue articulating the ideas of *biophysical economics* as better models.

There is substantial discussion of the strong relationship between energy usage and wealth - it is very difficult to raise GDP/person without increasing energy availability. In an era of Peak Oil, this will be nontrivial to accomplish, as even the developed world will have to scramble hard to replace oil&gas as it is, and less-developed world will have trouble bidding for their piece of it. This section also addresses general issues of economic development.

This also included some reasonable introduction to economic concepts, without getting so deep into econ jargon as to be inaccessible.

TWO: Chapters 7-36 offer many case studies of developing country success stories, failures, improved approaches, and ways to test ideas. The developed world has spent a fair amount of money and a lot of dedicated people have worked very hard to improve the lot of less-developed countries, but results, overall, have not necessarily been very good, an in some case, have been very bad.

While "the road to hell is often paved with good intentions", the case studies help understand better ways of understanding where the road is going, see if that's where people really want to go, and perhaps divert its path somewhere else. All of this is hard work.

Just having nice ideas doesn't really work very well. Objective empirical evaluation is critical.

Anyone involved in development work should be able to find applicable cautionary tales somewhere in this section. Anyone who donates money to help can do so also.

THREE: Chapter 37 "The Elephants in the Living Room" is a very nice summary of all the issues in just a few pages. I really liked their concise prescription for good development;

1. Feed the people, with human labor.
2. If possible, reduce the imported energy intensity of the economy (agriculture and otherwise). Fossil fuels are getting more expensive, especially if a developing country has to import them.
3. Educate the people.
4. Successful development can encourage families, so be careful. [If population grows faster than income, there's no way people get richer on average.]
5. Prevent war.

As an old farmboy, all this made good sense to me.

I'm not an economist, but I learned a lot from the book. The disturbing part was the clear fact that a lot of well-intentioned development policies have not generated good results.

There are good graphics, including interesting maps, that might please even Edward Tufte, although a few might have benefited from color, perhaps on a backup website. Most illustrations do work in greyscale.

Anyway, this is fine and thoughtful book, well worth reading.

My definition of a "keeper" of a non-fiction book is one where I can read the notes like a seperate book; and don't need to read the notes to keep track of what the author has said. This book makes no attempt to find the historical "Malinche." Its focus is on the circumstances and historical knowledge we do have and how that would affect a person in her position.
Chock full of data; it suggested over 20 new books for me to add to my already extensive reading list. in addition, I solved two conundrums that had been nagging me for years and clarified where certain actions had taken place. I found, thanks to the clarity of the text a very important book written during the conquest years that had information I thought was not obtainable.
Camilla Townsends strictly academic approach and care in the use of non-english records deserves a very strong round of applause.

This is a wonderful glimpse into the development of detailed maps of Central America. It expresses the necessity of a country to be aware of the resources it possesses and the lengths to which it must go to obtain this information. Another good book along these same lines is "Mapping and Empire" by Matthew Edney, which describes the process of mapmaking the British government undertook in India. Overall, this is a great book.

Richard Spivey's large-format book, MARIA, serves as an excellent visual and textual appreciation of the pottery of Maria Martinez, the famous Native American artist of San Ildefonso pueblo in New Mexico. Numerous full-page color photographs of her pottery and B/W photos of Maria at work with her husband and son provide a feast for the eyes. You can almost feel the smoothness of the pottery eased into being by her creative hands. Much of the text is taken from oral interviews and reminiscences by Maria herself, who died in 1980 at the age of 93. In 1907 Dr. Edgar L. Hewett of the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico began excavating prehistoric Pueblo sites near San Ildefonso pueblo. Julian Martinez was hired as one of the laborers in the dig. When his wife Maria saw the shards of ancient pottery being unearthed, she was delighted by the designs. Dr. Hewett asked her to try to reproduce the polychrome pottery with those designs and was amazed by the beauty of her work when he returned the next archeological season. Julian had helped by painting traditional designs on his wife's new pottery. Dr. Hewett bought practically everything they had made. From that moment on Maria and Julian dedicated themselves to pottery. Over the next few decades, as tourism increased in New Mexico, Maria's fame spread and potters in other pueblos took up the nearly forgotten ancient art. Maria had been attempting to create pottery since the age of seven. There were still two excellent potters in her pueblo (Martina Montoya and Nicolasa Pena Montoya), who encouraged the little girl in her initial efforts. Their pottery was, as it had always been, beautiful utilitarian pieces -- plates, cups for atole, bowls for mixing chili or soup or dough, cooking pots, and large jars in which to wash hair. Clay "ollas" stood outdoors to collect rainwater. Pottery was traded in other pueblos for wheat, corn, or chile, but never for money. However, Maria's pottery would change all that. Over a 40-year period Julian and Maria shared their labor. Julian gathered clay from the earth. Maria prepared the clay, coiled it, shaped it into pottery, smoothed, and fired the completed pots. Then she polished them with stone or sandpaper. Finally Julian would paint symbolic designs around the piece. He became the leading pottery decorator and she the leading potter of her pueblo. Encouraged by the Museum of New Mexico to continue spending more time on fewer but higher quality pieces, Maria and Julian produced exquisite shapes and designs, which included clouds, butterflies, plumed serpents (avanyu), feathers, plants, clouds, turkeys, kiva steps (ceremonial underground centers), and geometric designs. In 1919 Maria began experimenting with her soon-to-be famous matte-black-on-polished-black ware. After perfecting the right combination of matte and polish accompanied by her husband's designs, Maria unselfishly shared her secrets with other potters. The first Santa Fe Indian Market was held in 1922 under the direction of the School of American Research with all New Mexico pueblos represented. "Native clays, pigments, and traditional methods were required in order to participate in the market." Maria began to win the first of many prizes. In 1924 a bridge was built across the Rio Grande near San Ildefonso and tourists came to the pueblo to buy directly from the potters. Withdrawing from its physical isolation, San Ildefonso became "one of the most progressive arts and crafts centers" among Rio Grande River pueblos. Maria and Julian were the primary causes of this new prosperity. Living standards rose in San Ildefonso and other pueblos where arts and crafts were practiced. Income from pottery began to exceed that of agriculture. Domestic problems declined. New houses were built. Maria began teaching classes at the Indian School in Santa Fe. When her husband died in 1943, Maria turned to her daughter-in-law Santana to paint the designs on her pottery. In 1948 Maria's son, Popovi Da ("Red Fox") opened the Popovi Da Studio of Indian Art at San Ildefonso to display and sell outstanding examples of his mother's and other pueblo artists' work. In 1950 he began assisting in the painting of some of his mother's pots. In 1956, after a highly successful partnership with Santana, Maria began working solely with her son Popovi Da ("Red Fox"). He wanted to carry the art further and began experimenting with new designs ("new colors and combinations of colors, new finishes, and a higher level of perfection.") He respectfully intended to wait until his mother's retirement before branching out completely on his own, but his early death prevented our seeing where he would have taken his art. "Gunmetal" silver was one of the new finishes he added to pottery. He was first to add a bit of turquoise to a piece, also. Skunks became a favorite motif that he worked into his designs. After the death of both Popovi Da and Maria, grandson Tony Da picked up the family tradition of pottery and has carried the art even further into modern designs and styles. This beautiful book serves as an excellent visual and textual overview of Maria's exquisite pottery still unmatched in its fine lines, graceful shapes, and simplicity. As an introduction, there is a moving speech ("Indian Pottery and Indian Values") given in 1969 by Maria's son and fellow potter, Popovi Da, at the School of American Research before his untimely death in 1971.