~NON-FICTION~

THE GREAT ARIZONA ORPHAN ABDUCTION By Linda Gordon
Harvard University Press, 79 Garden St., Cambridge, Mass. 1999. Table, photographs, maps, 480p, 6 3/8 X 9 1/4, $29.95, hard 0-674-36041-9
On October 1, 1904, ninety-six years ago, forty children, ages eighteen through five to six years of age, arrived in Clifton, Arizona, from the New York Foundling Hospital, and four days later, twenty-one of them were back on the train heading home. University of Wisconsin history professor Linda Gordon does an heroic job of producing a time table of the events and a roll call of the participants. Much of the factual material came out in a court case which eventually went to the Arizona Supreme Court. The hospital lost. The charge was kidnapping.
The New York Foundling Hospital was operated by the Sisters of Charity, an order of Roman Catholic nuns. The children bound for Clifton represented a modification of the famous orphan trains of the latter half of the 19th Century. These children were not intended for day labor. They were looking for good Catholic homes. They were met by the Clifton parish priest, Constant Mandin, who had arranged for thirty-three children to be taken in by families in the congregation. The children were primarily Irish and fair skinned. The parishioners Father Mandin selected were Mexican and brown-skinned.
Four days later, when the Sisters of Charity and their accompanying nurses left Clifton returning to New York with twenty-one of the original forty children, waiting for them in El Paso was the single male Foundling Hospital representative George Swayne, who had been forced to flee for his life. Father Mandin, also in disrepute, had gone to Tucson to report to his bishop.
Gordon sees the event through a three-faceted point of view. One is racial--white versus brown. Another is political: the proletariat (the Mexican Miners) versus the capitalistic power structure (the copper companies). And the third is the emergence of women as a power group, although in this case, Gordon writes, "Tragically their [the Anglo women] own restiveness against male dominance lead Anglo women to even greater disregard for another group of women [the Mexican women]."
Evaluating 1904 value systems in terms of those operating a hundred years later, Gordon criticizes the women of Clifton for their commonly held prejudices rather than noting their daring to espouse the idea of legal adoption. It was an innovative idea in 1904 to take in the children of strangers without exceptions of financial benefit (three-year-olds don't make very good field hands).
J.C. Martin

LA DONNA HARRIS: A Comanche Life
By La Donna Harris, edited by H. Henrietta Stockel
University of Nebraska Press, 233 N. 8th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68788-0255, 1999. Photographs, maps, index, 160p, 6 X 9, $25., 0-8030-2396-X
After you get through a sentimental introduction by editor Stockel and a quick reprise of Comanches as victims, Harris's book turns into a friendly, chatty, and occasionally candid account of growing up in Oklahoma in the 1930s and of moving out of a sequestered Indian society and into the mainstream.
Local and national politics--Harris's former husband Fred was a U.S. senator from Oklahoma in the 1960s--were important in the Harris household, as was the increasing awareness of Indian rights. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her to the National Indians' Opportunities Council.
She now lives in Santa Clara, N M, where she is president of Americans for Indian Opportunity. And just to show she can look on the light side, her dog's name is "Crazy Horse."
J.C. Martin

THE APACHE DIARIES: A Father-Son Journey
By Grenville Goodwin and Neil Goodwin
University of Nebraska Press, 233 N. 8th Street, Lincoln NE 68588-0255, 2000. Index, photographs, drawings, 284p, 6 X 9 1/2, $24.95, 0-8032-2175-4
In 1886, with the surrender of the Apache chief Geronimo the U.S./Apache wars offically came to an end. However, though the majority of Geronimo's followers surrendered with him, for many years a small band was thought to have crossed the Mexican border and taken refuge in the Sierra Madre Mountains of the North Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Evidence had been confined to the fact of sporadic horse and cattle raiding and occasional appearances at ranches of small groups looking for food. But in 1929, the murder of the wife and son of Sonoran rancher Francisco Fimbres (which had actually occurred two years earlier) became the focus of an international manhunt. Fimbres, who had witnessed the event, identified the attackers as Apaches. Newspaper publicity riveted the attention of a twenty-two year old anthropology student Grenville Goodwin, at the University of Arizona. . It forever changed his life and produced what renown anthropologist Edward Spicer in 1960 declared to be "most of the understanding we have of the way of life of the Western Apache."
How that was achieved in the ten brief years before Goodwin's death in 1940 at age thirty-three is a story told in part in The Apache Diaries. Goodwin's son, Neil, is an independent film maker.
Only three months old in 1940 when his father died after an operation for a brain tumor, Neil Goodwin first saw his father's careful informative diary in 1962 (with maps and drawings) detailing his search in Northern Mexico for survivors of the Geronimo defectors. The diary has been preserved by Neil's mother. He read it in a single afternoon. In 1976, he made the first of many journeys to retrace his father's footsteps.
The Apache Diaries is filled with details of these trips. There are many illuminating asides, engaging interviews and personal anecdotes. If in itself it is not "high anthropology," it is an understanding and sympathetic look at what fuels that demanding field of study.
J.C. Martin

ECOLOGY OF SONORA DESERT PLANTS AND PLANT COMMUNITIES
Edited by Hobert H. Hobichaux
University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park Ave., #102, Tucson, AZ 85719, 1999. Index, bibliography, graphs, drawings, photographs, 6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 303p., $45., hard 0-8165-1869-6
Although the publishers declare the eight essays in this book to be "an accessible introduction to Sonoran Desert Ecology," the non-academic reader might think this a bit optimistic. The vocabulary is professional and scientific. The nineteen contributors, who include authors of popular works in the field such as Janice Emily Bowers and David Yetman, are more concerned with substantiating their premises than making them easy to read. They provide a great many sources.
The essays cover the kinds of plants, their complexity, life styles and purposes and suggestions about the region's future. It also has a brief history of the Desert Laboratory established by the Carnegie Foundation in Tucson, Arizona in 1903.
A valuable book with recent information acquired in the field, Ecology of Sonoran Desert Plants deserves serious consideration for any research library.
J.C. Martin

