1 comments about The Memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa de Mier (Library of Latin America).

1. An extraordinary book. One of Oxford University Press' 'Library of Latin America' series, translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane, here is a tome worthy of high praise. Fray Servando Teresa de Mier y Noriega (Mexico, 1763-1827), persecuted by the Inquisition for thirty years for his challenge to the colonial mentality and his willingness "to play an active role in movements of emancipation," Written in the Inquisitor's prisons, this is a topsy-turvy book where Europeans are the barbarians. Refreshing! De Mier was famed in his own time as a scholar and thinker, &indeed these 240 pages unsheathe a remarkable man, revealing with a novelist's succinct eye the true nature of the world and its passing, and our time in it. Impossible to overstate the beauty and severity of a spirituality in high bloom. Recommended.

2 comments about New Light on Chaco Canyon.

1. Great book which debunks many of the myths concerning this mysterious place. Highly recommended.



2. When this book was published in 1984 it may indeed have been new information but much has been discovered since then. ...

No comments about The Journal of Jacob Fowler.

1 comments about ADC The Map People Arizona / New Mexico Pocket Map.

1. This is one of the stranger maps that I've seen.
   
   This series of maps (for the most part) are updates of the General Drafting maps that were for years available at Esso/Exxon gas stations, and American has done a good job of updating them. A couple of years ago, they began "freshening up" the map design to bring it up to date, and those maps are now close to state-of-the-art.
   
   Well, with this map, you get half-and-half! The Arizona side is a 2004 edition done in the old style, while New Mexico is a 2008 done in the new style! While Arizona is still a decent map, it looks decidedly out-of-date compared to the other side of the map. If that discrepancy doesn't put you off, buy the map and it will still be useful.
   
   I hope American updates the Arizona side soon and makes the next edition more consistent.

No comments about An Architectural Guidebook to the National Parks--the Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas.

1 comments about Tales from the Journey of the Dead: Ten Thousand Years on an American Desert.

1. Many people have heard of New Mexico's gypsum sand dunes at White Sands National Monument and the enormous flocks of Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Area. But few people, even New Mexicans, know much about the Jornada del Muerto ("Journey of Death"), the vast desert located between the two, except maybe the fact that scientists detonated the world's first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site there in 1945. A landscape bordered by the Rio Grande River and several mountain ranges, it's also the site of Edward Abbey's novel, FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, about a rancher who refuses to move off of his land when ordered to by the US government during WWII.
   
   Alan Boye is a professor of English from Vermont whose book combines the history of the Jornada, interviews with its rugged inhabitants, and personal reflections on his hikes there. Who would have thought this desolate, beautiful desert had so much fascinating history? Boye recounts tales of ancient peoples, the coming of the first Europeans into what is now the US on the Camino Real (The "Royal Way"); Apache attacks; and even a dramatic Civil War battle (yes, there were not one but two Civil War battles in New Mexico).
   
   The Jornada played a key role in the lives of western legends: Spanish Conquistadores Coronado and Onate; Zebulon Pike, the first Anglo man to see the Jornada; Kit Carson; Eugene Rhodes, the writer; and Victorio, the Apache warrior. But equally interesting are the stories Boye tells about its lesser known people: the ranchers who witnessed the world's first nuclear test and fought the US government to keep their ranches, or the "Wild Man," a legendary recluse who "lived his entire adult life in the outdoor air of the Jornada."
   
   Like David Roberts, whose IN SEARCH OF THE OLD ONES and THE PUEBLO REVOLT also mix history with descriptions of personal treks through the southwest landscape, Boye is also very good at this genre. He's more of a poet than Roberts, but he never lapses into sentimentality.
   
   The Jornada del Muerto is hard to explore these days. Ted Turner currently owns much of the Jornada on one of his ranches, and practically the rest is on the White Sands Missile Range. But this book makes me want to head to the Owl Bar in San Antonio, New Mexico, for one its famous green chile cheeseburgers, and then hike into the vast Jornada del Muerto to see what I can find as well.

No comments about Lonely Planet Regional Guide Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet Regional Guide).

5 comments about Wired: Contemporary Zulu Telephone Wire Baskets.

1. This book documents a marvelously vital art form and is itself a beautiful work of art. It is obviously expensively produced and carefully executed. The jacket, the cover , the paper, everything about it is absolutely first rate. An informative and very entertaining documentation of this fascinating art form. The photography by Andrew Cerino and the well known interiors photographer Peter Vitale is brilliant and voluptous (the color reproduction is astonishing).
   I couldn't be happier with it and I think it will soon be a very valuable and much sought-after reference source.



