New Mexico Books

My wife is an Artist. One of the themes she likes to paint is ballooning. I bought several books on this subject. There was no reviews of this book "ALBUQUERQUE. Where the World Celebrates Ballooning". It is inexpensive, and I was concerned the book might be too descriptive, containing perhaps few pictures and an too much text with an emphasis on promoting tourism for New Mexico. What a great surprise! Other than a five page textual introduction (also with pictures inserted), the book is ALL pictures, the only text are short footers on the pictures. One hundred twenty pages and 200+ huge, colorful and artful photographs. A great buy!

This book provides an excellent chance to learn more about Aldo Leopold, one of the most important conservationists ever. The editors have assembled a highly instructive sample of Leopold's essays and articles written throughout his career. The essays provide insights into Leopold's development from a predator-destroying wildlife manager to world-class conservationist. The editors' introductory essays to sets of Leopold's writings are themselves first-rate. Brown and Carmony provide the reader with the historical context for understanding the significance of Leopold's essays as his career unfolded. Highly recommended.

Billy the Kid died at age 91. This book tells his story in his own words. The film Young Guns 2 was based on this book. It is worth whatever you have to pay for it

Author has extracted oodles of technical references into an overview that covers a vital sixty-year span of American Southwest history. Victoria Dye skillfully illuminates the intertwining of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company (AT&SF) with its more visual counterpart and partner, the Fred Harvey Company. In a mere six chapters, along with a smattering of descriptive BW photos, the author summarizes the wild ethnic mixture of the early Southwestern frontier with a strong emphasis on the economic impact of the myriad cultures. She describes how Harvey and AT&SF precipitated the view of pioneer New Mexico and Arizona as `Indian' more than `Mexican or Spanish,' even though the domineering government and religion was of the latter for hundreds of years. Dye further characterizes how the Harvey/AT&SF promotions helped travelers [remarkably] overcome the spectre of Indian hostilities, replacing fear with their inventive illusion of `Santa Fe' gentility. Marketing, promotion and economics are the core of the book. The author is to be highly commended for distilling five centuries of Cultural Revolution in to 100 pages of easy reading. The bibliography yields [literally] hundreds of literary resources (perhaps this book's most valuable contribution) for further reader interest. The author's supplemental material helps substantiate a "who's who" timeline of AT&SF, Fred Harvey, Santa Fe, curio and Southwestern Indian history - don't miss these appendix, page notes, and bibliographic features!

This is a remarkable first person account of Navajo culture as observed by the trader at the Shiprock Trading Post for a half century beginning in 1893. Divided into three sections: Historic,
People, and Culture, the author tells down to earth, first person stories of his customers, friends, and neighbors on the Northern Navajo reservation. The book is unique in that it records Navajo history and stories of individuals about whom precious little biographical information remains. This is unvarnished history through the eyes of a most astute observer. Absolutely first rate.

I just finished reading the book "Along New Mexico's Continental Divide Trail", with text written by David Patterson. Through the well-composed description and excellent, colorful photographs, the reader can get an idea what the land along the CDT is like, and what it's like to hike it. Initially, I was captivated because I have never hiked in New Mexico. In fact, I haven't even been to the state since 1974! I just wanted to get a glimpse of the region and the trail. As it turns out, the book was so enjoyable that I have decided to hike a portion of the New Mexico CDT this spring!

Although not a detailed guidebook, David's description of his hike, the people he met and the never-ending challenges of hiking in such unforgiving terrain were more than enough to help me understand the New Mexico CDT. Having thru-hiked the PCT, I know what hiking in a desert state is like. With its unique culture, topography and ambiguous CDT route, themes that David deals in, hiking in New Mexico is a whole new ball game! I could not have imagined hiking it without first reading the book. Early on David writes, "Except for the rusty barbed wire fence that marks the border between Mexico and the United States, this land knows no boundaries, natural or artificial, as far as I can see." Hiking in an environment that not long ago was home to indigenous cultures, he adds, "It's amazing how the tools, clothing and weapons of these previous cultures are merely modifications of the natural environment: rock, wood, and bone." Well said!

Each region of David's route is written in much the same way I mentally categorize and remember my 1996 PCT hike. For example, the Gila National Forest is described as a place where mining camps little the landscape, high desert plants such as prickly pear thrive, but there's some shade provided by the pines and junipers. "Bushwacking isn't necessarily my favorite pastime, but it's what we have to do to get beyond Diamond Peak." This section of David's route through the Gila had a big fire some years ago and it presents this challenge: "It's almost as if a bulldozer piled all the trees on top of each other, but then again Mother Nature's power is awesome. When the wind howls the few standing dead snags sway, and I can hear their eerie voices shrieking from the flames that licked them not long ago." Classic!

In the end he pays homage to this wonderful area of the CDT. "Weathered ranchers, forest rangers, mountain men, and friendly strangers- it's natures own character, silently revealing herself to me in the canyons, deserts, and mountains of New Mexico, that has made my journey through the Land of Enchantment an everlasting experience." Additionally, the photographs by Tom Till and William Stone provide a great background to David Patterson's description of the New Mexico CDT.

America's ancient treasures (1993 edition) is a reprint of a classic first printed back in 1971. It contains a thorough recounting of every major and most minor Native American archaeological sites and museums in North America, and is an excellent resource tool for those interested in a serious exploration into North America's ancient past.

as i told pat those many years ago: more grandmother. less teeth.

The devastating nature of the clash between the native peoples of North America and those from European culture is well known. For nearly four centuries a technologically superior European civilization constantly pressed the native population either to conform to a new hegemony or to withdraw from it, conquering the various first peoples and destroying their population in the process. By the close of the nineteenth century the native population had dwindled, ravaged by war and disease and starvation, to the extent that some began to characterize it as a "vanishing race." In 1900 the Native American population in the United States reached a nadir at 237,196, a seven-fold decline from what it had been estimated in 1492.

In "American Indian Population Recovery in the Twentieth Century" Nancy Shoemaker of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, analyzes what can only be viewed as a remarkable population recovery for Native Americans in the past century. With a population now approaching two million, Native Americans have political, economic, and social power as never before. This demographic study provides an important portrait of native peoples rising in number, wealth, and influence. The author finds that this population rebound has been quite emotionally empowering for Native Americans, as they take pride in having emerged from centuries of oppression.

This is a well down work that provides important insights into the demography of the first peoples of the United States.

There are books that specialize and others that are extensive about the southwestern Indian cultures. This book is for the rest of us. It is a well laid out introduction of history and contemporary tribal affairs. We get coverage of arts and crafts. And it makes a perfect companion to Tony Hillerman books.
The book its self is separated into logical chapters on different subjects such as
1. Who an Where (physical Aspects of the American Indians)
2. The Pueblo Peoples (separate chapters on each)
3. The Athabascans
4. The Ute Indians
5. The Southern Paiute
6. The Rancheria Peoples
7. Arts and crafts

There are illustrations and monochrome pictures to support the text.
Also an extensive bibliography for those brave souls that really want to go into depth.