CITIES OF GOLD: A Journey Across the American Southwest
By Douglas Preston
University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, 87131, 1999. Index, 6 x 9 1/4, 480p., $15.95 soft 0-8263-2086-6
The book that launched Bostonian Douglas Preston's successful literary career is witty and thoughtful and, if you've ever tried to ride a horse in rough Southwestern terrain, painfully accurate.
Moving to Santa Fe in the 1980s, Preston began to wonder what life had been like for Francisco Coronado, the first European "to penetrate the deep interior of our continent." I found it extraordinary that eighty years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock--and before Shakespeare was even born--this European "wandered, angry and lost as far inland as the plains of central Kansas."
And so Preston, with his neighbor, Walter Nelson, a former commercial photographer, and Eusebio, a local Hispanic who declared himself to be a horse expert--a kind cross between the Three Musketeers and the three Stooges--set off in early April, 1989, to retrace Coronado's footsteps. They were funded initially by the Smithsonian magazine and a publisher's advance, about $10,000, but eventually it required more to keep going. Their starting point was on the Mexican border south of Tombstone, Arizona, which is fairly close to Coronado's own point of entry. They planned to make twenty-five miles a day. The first day, they made three.
And so it went. Preston is a sympathetic, humorous, self-deprecating observer. He mixes details of Coronado's trips with lively accounts of contemporary Southwesterners he and Walter meet along the way. He also includes some of their serious conversations. Eusebio (not his real name) drops out early.
By August, Preston and Nelson have traveled as far as Galisteo, NM, south of Santa Fe --about 1,000 miles from Tombstone. Sadder, wiser, tougher and deservedly prouder, they decide to turn in their dry canteens and foot weary horses and call it a day.
This engaging book, whose original publication date was 1992, is an easy way to learn history.
J.C. Martin

MAKE HASTE SLOWLY: Moderates, Conservatives and Schools
By William Henery Keller
Texas A&M University Press, John Lindsey Building, College Station, TX 77843-4354, 1999. Charts, illustrations, 12 b/w photographs, notes, bibliography, 6 3/8 x 9 1/2, 248p., $38.95, hard 0890968187
Most people who lived in the south during the long years after the court ordered desegregation look back and wonder why it took so long for Texas schools and other states' schools to progress to where they are now. This volume is an extremely interesting account of how, why and when the problems in Houston were gradually changed. However, one can't say they are solved, considering the state of unrest still in the schools.
Browsing through the book is rewarding, but begin with chapter one and read to the end. The author gives an excellent picture of the agonizing step-by-step attempts to "make haste slowly." Token segregation was not the answer, especially for the gradually increasing Hispanic population after W.W. II. That pace is not helpful forty years later, if Houston experts are to provide a good education for all its students.
The volume includes a lengthy bibliography, an index and a section with notes and added details not in the main body of the report.
Kathleen L. Keffer

ALL THAT GLITTERS
By Duane Anderson
School of American Research Press, P.O. Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504, 1999. Index, b/w photographs, appendix, notes, 7 7/8 x 9 1/2, 199p., $27.50, soft 0-933452-58-6
Clay deposits near Taos and Picuris Pueblos have a larger amount of mica than most, and the clay is called "micaceous." Pottery formed from this clay is strong and durable, and it is estimated that clay from these deposits has been mined for the past seven hundred years. This book describes the Indian made pottery of the Northern Rio Grande region.
Until the 1960s, micaceous pottery was not a collector's item. Gradually it has become an art form, much as the polished black wares and red wares. In the mid 1990s, the author suggested a convocation of the top ten artists to discuss protecting themselves from competition, especially non-Indian. This book records the results of the meeting, with a brief description of each artist and a generous use of large illustrations in color. The last chapter lists museums worldwide where the pottery can be found (artist and date of pottery) and lists artists now making the pottery.
The book has a separate section of small pictures, in color, of pottery at the School for American Research Center, plus an index and bibliography.
This is a "must read" before the next visit to the Indian market in August in Santa Fe.
Kathleen L. Keffer

SOMETHING IN THE SOIL: Legacies and Reckonings in the New West
By Patricia Limerick
W. W. Norton Publishing, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017, 2000. Notes, 6 1/8 X 9 1/4, 352pp., 0-393-03788-6
Patricia Limerick, who teaches history and is the chair of the Center for the New West at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is one of the most popular of the "New West Historians." These articulate and adversial academics make up the newest wave of historians dining out on the controversy over Frederick Jackson Turner's Significance of the Frontier in American History, a premise that first surfaced in 1893 and was published as a book in 1920.
But Limerick, though her criticism of the bureaucratic establishment is as vigorous as any of that of her colleagues, has style and conscientiously appeals not to her fellow academics but to lay readers. As one admirer noted, "No one else combines so many powerful insights with so much good humor."
Although she still insists that the West is not a closed frontier (Turner) but a work in progress, she is not altogether predictable. In Something in the Soil, she challenges conclusions reached in cited so-called new history texts which give the U.S. government little credit for ever having done anything right. "Now just a minute," writes Limerick, "let's not get carried away."
" Patricia Nelson Limerick is an original, learned, passionate writer. Everything she writes about the history of the American West deserves attention," says Larry McMurtry.
J.C. Martin

