2 comments about Making a Hand: Growing Up Cowboy in New Mexico.

1. Great book to have on the coffee table. Fabulous photos and interesting stories about real life kids and cowboys. I also like to sit and read it with my Grandchildren.



2. The text and the photos are nice separately; together they make a masterpiece. This is much more than a coffee table book. It is preserving a way of life. A way of life that, sadly, most of America is far removed from.

3 comments about Hidden New Mexico: Including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, and the Enchanted Circle.

1. This book gives virtually no driving directions or driving times - an email query to the publisher was not acknowledged. It claims that the only way to fly in is to Albuquerque - in fact, United flies to Santa Fe, as I discovered while boarding my plane to Albuquerque - giving me an extra hour's drive coming and going. The maps are inadequate at best - few of the attractions/lodgings mentioned are shown. Hotel listings are incomplete, and biased toward the high end. Admission fees to attractions - often as high as $10/person - are not given. Many sights are mentioned (Anasazi cliff dwellings, Mesa Verde) without a description, but are not in the index. No chart of annual temperatures was given - that I could see - I found out the hard way that it gets very, very cold in the winter. In short, using this book to plan and travel was an extremely frustrating experience.



2. We live in New Mexico, and every holiday or free weekend we use this guide to lead us to new exciting and beautiful places. This book is the perfect travel companion for anyone interested in smaller, off the beaten path places. This book led us to discover Las Vegas, NM, a (yet) not so touristy place unlike Taos or Sante Fe. Thanks to this guide, we enjoyed the free road side Hot Springs located in a pristine alpine valley, and delicious restaurants that put the more known places to shame. It has small eateries and interesting museums, parks like the little known Three Rivers Petroglyph National Monument with thousands of drawings, on the way from Socorro to Alamogordo. Yet again, this is a place not mentioned in other tourist maps or books. I would recommend for anyone really interested in traveling through New Mexico to also have DeLorme Topographic Map of New Mexico with them for references and the smaller roads. The general RandMcNally or AAA maps just don't cut it. Those topo maps are only about 16 dollars and will work great with the Hidden New Mexico book or any travelguide. Check out Chaco Canyon National Monument as well, and stay in El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, you will not believe your eyes! That was also a tip from the Hidden New Mexico book. Enjoy the most beautiful state in the nation (I am biased, I know)!



3. This is probably a good book, but if you buy the Frommers Guide to Santa Fe, Taos, and Albuquerque you get the same "hidden" details and more accurate reviews. Brought this book on my vacation and maybe got two bits of interesting info from it once after I got there.

3 comments about Lonely Planet Santa Fe & Taos (Lonely Planet).

1. I just returned from my first trip to Santa Fe. I solely depended upon the Lonely Planet (Santa Fe/Taos) guide to help me navigate/acquaint myself to Santa Fe and the surrounding areas. It was a wonderful resource and would recommend it highly to anyone traveling to Santa Fe, as I could not find my thing lacking in it. Oh, do visit the Chocolate Smith in Santa Fe. As the author noted, they have wonderful organic chocolate to please any chocolatophile (is that a word?).



2. I am a frequent user of Lonely Planet books. Santa Fe & Taos is no different then the others, very insightful, very useful, and very easy to use. It gave great recommendations for restaurants, and for day trips, and I particularly enjoy the suggested 1 day, 2 day, 3 day... itineraries, based on the duration of your stay.
   I highly recommend it.



3. The reviews previous to mine only seem to address Santa Fe, and perhaps that portion of the book is more accurate. But I went to Taos and was bitterly disappointed by unfortunate inaccuracies. Inspirations doesn't serve sandwiches on the weekends, a detail the book left out. "Tiwa Kitchen" is actually "Tewa Kitchen", and though it wasn't the book's fault never opened on the day I wanted to go. Zen Ranch went out of business, and I'd really been looking forward to eating there. One restaurant I went to for the much ballyhooed huevos rancheros looked at me as though I had sprouted horns - not exactly a friendly establishment. It might have been nice to know about the nightly indian dance demonstrations at Kachina Lodge, which is the only regular demonstration performed by Pueblo indians in town, or Wired? Coffee House, which is actually a lot cooler than Cafe Tazza and offers free wi-fi. Overall, it felt as though the author had really rushed through, and perhaps some of the places she raves about were only nice to her because she told them that what she was writing.

No comments about New Mexico Off the Beaten Path, 7th (Off the Beaten Path Series).

