New Mexico Books

What a find. This is a small book, but I think anyone who makes pots would value it for life. The author, Toni, outlines the entire, traditional process of making Pueblo pottery. And I mean, she starts with collecting the clay and adding grog and goes all the way through the wood-buring, smoke firing process that produces those wonderful black, burnished pots!

She takes you through the process to create just ONE black pot, which turns out to be a prize-winner! There are lots of pictures throughout that show the pot during various stages and the text gives pretty detailed information on the process. She does leave out some things, maybe assuming the reader already knows them, but you could probably create your own Pueblo pot using this book.

I found the description of burnishing using slip to be most valuable, as well as the firing process, which I'd never seen before.

I highly recommend this to potters, especially handbuilders who use the coil method to build pots.

Polly's book is great in that it tells not only about the rock art and the styles but also tells about the cultures that have created it. I have a small rock art tour company in central Utah, and have read both this book and Rock Art of Utah. They are both great and have been a great help to me in my field.

THE INSIDERS' GUIDE TO SANTA FE is a great book about Northern New Mexico. It describes different towns where you can relocate, explains the rules of the road and other essentials, points out where the best shopping and dining are, and tells you where places of worship may be found. Radio stations change formats like the weather, so information in this area that was correct when this book was written might now have to be taken like the humor in such movies/TV shows as FRIENDS, 13 GOING ON 30, DRIVE ME CRAZY, HARVARD MAN, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, THE SWEETEST THING, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, AMERICAN WEDDING, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, and GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, but this is a minor quibble, as the general quality of the book is superb.

"Hurtado tackles two of the thorniest of historical subjects--frontiers and sexuality. That he does so with good research, style, and wit makes this an enthralling, sophisticated study." (Anne Butler, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY)
INTIMATE FRONTIERS "is a truly masterful piece of history that reveals the significance of gender and sexuality in the American West and further proves the importance of the West to the study of American history in general. The book will prove valuable in U.S. survey, women's history, and American West classes as well as popular among more casual readers of history." (Margaret Jacobs, AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW)
"In INTIMATE FRONTIERS Hurtado has pushed discussions of gender and culture in the Borderlands toward a new level of sophistication." (Dedra S. McDonald, NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW)
"INTIMATE FRONTIERS, intended for stuidents and the general reader, does a masterful job of explaining in clear, jargon-free language, the theoretical keystones of contemporary gender scholarship. Hurtado's selection of vivid vignettes regarding the Donner Party, Olive Oatman's captivity, and Amelia Kuschinsky's abortion will engage readers." (Sherry L. Smith, WESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY)

I have always been a Jack London fan. However, every one of his stories has long since been read and reread by me and millions of others out there. Now, we have something new to hold onto, even if it is for just a short time. Thank you Gary and Tom for giving me Jack London once again. Perhaps one of you could sign the book for me sometime. What a pleasure. Thank you for intriguing mind-blowing stories. Jack grabs you once again and throws you, (not takes you,) into the very heart of the story.

The Jailing of Cecilia Capture is a well-written novel that addresses the themes of home, purpose, family, struggles, and foremost identity. Hale writes the story without distracting the reader with anything that isn't needed. Of primary interest to native american readers, such as myself, this work looks at a character, who like so many of us, is trying to balance the past with the present, being native with trying to make a living in American society. The way Cecilia Capture stumbles through her identity and difficulties, and somehow manages a precarious balance that works is a valuable lesson in "seeking life". I highly recommend this book to native readers, and to non-Indians who wish to get a glimpse of some of the challenges we natives are faced with. It is also a book with a great independent woman character, who is portrayed in a realistic and appreciable way.

Jim Wagner is the ultimate folk artist. This coffee table book is packed with useable information on folk art and its origins. His whimsical artwork will make one smile and laugh out loud. Has anyone ever seen Santa's sleigh being pulled by fish! . The way he sees the world is beyond most people's imagination. This is a book that can be picked up again and again and each time see a different aspect of his artwork.

Written by a neighbor of Joel Greene who has written professionally about art and artists since 1986, Joel Greene: New Mexico Modernist is a full-color gallery of vibrant oil paintings by Joel Greene, which reduce scenes down to their simplest shapes with a striking flair reminicent of the efforts of Pablo Picasso, yet which offer their own individualist spin on landscapes and still lifes. Comments and essays on the artist's life and creative process fill out the captivating images in this treasury of modern art especially recommended for personal browsing and collections. A truly adventurous compendium offering a gateway into a parallel world of profound images that bring out the dormant truth underneath complex layers of everyday detail.

Every year since 1980 California's University of the Pacific has hosted the John Muir Institutes, reaching top scholars of his work: John Muir: Family, Friends And Adventures gathers essays from those who participated in the 2001 institute, surveying his associates and professional relationships, his friendships, and his major influences. Chapters provide plenty of quotes from letters and source materials in the process of providing a scholarly overview of Muir's life.

The book has excellent photos of most of the work of the mexican academical painter Jose Maria Velasco, who made mainly landscapes of the Valley of Mexico, Oaxaca, and some other places. His history, his life and his works are described with great knoweldge by his descendant Ma. Elena Altamirano. The book is a must for everybody who likes to know the painting in Mexico at the end of XIX and the begining of XX century.