WEST TEXAS: A Portrait of Its People and Their Raw and Wonderful Land
By Mike Cochran and John Lumpkin, Foreword by John T. Montford, Chancellor of Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University Press, P.O. Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037, 2000. Color and b/w photographs, maps, index, 8 5/8 X 11 1/8, 176pp,. $34.95, 0-89672-426-3
This is a textbook example of how to put together an entertaining and probably accurate history of a region. Cochran and Lumpkin are two Associated Press reporters who have been covering West Texas, for forty and twenty years respectively, from their comfortable redoubts in Fort Worth, the area's eastern-most population center.
With affectionate irreverence--which can sometimes sink to college level humor--they discuss the area's economic base, its major builders, principal activities, and characters--both colorful and doubtful. Information, statistics, interviews, and anecdotes fly by. Each of the twenty-two chapters starts with a lively quotation such as "No man could herd Texas cattle and still be a Christian . . ."
The authors have good things and bad to say about almost every topic. Don't, however, expect any gossipy lowdown on Texas Governor and West Texas George W. Bush. But they are tough and funny discussing 1960 scam artist and President Lyndon Johnson confidante, Billi Sol Estes.
J.C. Martin

PREHISTORIC WARFARE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
By Steven A. LeBlanc
University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT, 1999. Illustrations, bibliography, line drawing, maps, photographs, 7 x 10, 400p., $34.95 hard 0-87480-581-3
This well-researched book argues that warfare was endemic in the prehistoric American Southwest. This is a contrast to the commonly held belief that the people were peaceful and lived in relative harmony in farming communities. This book comes out at the same time as Christy and Jacqueline Turner's book Man Corn (University of Utah Press, 1999) that argues that the prehistoric Southwest Indians not only were involved in warfare but practiced cannibalism, too.
The book covers evidence for warfare, the evolution of warfare, and warfare in the Pueblo I, II, III and IV periods. It includes the periods of the late 1200s through the middle of the 1500s. A chapter on the social and political consequences of warfare explains the consequences of warfare on the communities, such as affecting trade, population movements, abandonments, formation of alliances, and population declines. Black and white photographs, line drawings and maps illustrate the text.
The thirty-six-page bibliography attests to the research done in producing this book. Universities and professional anthropologists and archeologists will find this a good addition to their collections.
Diane Moore

AZTLAN AND VIET NAM
By George Mariscal
University of California Press, One Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720, 1999. Illustrations, index, sources, epigloge, notes, 6 x 9, 324p., soft 0-520-21405-6
This collection of essays, short fiction, and poetry deals with every angle of Chicano involvement in the Viet Nam War. More than just combat horror stories, anti-war protests, manifestos, post-traumatic stress syndrome issues, and tributes to fallen comrades, the pieces paint an extremely complex picture that was the Chicano participation in the war and at home. Many of the works, such as Roy Benavidez's "Medal of Honor," transcend all the aforementioned issues and are testaments to human endurance and courage. This book is highly suggested for anyone even peripherally interested in Chicanos or Viet Nam.
John Hessian

THE MAVERICK SPIRIT: Building the New Nevada
By Richard O. Davies
University of Nevada Press, Mail Stop 166, Reno, NV 98557, 1999. Photographs, index, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, 304p., soft 0-87417-327-2
This book of short biographies covers the personalities of who's who in Nevada over the last few decades. The interconnected theme of the work is certainly as the title suggests. A more modern, sophisticated, and intellectual Nevada has emerged and these are the folks who instigated the change. Although some of the subjects like Steve Wynn and Jerry "The Shark" Tarkanian are well known outside Nevada, others are just as interesting.
Overall the book's form is an interesting approach to reveal the present condition of a state.
John Hessian

THEMES IN SOUTHWEST PREHISTORY
By George J. Gumerman
School of American Research Press, P.O. Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504, 1994. Reference, index, graphs, illustrations, Maps, 6 x 9, 330p., $24.95, soft 0-933452-84-5
With fifty-six pages of references between the eleven essays, a reader knows he or she is not in for an easy read. This is archaeology. It is written by and designed for intellectuals and academics. A composition entitled "Economic Implications of Changing Land-Use Patterns in the Late Archaic" pretty well lets us know that it is not casual reading in front of us. However, parts of some of the essays are understandable and interesting to the lay person and, without a doubt, nearly everything read will be new ground for most.
The book is a remarkable work for the audience intended. Its research and documentation of prehistory in the American Southwest is an irreplaceable source of information. Gumerman's expertise in modern archeological research is unmistakable in this volume. It is a must for the student in American Prehistory of the Southwest.
John Hessian

PILGRIMAGE TO CHIMAYO
By Sam Howrath & Enrique R. Lamadrid
Museum of New Mexico Press, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087, One map, photographs, 6 x 8, 74p., $19.95, soft 0-89013-374-3
This thin book of photographs details the excursion thousands make to the Santuario de Chimayo, a religious destination more popular than any other in the Southwest. One can get a flavor for the journey as well as for Hispanic Catholicism in general through the photos and captions. A short foreword details how Chimayo was settled and evolved over the centuries.
This book is, of course, informational, but it is also an historical record of an event that thousands of believers testify to--the fact that this "Pilgrimage to Chimayo" has changed their lives forever.
John Hessian