2. This is a great book on the Zulu art of making baskets out of colorful telephone wire. Not only is this a fascinating collection of images that jump off the pages, but it gives this art form its due. The use of wire in sub-Saharan Africa is explained and adds some historic context to this contemporary art form. The development of this form by the pioneers of the craft - the true night watchmen, is also documented here for the first time. The book also highlights the masters of this art form, with some personal history and images of each person's work. This is a highly recommended addition to you collection of books on African Art.



3. I just got a copy of this book and it is extraordinary!!! I travel to South Africa frequently and have several telephone wire baskets. I often wondered who made these baskets, and how they were connected to traditional African baskets and crafts. Well, this book answers my questions and more. The history is well written, including a GREAT foreword by Karel Nel, THE expert on South African art. In addition, the book gives the artist's their due, highlighting 14 weavers (or should I say artists), with their personal story and images of their work. I can now identify baskets in my collection, some by these weavers. This is a book you will love.



4. This is an extremely high quality "art book" which will be at home on any coffee table or in any library of people interested in baskets, Africa or any indigenous arts and crafts. The photographs are outstanding, the paper weight feels wonderful in your hand, it's a very well produced volume. I especially enjoyed the introduction by Paul Mikula which gave a great context for how difficult the baskets are to weave and spoke to the history of the weaving from more of the standpoint of the Zulu people. I have been carrying these types of baskets for over 3 years now and there has been a big void in the world for information on these baskets. This book fills the void plus some! Thanks to the authors for a great information source!



5. Wired is a beautifully produced book from cover to cover. This extraordinary art form is depicted eloquently in text and photos and is the perfect addition to any art book collector's library. I found Mr. Arment's historic representation of the craft to be informative and the featured artisan weaver's stories to be both compelling and personal. The contemporary design, exquisite photography and high quality of production contribute to an outstanding book.

4 comments about Hiking Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks.

1. This book has just the right amount of information about each park, the trails, key features, preparation checklists, and suggestions. I'm planning a trip to Guadalupe and this book is an invaluable resource, since I've never been to the park, and information about the area is hard-to-find and somewhat limited. I particularly liked the trail stats that accompanied each trail description - the stats include distance, elevation change, time estimates, and key points. Also, many mini-maps are provided which help to illustrate the topic



2. Once of the few places I've found information on the above ground options at Carlsbad.
   It's given me many alternatives to the Guadelupe Peak, McKittrick Canyon, caves trip I was planning. There seems to be much more to be explored.
   Maps and photos are a bit unclear - could use some work



3. Those of us who are old enough to remember the time before hiking guides were written for smaller parks and wild areas and before the internet know what it was like: you went the first time to find out what you could do there and then you went again to do it. OK for places nearby but what about those trips across the continent? This book gave me everything I needed to get the most out of my brief week in the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks, places I rather suspect I'll never get to again.
   The author covers all the maintained trails (and some that aren't, really) that I've heard of, with fairly good detail and guidance as to difficulty. He is clearly a champion hiker himself but no need to fear that you'll be dragged along by hiker machismo: he over-, rather than underrates the difficulty of these trails. But he also gives you all the information you'll need to go bounding out on your own over-demanding marches. For example, I took his day hike out of Dog Canyon up to Lost Peak, then continued along the McKittrick Ridge Trail out to the "snout", just before the plunge down to McKittrick Canyon. Not something he recommended, but I had all the data I needed to make my own decision.
   The maps are photocopies of the National Geographic maps of these parks, available at their website for about 10 bucks as well as the visitor centers in Carlsbad Caverns & Guadalupe Mountains NP's. Aesthetically, they are perhaps a bit lacking but I found them perfectly readable for the purpose of trail use. You might want to supplement them for bushwhacking, though.
   I used this book in October of 2004 and found no pressing need for revision, though of course I didn't hike all the trails, just a lot of them.
   I mentioned the Internet at the outset. This wonderful area does not excite the interest, as measured by internet postings, that such places as the Grand Canyon do. There is a Yahoo group, but there is just not much activity on it. So this book appears to be the only substantial resource out there.



4. The descriptions of trails and how to get to them will be an asset to those hiking in these amazing parks.

3 comments about Desert Light: A Photographer's Journey through America's Desert Southwest.

