New Mexico Books

Book was slightly used, but still in good shape. It was nice it was used because the stuff I needed to review was already highlighted.

A story of a unique time and place where colorful cultures blended to create a magical display of public art that is unique to the New Mexico region. As a big fan of the New Deal projects that include much of the rustic lodge-type architecture in our National Parks, this book has expanded my understanding of these projects to include the fine arts and the culture of those who created it. The New Mexico region, under the direction of an artist with a good spirit, was able to thrive in a unique and spectacular manner unlike any other.
Read the book and enjoy the excellent color plates.

More Than Petticoats: Remarkable New Mexico Women is an excellent sampling of women in New Mexico history. This book offers brief biographies of women, crossing ethnic and cultural barriers and spanning several hundred years of herstory. Some of the women included in this volume are Mabel Dodge Luhan (patron of early Southwest Arts), Mary Colter (Fred Harvey/Santa Fe Railroad architect), Georgia O'Keefe (aritist), Maria Martinez (potter),and Elsie Clews Parsons (anthropolgist). Seven other women or groups of women (like the Harvey Girls) are also included. This enjoyable book of significant women is a wonderful volume for those who would like to know a little about a lot of people from one book. I particularly appreciated the regional/state focus because I was familiar with most of the women written about. "More Than Petticoats" is a series focusing on the women who were influential in individual states, and I would definately read more from this series!

It is with envy that we European botanists see the publication of bryological books in the United States. The two volumes about the moss flora of Mexico are a superb example of how well written bryological books can be. The Flora is beautifully illustrated, the keys work and the descriptions are excellent. Everybody only remotely interested in this group of plants will gladly welcome it as an addition to their collection.

From cover to cover this guide allows you to follow it's contents easily and affectively. You won't be wasting your ride time figuring out where to go. The maps are easy to read, giving you just the right information. There are graphs that show you distance in relation to elevation, a real helpful tool in guaging if this ride will be what you want. It also discribes terrain and gives a scale of difficulty to aide in the decision making. I enjoy carring this book with me when I ride because it is so easy to use. I would highly recomend this and other Falcon guides to any avid mountain biker like myself.

Mountain Wildflowers Of The Southern Rockies: Revealing Their Natural History" is the work of retired academician Carolyn Dodson (University of New Mexico General Library) and William W. Dunmire (Associate in Biology at the University of New Mexico). The result of this impressive collaboration is a superbly illustrated and enthusiastically recommended field guide to the principle wildflowers most commonly associated with Southern Rocky Mountain landscapes during the high country seasons ranging spring through to the end of fall. This mountain range runs from Taos, New Mexico to Casper Wyoming, and from Colorado Springs to Boulder on the east and west, to Grand Junction. Featuring 201 color photos, 58 line drawings, and a map, "Mountain Wildflowers Of The Southern Rockies" offers 192 pages of informed and informative information including each featured plant's physical description as a wildflower, the plants individual roles in human history, their relationship with birds and insects, their origins and family characteristics, as well as their evolutionary details. From western wallflower, columbine, larkspur, shooting star, and lupine, to water hemlock, primrose, flax, scarlet penstemon, and bluebells, the flowers showcased in this very highly recommended reference include the individual flower's Latin name. Featuring a glossary, suggested references, a selected bibliography, and an index, "Mountain Wildflowers Of The Southern Rockies" could well serve as a template for similar field guides for wildflowers in other sections of the country.

As a former Circus Clown who traveled with a "Mud Show" in the late 1970's, I have read many books on the subject. None of them capture the true sense, and feeling of what is was like in the "back yard" of a tent show as this one does. It brought back many memories, some good and some bad. So if you are looking for a true and complete picture of what it is like to run away and join the Circus from behind the scenes, then this is the book for you.

This book is well written and has tons of beautiful color photos of rural art from many parts of India. The authors have explained the philosophy of the art and have portrayed them in their true colors. What's interesting is that the art is a way of life for the village folks who practice it.
Fabric embroidery & mirror art from Gujarat (Kutch and Saurashtra), Banjara embroidery of Rajasthan, Mud wall decorations of Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Kolam patterns of Tamil Nadu and Terracotta art from all over India are well explained with beautiful color photos. Many of the photos show the artists at work.
Particularly striking are information and photos of the giant Iyyanar temple terracotta horses of Tamil Nadu, which stand over 16 feet tall. This book is a must for art lovers.

This is a sweet, tender collection of the author's recollections of growing up in an Albuquerque neighborhood with both a grocery store, where he worked, and the Catholic Church, which he attended. He writes of his neighbors with gentle wit and wisdom and reveals their souls in a manner that will make you proud that such a poet exists to give substance to the bricks and mortar of a neighborhood. Lopez teaches in the English Department of Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO. What a wonderful, inspiring poet.

I love the lore of the rio grande valley & this book is a great collection of some of it's stories...