UNBOUND VOICES: A Documentary History of Chinese Women in San Francisco
By Judy Yung
University of California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720, 1999. Index, Chinese glossary, footnotes, 46 b&w photographs, 5 7/8 x 9, 543 p., $19.95, soft 0-520-21860-4
No one but a reviewer in likely to read this book straight through. However, scholars and students interested in the experiences of Chinese women in America will find this book to be a treasure trove of information. Judy Yung has compiled a selection of the primary sources--articles and oral history interviews especially--which she used for her dissertation and previous book Unbound Feet. Each source has an introduction with bibliographical information about the author of the interviewee. Yung also discusses the most important points made in the source material, sometimes in ways which can be a bit redundant.
While all of the women in the book lived in San Francisco at some point, their experiences, covering the period 1892-1945, were quite varied. Topics discussed include immigrant women, the effect of the Chinese exclusion laws, how the attitudes of the second generation women born in the United States differed from those of the immigrant women, prostitutes, workers in various low paying jobs, education for girls, the Depression of the 1930s and women providing aid to Chinese women's activities during World War II.
Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein

A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SONORAN DESERT
Edited by Stephen J. Phillips & Patricia Wentworth Comus
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2021 North Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ 85743, 2000. Thirty-five color plates, 450 line illustrations, maps, index, glossary, twenty-five b/w photographs, 6 x 9, 593p., $24.95, soft 0-520-21980-5
This lavishly illustrated book makes interesting reading for all desert lovers. Hundreds of beautifully detailed line drawings make it handy for identifying desert plants and critters, while the text about each subject is as entertaining as it is useful for identification. For instance, did you know that scorpions are florescent, or that Hummingbird bats may be raiding your Hummingbird feeder at night? The Nature-Watching Tips and the Natural Events Calendar are great additions for increasing your chances of spotting some of the more elusive desert dwellers. Much of the information contained in this book would apply to other deserts as well as the Sonoran, making it a good addition to any library.
Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library
Roabie Johnson

TERROR FROM THE GULF: A Hurricane in Galveston
By Martha Tannery Jones
Hendrick-Long Publishing Co., P.O. Box 25123, Dallas, TX 75225, 1999. 12 photographs, ages 9 and above, 6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 134p., $15.95, hard 1-885777-21-3
This story is the recollection of a man who was twelve years old at the time a hurricane made landfall at Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. This unbelievable storm took the lives of more than 6,000 people. To date, no storm on record has wreaked such havoc in the U.S.
Charlie Byrd remembers the terror as their home (with family members inside) collapses into the storm surge and puts them afloat. It is also a story of this twelve year old boy who becomes a hero by saving the life of another child while desperately struggling to stay alive himself.
The book goes into horrific details of that unforgettable storm. The photographs take the reader back in time and, for a moment, makes us glad that we were not a part of its fury.
This is a well written book and will serve as a valuable record of that historical event.
Martha Johnson

STORMS, FLOODS AND SUNSHINE: An Autobiography (reprint)
By Isaac Monroe Cline
Pelican Publishing Company, P.O. Box 3110, Gretna, LA 70054, 1999.10 illustrations, charts, bibliography, appendices, 6 x 9, 384p., $25., hard 1-56554-766-7
There were many heroes in the Galveston hurricane of 1900, but no one individual is given credit for saving more lives than Isaac Monroe Cline. There are those who say that the death toll would have doubled the 6,000 who died if it had not been for Cline's predictions and warnings of the approaching storm. At a time when predicting the weather (as a professional) was in its infant beginnings, Cline was still much ahead of most storms.
Cline had a passion to know about and predict weather patterns and their effects on the areas around them and meteorologists to this day still revere him as a pioneer in his field.
" In the pages" of this book "are recorded important events and happenings in the United States Weather Service during its first sixty years of existence. There will be found stories of great storms and destructive floods, as well as stormy times in the service. There is much of scientific, historical and human interest." (Excerpt from Storms, Floods and Sunshine: Isaac Monroe Cline, an Autobiography)

WESTMINSTER COLLEGE OF SALT LAKE CITY: From Presbyterian Mission School to Independent College
By Douglas Brackenridge
Utah State University Press, 1795 E. South Campus Dr., Ste 101, Logan, UT 84322-7800, 1998. Bibliography, notes, index, b/w prints, 6 1/4 x 9 3/8, 262p., $24.95, hard 0-87421-250-2
This work is a comprehensive, well researched history of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. Histories of institutions often tend to be dull and dry, but not this one. Of regional interest, the book presents the philosophical and religious struggle between Mormons and Presbyterians in Utah. Their goal was to draw Mormons back into traditional Protestantism and convert nonbelievers for Christ, all through educational means.
Founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1875, the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute began a long history of education that continues to this day. Of special interest is the inclusion of excellent black and white historical photographs. Those forming part two are especially fun, representing as it does many high spirited young people. It must have been fun to attend Westminster College in those days, and I bet it still is.
Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library
Dawn Gardner

~FICTION~

THE CONTRACT SURGEON
By Dan O'Brian
Lyons Press, 123 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, 1999. 6 X 9, 320p., $24.95 hard 1-55821-932-3
In an introductory note the author lists several books that give a background of the events in this book, and he suggests reading some of them. This is an excellent suggestion, even if you wait until after you have read this book. The chronology of events is very helpful and serves as a diary, keeping events in their proper order and showing their importance.
The contract surgeon, as an elderly doctor, relates his recollections of the wars against the Sioux, Indians, in particular, the last four years before Crazy Horse, leader of the Sioux, dies. He and Crazy Horse had become friends in an unusual meeting, and they kept this secret for themselves. The doctor was usually at the rear of the battleground so he and Crazy Horse were not likely to be firing at each other.
Well over half the book is about the last occasion the Doctor and the Indian chief are together and the slow realization of how their friendship must end.
This is an entertaining narrative, based on a true story, with a minimum of description of folkways and mores. More description may be found in the suggested reading list.
Kathleen L. Keffer