1. Desert Light, A Photographer's Journey through America's Desert Southwest by photojournalist author John Annerino is his finest work to date. He has captured through his photographs and essays America's Outback - the unseen, mysterious, remote and breathtakingly beautiful country of the Southwest Desert land. To photograph these scenes he climbed to the top of this world where he discovered it's majesty and secrets. The light of the desert illuminates the photos portraying the landscape in grandeaur and awe. The Southwest has always called to Annerino to be it's messenger of hidden places and stories as in his work on The Grand Canyon but in Desert Light he has taken risks higher than ever before and been rewarded with a vision that is spellbindngly gorgeous. We can only be thankful that he dared to venture to these uninhabited vistas to portray this majestic no-man's land.



2. (This is a combined review of John Annerino's three photo essay books: *Grand Canyon Wild*, *Desert Light*, and *Canyon Country*)
   
   John Annerino knows the desert southwest well and his writing about it is enjoyable and informative; and, this holds true with *Grand Canyon Wild: A Photographic Journey*, *Desert Light: a Photographer's Journey Through America's Desert Southwest*, and *Canyon Country: A Photographic Journey*. In addition to his nature writing on the topic, he has also published a couple of useful guides to photographing in the Southwest.
   
   But, even with pretty text, I can't recommend any of these three books. Why? Because the photography is just not that good. This may not be a critic on Annerino's photography...but, at the same time it might. He has a good eye for composition, but what you can't tell is whether he has a good eye for color reproduction or a good eye for light in general. I want to believe that the less than stellar - less than average actually - photographic reproductions in two of these books (*Grand Canyon Wild* and *Desert Light*) is down right horrible! In *Canyon Country*, it is better than the other two, but definitely not great.
   
   So, why is that? Is it just plain bad printing in China? Is it bad design work by the publisher? Is it just average photographic skills of the author? Probably, a combination of all three. Even just the covers of *Grand Canyon Wild* and *Desert Light* are enough to question the capabilities of the designer for these books - they are weak images with average lighting and no pop whatsoever. The cover of *Canyon Country* is muxh better than the other two - so much so, that it must have been designed by a different person. The fact that *Canyon Country* is better on the inside and outside says that it was better produced altogether.
   
   Since I live in the landscape that is the subject of these three books and I am a photographer myself, I can tell you that some of the scenes photographed in these books look better to the naked eye...in the middle of the day when the light is washed out and flat.
   
   If you just want to read the good text, then find them at your local bookstore and enjoy with a cup of coffee while sitting in the store's comfortable seating. But, definitely pass on purchasing, especially if you are looking for great photography from the Colorado Plateau.
   
   >>>>>>><<<<<<<
   
   A Guide to my Book Rating System:
   
   1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
   2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
   3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
   4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
   5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.



3. "I've lived in the Southwest most of my life, and I have never seen collections of photographs of this area before that are as beautiful and vividly alive as those shared by John Annerino in his latest book, Desert Light: A Photographer's Journey through America's Desert Southwest."
   
   "As in his many other books of photographs over the last twenty years, Annerino keeps on finding those perfect moments to snap the shutter - moments when the clouds are stiller than still, the sand dunes can actually be perceived to be moving, the rock formations are hanging there wonderously living on and on, and the faces of those few humans one encounters out there seem to come out of past millennia. I've been watching this same desert country during countless hikes and climbs, yet Annerino's work always wakes me up, makes me come to from my reveries, and makes me feel like I've never quite seen all this beauty before. It's like glimpses of a parallel universe where the suchness of it all is greater than can usually be seen and known in the ordinary world of our perceptions."
   
   "With heartfelt gratitude for John Annerino's artistry."
   - John Bilby, Mindfulness
   
   "Desert Light, and John Annerino's other books, represent an amazing life's work. With all the trekking the author does in these pursuits, there still resonates a `yin' side to the work - it shows in the photographs." - A.L. Hartford
   
   "Just when you think you've seen every possible photo of every southwestern place, John Annerino brings us a delightfully fresh look..Willing to escape the beaten paths and comfortable camps, Annerino shows each location from a new angle and in new light. He totes his camera to Bisti Badlands, Monument Valley, the summit of Picacho del Diablo, the shores of the Sea of Cortez, the depths of the Grand Canyon, and vivid points in between. Desert Light evokes the mysteries and beauties that are the Southwest, blending art, humanity, and adventure."
   - Bill Broyles, Southwest Books of the Year
   
   "Desert Light is just stunning! The Images are incredible. And the printing is absolutely first rate. I will treasure it!" - HSC, San Francisco.