5 comments about Journey to the High Southwest, 7th: A Traveler's Guide to Santa Fe and the Four Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

1. This book give to the reader and future traveller an unique vision of the history of this country. the writer help us to understand the people that inhabited this country and the geological features of this land of enchantment. For an european like me is the first and essential step to the visit of a country.



2. This book give to the reader and future traveller an unique vision of the history of this country. the writer help us to understand the people that inhabited this country and the geological features of this land of enchantment. For an european like me is the first and essential step to the visit of a country.



3. This is a great travel book, providing quick and easy to reference to the lay-of-the land in the four-corners region in the style of a virtual tour of the area. The author takes you along his journey, showing you what to see and do, how to get there, where to eat, sleep, shop--or simply soak up the sublime beauty.



4. My wife and I plannned a trip to the Four Corners area and at the last moment received Journey to the High Southwest as a gift. We read it during the plane ride and made immediate adjustments to our travel schedule. The results were so good that we continued, chapter by chapter, to use Mr. Casey's guidance and suggestions. For those uninitiated in the region, or even experienced Four Corners visitors, we strongly suggest this guide. It will provide very accurate and useful information to anyone who uses it. Read the entire book - before you go!



5. This is a serious guidebook for travellers who take their touring and sightseeing seriously. It covers the Four Corners region of the southwest (UT, CO, NM, AZ) and is divided into four geographic sections. It includes information on the history of each section (in detail), points of interest (fully described), and where to stay/eat (fully annotated). Chapters focus on the canyon country of Utah, the Indian country of Arizona, the Rocky Mountains, and the Rio Grande country. There are also a full index and a substantial bibliography. It's everything you could ask for in a guidebook and should be taken along by anyone travelling in this region. Highly recommended.

2 comments about Cuba: Picturing Change.

1. This magnificent collection of photographs captures the beauty, spirit and mystery of Cuba, the USA's often-overlooked neighbor... Ledbetter's clear, passionate and respectful eye has created a stunning work -- the book takes us far more deeply into the Cuban culture than the soundbites of recent news stories (Elian Gonzales, President Carter's visit) allow. Ledbetter's photographs and the accompanying essays make this book essential for anyone who wishes to understand Cuba more fully; the book also richly rewards the reader who simply appreciates great photography.



2. I was drawn to the book by the powerful and fun photographic images. Ledbetter does an outstanding job capturing the images of Cuban life in a way that allows you to both celebrate it and to empathise with the struggle of the Cuban people.

   The Essays are an unexpected extra in a book of this nature that make the work a multi-dimensional experience. It appeals to those interested in both Photography and Cuba. I highly recommend it!

5 comments about Costa Rica's National Parks and Preserves: A Visitor's Guide.

1. (From Planeta Journal) - One of the first guidebooks to focus on the parks and preserves, this book is now in its second edition. It's an invaluable resource for visitors who'd like to get to know Costa Rica's lesser known parks and includes trail directions, dozens of hikes and descriptions of local flora and fauna. The new, second edition of this book includes five new national parks and preserves, plus updated and expanded descriptions of all 40 of Costa Rica's protected areas.



2. This book provides very little practical information. I purchased this book hoping it would contain more info on the parks than the standard Costa Rica guidebooks. I was sadly disappointed. The other guide books such as The New Key to Costa Rica and Moon's Handbook provide as much and in some cases more info on the parks than this guide. Plus they provide all the other information such as hotels, restaurants and transportation.
   Save your money. I wish I had.



3. Contrary to the last review, we found this book to be extremely useful, and it contained background information and useful maps (such as the area around Sirena ranger station in Corcovado) not contained in other more general guidebooks. Also, there is a considerable amount of natural history information that was not contained in the other books that we had with us, such as the Lonely Planet guide.



4. This book is great for what it is. It's much better than most travel guides for specific park info. It includes maps of trails, information on getting to the parks, whether the park itself has accomodations available, and wildlife/ecosystem information for each park.
   
   DO NOT use this as your only guide. There is no info on accomodations or restaurants in the area. Also, some of the best places to go in Costa Rica are private reserves, rather than national parks.



5. I chose this book to because it had the most pertinent info on hiking through CR's national parks. I just got back from my trip and I found it very helpful. You would definately need another guide book to supplement it (eg: lonely planet ect.) because it has very few large maps of the area and costa rica can be a confusing place to navigate.

No comments about A Journey into Georgia O'Keeffe's New Mexico (ArtPlace series).

No comments about It Happened In New Mexico (It Happened In Series).

No comments about The Naturalist's Guide to the Southern Rockies: Colorado, Southern Wyoming, and Northern New Mexico (Fulcrum Guides).