HENRY PLUMMER
By Frank Bird Lindermen
The University of Nebraska, P.O. Box 880484, Lincoln, NE 685880-0484, 2000. 6 x 9, 221p., $16.95, soft 0-8032-7989-2
Sheriff and outlaw Henry Plummer emerges as a real person in this novel. The author portrays him at his worst--that is, as calculating and merciless. At the same time, Plummer appears respectable and is thus able to gain the confidence of the townspeople who elect him sheriff. He also shows a soft side with his wife, fictionally named Elizabeth Brayman, and the reader almost hopes that he will give up his life of crime and go away with her.
Although he had begun his criminal career earlier in other places, this tale deals with the years that Plummer spent in Bannack during the Montana Territory's first gold rush, ending in 1864. As Sheriff, Plummer continues to be the organizer and leader of a band of road agents who rob and kill many miners and travelers who have the misfortune to be carrying large sums of gold.
Eventually, the people band together and form a vigilante group which ultimately captures Plummer. He make no excuses for his actions except that he believes he was born destined to live a life of crime.
Historically accurate, this book was written in 1920 but was not published until now. The reason for repeated rejection is that publishers felt it showed too much fidelity to historical truth and people wanted more fiction. Nonetheless, the book is interesting and easy to read.
Marilyn J. Nichols

THE STOLEN BLUE: A Claire Reynier Mystery
By Judith Van Gieson
University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, 2000. 5 1/2 X 9, 197pp, $22.95, 0-8263-2233-6
In Albuquerque, when librarian Claire Reynier loaded up her four-wheel drive camper with boxes, tape and bubble wrap and headed for the tiny community of Blue, Arizona, all she expected to pick up was a load of valuable books. What she got in addition was a peck of trouble by way of an introduction to the squabbling members of a thoroughly dysfunctional family.
The Stolen Blue is a departure for Albuquerque mystery writer Judith Van Gieson whose customary protagonist is a feisty, environmentalist female lawyer named Neil Hamel. The growing world of Western books is really her theme this time. The Stolen Blue is a fascinating introduction to what is going on there: what's good, what's not, what's honest, what's crooked.
As buyer for the University of New Mexico's Center for Southwest Research, Reynier, a graduate of the University of Arizona's School of Library Science, is on her way to pick up an extraordinarily fine collection of books from the old UA mentor, Bruce Lovell.
Lovell is not in good health. The price for allowing Claire to take credit for bringing in such a valuable donation is her promise to serve as executor of his estate, if or when the need arises. The following morning, Lovell is found, lying under a cottonwood tree, dead from exposure.
Never a family man, he has left behind a group of unhappy, grown children who want only to divide up his estate, wringing out of his assets as much as they can. Naturally, he had other plans, so the gauntlet's down. Missing immediately is the "gem of the [book] collection," a collaboration of Mary Austin's text and Ansel Adams' photographs entitled Taso Pueblo. It is headed for a "chop shop," where unscrupulous dealers excise pages to sell them individually.
Reynier, not a fighter by nature but determined to keep up her end of the bargain with Lovell, is forced to deal with thievery and psychoses as the family's angry members go to battle.
Actually, mystery fans may find things a little too civilized, but southern literature buffs will absolutely soak it up and anyone will be delighted in the process.
J.C. Martin

DIAMOND DEUCE
By Dudley Dean
Five Star Western, P.O. Box 403, Unity, ME 04988, 1999. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 230p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-2183-6
The Diamond Deuce is an expanding, small Texas ranch, a realized dream for the dashing Kelly Boyle. Challenges from all sides attempt to destroy all that Kelly Boyle's intensive labor and love created. The story entwines fantastic descriptions of Texas with the beloved cowboys and their lives. Luanne Ransom, Kelly's intended, wants to get married immediately, and her father, Major Terrence Ransom, wants to buy Kelly's ranch and have Kelly run illegal weapons into Mexico. Fast paced and enthralling, I read this in one Saturday afternoon. It was exciting to take an imaginary vacation in yesterday's Texas.
Wanda Huisman

ANGEL PEAK: Western Stories
By Peter Dawson
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike ME 03986, 1999. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 256p., hard 0-7862-1572-0
This is a collection of seven short stories that give us a glimpse of frontier dreams. In "The Sweetest Draw," Rand Rivers, a newly elected deputy sheriff, befriends a wanted man against a ruthless gang, thus causing a rift with the love of his life. "Bullet Cure" gives us a look into the saying that what is obvious is not always the truth. In "The Wcho Herd," Jim Rush is left for dead. A major battle on the frontier was between cattle rustlers and the ranchers. "Gunpower Campaign" features a blacksmith who lived on his reputation as a Civil War cannoneer and shows how he faces a gang attempting to rob a bank. "Showdown in Shadow" takes place during the Apache wars. All these short stories give us a glimpse into life on the frontier by looking at the lives of the people who lived there.
Wanda Huisman

