No comments about Rand McNally Santa Fe/Taos New Mexico Local Street Detail.

3 comments about Hidden Southwest: Including Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Utah, and Southwest Colorado (Hidden Travel).

1. I had earlier editions of this book and just loved them. We found the best places to stay, motels and bed and breakfasts that are really special, at a great price. I used this book for planning many trips to the Southwest, for myself and friends, and it was always a great experience. It is the best reference books on places to eat and to stay, phone numbers of attractions etc. You can find every place in the Southwest. However, I would still use another travel guide for more detailed information about e.g. national parks and monuments or specific hiking tips.



2. I purchased this book in order to plan a 6 week trip to New Mexico and Arizona. If you want a book that will clearly and intelligently tell you about everything in these two states, this is a good option. Unfortunately, this book isn't very helpful in prioritizing sites. For example, I'm sure every single indian pueblo is listed, but it's difficult to tell which ones are worth allocating time to. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent book, but, if this is your first visit to the area, you will need a more opinionated book to help you sift though the many, many sightseeing options.



3. Very personal writing style and detailed recommendations make this a great read and a great guide. This book covers the major sights in more detail than most compact guidebooks. The maps are easier to read than most guidebooks due to higher contrast. I loved the suggested iteneraries and "hidden" travel suggestions you may not find in other guidebooks. This is a thick book, maybe a bit bulky for travel. I do recommend it. It has been a great guide to help me plan a trip.

No comments about Santa Fe-Taos Hiking Guide.

5 comments about Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest.

1. I thought this was an outstanding book, so well researched before their trip and so well written describing the areas, the problems encountered and their combined solutions to those situations. I've met Walter Nelson, Mr. Preston's partner on the trip, and that made me understand their friendship and their determination to make it happen even more. It was a great book and I highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of the Western United States.



2. This was a truly fascinating book- a description of the trials and dangers of traveling cross-country on horseback, and how strained relationships with close traveling partners can become. But the best of the book was the detailed history of the areas traveled, including journals of the early Spaniards, priests, and legends and history of the various tribes of the area. A true-life adventure story with (painless) history lessons.



3. A great read!
   I would add to the above "for a man" but was lent my first copy by a woman friend. She loved it also.
   It is much more than the History of the 1540 expedition into north America by Coronado, although that is very interesting, it is a trip by three guys who don't have the slightest idea what the hell they are getting into, and we get to live right there with them every step of the way.
   This book really demonstrates the abilities of someone who uses stubbornness to their advantage. Great writing.
   My only problem with it: Not enough Photos...



4. Mount Dragon
   Thunderhead
   Tyrannosaur Canyon
   
   If you have read any of these Preston/Child books (Tyrannosaur was a Preston solo effort) you have enjoyed the spectacular word pictures that brought the landscape of the American Southwest to life in your mind's eye. If you ever wondered why it seemed so real, so vivid, you need to read Cities of Gold. In it, Preston documents his 1989 retracing of the original journey of Coronado, weaving back and forth between the two epic expeditions. It is a tale of majesty and awe and wonder, and it is a warning to those who would dare to venture into uncharted territory: This way lies madness!



5. I bought this book to give to a friend who loves the Southwest and its history. I opened it one night just to get a taste of the story because Preston is one of my favorite fiction writers.
   
   I was hooked and I haven't put the book down since. It is a story full of adventure and mystery and it is teeming with history. But there is humor and honesty too as the men travel in unfamiliar territory on horses they are not used to riding.
   
   This gets my highest rating. If you like adventure, if you love the southwest, if you love the early history of the west, this is a book you will love!

3 comments about Lost Gold and Silver Mines of the Southwest.

1. I wrote the original book in 1963 (as Lost Desert Bonanzas) to mark 25 years of Desert Magazine lost mine stories. The main appeal was Norton Allen's great cartography (this is the only kind of map book that gets better as the maps are outdated by freeways and etc.). I would like input from treasure-seekers, but all I know about the particular lost mines is recounted in the book.



2. What is a book about lost mines without maps? The maps in the book were neat. Maybe the gold is still there?



3. This is a good read just to fire the imagination on a cold winter night. It's also a good one to get filled with bookmarks, margin notes, dog-ears, and fingerprints on the bookshelves of serious treasure-hunters. Buy it.

No comments about Fodor's Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque, 1st Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

2 comments about 50 Hikes in Northern New Mexico: From Chaco Canyon to the High Peaks of the Sangre de Cristos (50 Hikes).

1. i own many hiking guides, but this one is a favorite! i highly recommend it for all levels of hikers.