SONORA
By Howard Hunt
Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10010, 1999. Fiction, 320p, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, $23.95 hard 0-312-87205-4
A fast-paced, action-packed, shoot'em up Sonora is a "prequel" to DEA agent Jack Novak's assignments to track down and eliminate illegal drug dealers operating in Mexico and Central America. The year is 1985: "the year the Guadalajara cartel tortured and murdered (DEA agent) Kiki Camarena."
Jack Novak is a Vietnam vet, a former Navy flier whose other attributes include the ability to get in and out of tight spots without a scratch. A widower whose wife died of a drug overdose, he is also irresistible to women.
As Sonora begins, a character is pictured resting his back "against the rough hide of a saguaro trunk"; another is eating a "grilled fajita," and a third lands in a commercial airline at the Nogales, AZ international airport, and you say to yourself, "By golly, this could be fun," since none of the preceding three activities is possible.
J.C. Martin

THIS BODY
By Laurel Doud
Little, Brown and Company, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 1998. 6 3/8 x 9 1/2, 296p., $23.95, hard 0-316-19675-4
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be young again, yet knowing what you know now, this is a book you will enjoy. Of course, the main character in this book is rich and in her new life. The problem is that it isn't her life.
Katharine Ashley, middle-aged wife and mother of two, dies in her sleep one night and wakes up a year later on the floor of a strange apartment in a strange city--in a stranger's body. The stranger is the young, skinny, and rich Thisby Bennett.
Thisby is estranged from her Shakespeare-quoting family and is addicted to drugs. These are not the only problems that Katharine must deal with in her new life. She eventually meets her children and her husband's new wife. Desperately wanting to communicate with them, her greatest problem is to decide whether to get on with her life or to die again.
Marilyn J. Nichols

ODYSSEY TO THE NORTH
By Mario Bencastro
Arte Publico Press, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2090, 1999. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 192p., soft 1055885-256-5
Jumping back and forth from Washington D.C. to Central America during the years 1983-1998, Bencastro's novel empathetically tells the story of Calixto and his effort to make a better life for himself. He includes carefully chosen news stories to add realism to this account; it is effective.
Calixto's effort is filled with disappointment, danger, hope, and sadness. Forced to leave El Salvador or be imprisoned or killed, he enters the U.S. illegally. Because of this, his problems cannot be easily solved. In fact, he runs from some of them so he won't be caught.
For those who have difficulty understanding the life and choices of illegal immigrants in the U.S., this novel is eye-opening. For those who already understand, the novel is affirming. The reader cannot help but feel sorry for Calixto. At the end, as he decides to stay, he thinks about his home and declares that his people and his home are as close to his heart as if he had never left them.
Marilyn J. Nichols

THE GERALDI TRAIL
By Max brand
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 03986, 1999. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 272p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1576-3
This is a fast moving exciting story that you will not be able to put down. James Geraldi's passionate life and brave deeds have found their way into several of Brand's books and after this one you will want to read them all. Geraldi Trail give us a real look into the real life of the West.
James Geraldi's name brings a tingle to honest men and thieves, an exclusive thief who steals only from other thieves. Just say Geraldi and thieves shiver and honest men have hope. His is a well known name but he cannot be identified. Geraldi's running off to save a friend on his own wedding day (without explaining to his bride-to-be) sent his distraught bride into hiding. Geraldi sets out to find his beloved and finds himself up against a notorious gang leader who nourishes a passionate hatred for James Geraldi.
Wanda Huisman

TIMBER LINE: A Western Trio
By Max Brand
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04986, 1999. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 216p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1893-2
" Above the Law," the first short story in this trio, features La Belle Geraldine, an actress from back East. La Belle finds herself in the West without much money. Her attempts at sheer survival launch her into becoming a prisoner held by the famous bandit Black Jim. This is a quick reading, fast moving short story.
" One Man Posse" is a story about a character named Sleeper with a reputation for his idleness. In reality he is ingenious and has an extraordinary capacity for personal endurance. The reader enjoys a fantastic journey as she trails along with Sleeper and finds out how important the little things really are.
" Timber Line" is the name given to a criminal who makes people shake in fear. Jerney comes from the East and rides West through a fierce storm when he is mistaken as Timber Line. This story is a thrilling adventure. I felt like I was Jerney on this journey.
Wanda Huisman

UNTIL SHADOWS FALL: A Saga of Texas Book II
By Will Cook
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04986, 2000. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 296p., $21.95, hard 0-7862-1847-9
Colonel Frazer of Fort Elliot in Texas comes up against the challenge of returning children stolen by the now peaceful Comanches to their proper families. The Colonel, with much insight, balances the act of following a military command and doing what is best and proper for the children, their families and the Comanches. Iron Hand, Chief of the Comanches, will not be subjected to any more degradation. This is a marvelous book that lets us get a glimpse of the emotional depth of the military, civilians and the Indians. Wonderfully written, a time lapse occurs and we are back in 1894 with the Indians and the military and introduced to many of that day's customs, everyday tasks and emotions.
Wanda Huisman

RIDE SOUTH TO PURGATORY
By James C. Works
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04986, 1999. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 253p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1334-5
Whether you would rather ride the trail looking for cattle thieves or ride through the countryside looking for a dragon to slay, you can choose one of two books and get the same adventure. James C. Work's Ride South to Purgatory is a direct spin-off from the medieval fantasy "Sir Gawain." Many of the characters and plots greatly parallel each other in each of the two stories. Ride South to Purgatory is set in the early American 1800s in Wyoming territory where taming the west is a way of life.
Art Pendragon and his new bride Gwen, are the owners of the great Keystone Ranch. Their nephew, Pasque Pendragon, is the only living relative to inherit the ranch. Pasque is involved with finding those responsible for the recent murder of his two brothers, who were shot in the back while driving cattle along the range. In a territory where land, cattle, and possessions must be guarded, justice sometimes comes from those who own the land, although Pasque seems more set on revenge than justice.
One evening while all the neighbors were attending a weekend long Christmas party held annually at the Pendragon ranch, a large, burly man comes riding into the ballroom upon a monstrous beast of a horse. He issues a challenge to anyone in the room to fight a duel with him, requiring that man to fire three shots at him and in return, next Christmas, he may do the same. The hulking man taunts Pasque by asking, "Do you understand death at all? Do you gamble with your life now or with your death?" Taking him up on the challenge, Pasque fires three shots and is amazed when the brute laughs and rides away. Certain of his accuracy and sure of his aim, Pasque ponders how the giant of a man could ride away leaving no trail.
The next spring, Pasque sets out to find the stranger and complete the challenge made to him. Along the way he encounters many strange people who impart much wisdom and philosophy about life and death upon him. Pasque begins to look at life and death differently. Certain he will meet his fatal end when he does next encounter the stranger, Pasque is not so certain now that he wants to die.
Do these encounters change Pasque's view of death, either of his brothers' or his own? What will happen when he finally finds the stranger to finish the game? Read Ride South to Purgatory and find out if the story has as bizarre an ending as "Sir Gawain" has.
Lora Garrison

THE COPELANDS: A Western Saga
By Doug Bowman
Tom Doherty Associates, LLC., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, 1999. 5 1/2 x 8 1/4. 288p., $23.95, hard 0-312-86547-3
This is a fast read, western saga about the Copeland family's move from Kentucky to Texas after the Civil War. Dan Copeland and his son Seth have always dreamed of owning a cattle ranch and, by the end of the novel, they have acquired a considerable spread. While descriptions of the period are interesting and seemingly accurate, character development is shallow, especially with the Copeland women and Seth's children. The reader catches only a glimpse of Dan's suffering after losing a leg. The concern of his son Seth and his determination to find a way to help his father resume his old routine around the ranch is nicely presented. However, tragedy strikes several times, especially in the guise of a family curse. A more in-depth description of the motivation and process of acquiring thousands of acres, along with interaction between family members, could have added much needed meat to the Copeland men. Instead, they are tall, silent Texans.
Flagstaff City-Coconino Public Library
Dawn Gardner

SONG OF THE EAGLES
By Willian W. Jamestone
Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10022, 1999. $5.99, soft 0-7860-1012-6
In the setting of Lincoln County, New Mexico, a range war has begun. Mr. Chisum and Mr. Tunstall opened a mercantile store and are raising cattle to compete with the wealthy merchants that have a monopoly on supplying the government outpost with beef. In order to bring fair wages and prices to the average rancher, Tunstall feels that some competition is necessary. Henry McCarty, aka Kid Antrim, aka Billy Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, rides into town and befriends Mr. Tunstall and Falcon McCallister, a renowned gunfighter and saloon owner. A stranger to the town's people but a friend of Billy Bonny, Pat Garrett rides into town and is hired by McCallister as a bartender.
Hired killers of the wealthy men kill Mr. Tunstall. Billy the Kid is out for justice and revenge with a group of men who band together to fight for justice and to arrest the wealthy men for their part in the murder of their friend. Pat Garrett is talked into running for sheriff and must hunt down his friend, Billy Bonney, and the regulators. Garrett rationalizes the hunt for his friend and the regulators by virtue of the misdeeds they had committed in the past. He and his posse are out to either arrest the regulators or bring them in hanging over a saddle.
In this work of fiction, using very vivid descriptions, William Johnstone transports the reader to the early wild and rugged west where fights and violence were a part of life. Johnstone seems to enjoy the fight scenes, describing the bloody ordeals in great detail.
Connie L. Wooldridge-Buchanan

TONOPAH
By Christopher A. Lane
Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, 1999. Soft, 8 x 5, $12.99, 0-310-21568-4
Tonopah is an excellent suspense thriller. The main character is Melissa Lewis, a teacher at a Christian school. While on a field trip, Miss Lewis and three of her students unknowingly trespass on a forbidden Nevada zone where nuclear testing is taking place. To add to their misfortune during this field trip, Miss Lewis and one of her students discover some fossilized bones.
Miss Lewis is a creationest, schooled in paleontology, and suspects that the bones found are from a tyrannosaus. Unaware that she is under surveillance by the United States Marines, Miss Lewis begins a quest in search of information regarding the bones. Miss Lewis's discovery places her in danger from her hired killers. She is entangled in high-tech military maneuvers, nuclear testing, and FBI investigations involving a government cover-up and scandal.
In Tonopah the author paints very descriptive pictures in the reader's mind. The author uses the main character's faith and lack of faith in some situations to help the reader understand that this character's faith does waiver. Using Bible verses within the text, regarding the eventful adventure and dangers of Miss Lewis, the author actually helps the reader learn about the Bible and its beautiful stories. It was refreshing to read an excellent book that reveals everyday people in unlikely but possible surroundings.
Connie L. Wooldridge-Buchanan