2. As a resident of Southern Colorado, I was looking for a guide of nearby geological, historical, archaeological, and topographical interesting day hikes and backpacking trips. This guide is exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend it to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge and opportunities for adventure in Northern New Mexico!

1 comments about The Spell of New Mexico.

1. This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in the state of New Mexico.

2 comments about Moon New Mexico (Moon Handbooks).

1. The artistic color photos as well as the organized layout of Zora O'Neill's New Mexico Moon Handbook caught my eye immediately. Even though I have traveled to New Mexico numerous times, this book entices me to read and learn more about this most diverse state. The more time I spend reading this book,the more difficult it is putting it down. The author's punchy writing style sets this book apart from other guidebooks. It is uncluttered, yet rich with historical, cultural and culinary information as well as with practical advice. This is a must for anybody traveling to New Mexico.



2. As a frequent visitor to New Mexico, I must suggest Zora
   O'Neill's handbook as an informative and helpful guide for anyone planning to travel there. New Mexico has much to offer, for artists, sports enthusiasts, historians, culinary experts, nature lovers, etc. This book addresses a myriad of interests in addition to being
   a practical guide for tourists. Ms. O'Neill's insights and practical, interesting tips make it a book for all. The maps are great and the pictures timely. It is in no way cumbersome as the varied information it offers is concise and easy to read. Buy it - you'll love it!

2 comments about 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque: Including Santa Fe, Mount Taylor, and San Lorenzo Canyon (60 Hikes within 60 Miles).

1. After thirty-five years exploring New Mexico's stunning landscapes, I feel I am still just getting started. But where to go next? Fortunately, Stephen Ausherman's splendid guide has arrived to provide a host of suggestions. I will depend on it to add method to my madness and point me in the right direction. Highly recommended!
   --William deBuys, author of River of Traps and The Walk
   
   This is a very impressive guide that I'm sure will be welcomed by the local hiking community, especially as it includes numerous hikes not widely known.
   --Bob Julyan, author of The Mountains of New Mexico and New Mexico's Wilderness Areas



2. Stephen Ausherman's new guidebook, "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque, including Santa Fe, Mt. Taylor, and San Lorenzo Canyon," is, without a doubt, my pick for 2008's Best Book About New Mexico.
   
   I realize that, as I write this, the year has more than eight months left to go, and I'm aware that I myself am planning to publish a New Mexico title before the end of the year, but Ausherman's new book is honestly so good, so quirky, so informative, and so unique, that I feel I can go ahead and declare it as the year's best, without hesitation.
   
   The book, as its title suggests, contains sixty hikes, all within about sixty minutes of Albuquerque--within sixty miles of the Big I, where Interstate 40 crosses Interstate 25.
   
   What the title doesn't immediately reveal, however, is just how amazing these sixty hikes are, just how compellingly readable their descriptions are, or just how transformational this book has the potential to be to anyone willing to go out and experience them.
   
   The book's preface lays out the book's contents, and I challenge any resident of central New Mexico--anyone with even a spark of lust for life or a smidgen of curiosity--to read that preface and not feel overwhelmed with a feeling that maybe this place you've been living has more to it than you thought; in my case, it filled me with an almost caffeinated urge to rush out and see what it described for myself.
   
   The book's sections include:
   *The Duke City--featuring urban hikes within Albuquerque's city limits.
   *The Salt Mission Trail--venturing down into the Manzano Mountains.
   *The Turquoise Trail--heading up into the Sandias and beyond.
   *El Camino Real--exploring natural wonders along I-25 toward Santa Fe.
   *The City Different--snooping around Santa Fe and its environs.
   *The Cuba Road--heading down toward Cuba and Cabezon Peak.
   *The Jemez Mountain Trail--finding amazing formations around Los Alamos.
   *The Chihuahua Trail--moving through wild desert toward Socorro.
   And:
   *The Mother Road--following Route 66 from west of town to Mt. Taylor.
   
   Since being introduced to this title, I have already hiked a number of its hikes, and have already found my view of what surrounds Albuquerque completely altered. This place is amazing, and even though I thought I had an inkling of what its deserts and mountains hid, I now realize I did not. At all.
   
   If you live in Albuquerque, just get this. Just order it right now, or go get it from Page One. You will not regret it. It's rare that a guidebook comes along that makes you want to just sit down and read it from cover to cover, but whose hikes are so unique and intriguing that you have little choice but to put the book down and throw on a daypack.
   
   Highly, highly recommended.