DEATH RIDES THE DANGER STAGE
By Lewis B. Patten
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04986, 1999. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 192p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1331-0
The year is 1861, and people in the East are caught up in the unfolding Civil War and looking towards the West for any assistance it might produce. The symbolism in the title is revealed in the turmoil in the streets of Denver City, Colorado. The townspeople of that area are torn apart by both military and political factors which greatly affect their lives, leaving them angry, frustrated, and bewildered.
A courageous man from the North, Clee Fahr, has just arrived in Denver City. His old enemy, Eames Jeffords is from the south buying arms for the Confederacy. When these two characters collide, a whirlwind of trouble erupts as each of them go head-to-head because Jeffords views Clee as a threat to the Confederate cause.
The drama of war, divided sympathies, and hindered loyalties are intertwined within the story. The gold being dug out of the Vasquez mines and the stage line used to transport it play key roles in whether the Union or the Rebel forces gain the upper hand in seizing control of the West. Civil disorder, mistrust, and blatant treachery directly influence the course of the story.
Patten does a marvelous job incorporating exciting action, desperate situations, and even a love story into this book. His use of clear and vivid descriptions makes the reader seem part of the story. The rugged details of life during this era are high-spirited and lively. Tales of injustice and means by which law is kept in the small Western towns draws the reader in closer to observe the shoot-outs, chases, and lynching that take place. The story follows the cliche of "All is fair in love and war" straight into a vivacious drama which follows in the grand tradition of the Old West!
Manuel Ramon

THE FAIR VISION
By Eleanor Stewart
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 1999. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 215p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1897-5
In her first novel, Eleanor Stewart transports us back to the birth of a new nation in a tale of historical fiction. This is a story about the adversity, courage, and determination of a people known as the Separatists. Exiled by King James I of England, this group of people wanted what only the frontier of the New World could offer them; personal, social, economic and, most of all, spiritual freedom.
To finance the expensive voyage the emigrants were forced to indenture themselves, selling their homes and enslaving themselves to London merchants who then paid their fares to the New World. Carrying only their most treasured possessions, 102 men, women, and children boarded the Mayflower for a voyage that would take sixty-four days to complete. Crowded into a main cabin that measured only 25 X 80 feet, privacy was scarce and illnesses spread quickly. Adding to the discomfort, the season was beginning to change and a great storm blew them from their course.
Finally reaching shore far from their original destination, the Pilgrims, as they came to be known, set foot on a foreign shore unprepared for survival. Their skills were limited in hunting and fishing, and even growing food was difficult because of the unfamiliar climate.
All things considered, this is a brilliant piece of work by Stewart. It is suspenseful reading that will engage the readers' imaginations and transport them back to the origins of our nation.
April Blake

COLD WIND
By Stephen Overholser
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 1995. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 271p. $19.95, hard 0-7862-1896-7
Stephen Overholser gives us a brilliant performance of his imagination in this western novel entitled Cold Wind. The author reveals the characters' surroundings and their intense feelings as the story is told. Overholser tellos a story that all can appreciate and find great pleasure in. I found this novel exciting, with an added touch of drama.
Cold Wind is about a man named Gideon Coopersmith who founded the Double Circle C Ranch. Coopersmith is married and he and his wife have one daughter named Annie. The Coopersmith family has many workers who provide the manual labor for the day-to-day running of the ranch. One day, one of those workers vanished mysteriously, taking Annie's pony with him. Gideon goes on a long search for him and gets into deep trouble as the journey progresses.
Gideon later discovers that he is not the only person looking for the vanished George Larson.
When it seems like the plot has become so thick that the end is inevitable, Overholser springs a new twist on his readers, and off you go again. In each situation the author gives the reader a chance to solve the mystery. When some readers hear the term "Western Novel," they tend to fall into the "I've been here before" mode. But in Cold Wind I think we can find ourselves in some unexpected situations.
I recommend this book to all types of readers, and I promise that you will not be disappointed.
Meredith Hunter

THE WESTERNERS: Frontier Series
By Zane Grey
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 2000. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 272p., $21.95, hard 0-7862-1894-5
This book is a compilation of nine short stories. The first seven are western stories about lonely cowboys, wild horses, and ensuing romances. The last two stories deal with whaling adventures along the coast of Australia. One of the latter two stories is by Zane Grey, and the other one is by his daughter, Loren Grey. All of these stories are easy and enjoyable to read. They are full of the flavor of the Southwest: Utah, Arizona, and California. These were the days when cowboys ruled the area with guns and fists, and the cowboy's word was as good or better than gold. And it was all signed and sealed on a handshake.
The very essence of the American West is to be found in the stories of this fascinating author. His popularity has never waned since his first Western novel was published in 1910. The stories collected here for the first time in book form are a sample of his finest. His stories have generated 109 movies to date. Our country should be grateful to Grey, for he has helped preserve the true history and legendary stories of the romantic and unique American West!
Nora M. Lann

DOC HOLIDAY'S GONE: A Western Duo
By Jane Candia Coleman
Thorndike Press, P.O. Box 403, Unity ME 04988, 1999. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 246p., $19.95, HARD 0-7862-1841-X
This book is an account of the lives of two famous Western American women, May Katherine Horony and Viola Howell. These women have many characteristics in common; they are both full of passion, spirit, and courage. Their stories are unlike most stories of women during their time; they are pioneers in the women's movement. During this time period most women were at home, on the farm, in the kitchen, bare-foot and pregnant. These two women were not afraid to challenge the conventional role of women; I applaud them for their strength and courage.
Mary Katherine Horony was born in Austro-Hungary. She has been known by many other names, such as Kate Fisher, Kate Elder and, most famous of all, Big Nose Kate. Kate was the woman in Doc Holiday's life. He was the only man she ever loved. This book depicts Kate's years with Doc Holiday through flashbacks, especially the times in Tombstone. If you have ever seen the movie Tombstone you already have an idea of the types of stories this book includes. If you enjoyed the movie, you will love the book.
As time went on, the name "Big Nose Kate" began to haunt her; she eventually tried to escape the reputation that she had earned when she was Holiday's girl. But sometimes reputations are hard to overcome.
During this same time period, Viola Howell was experiencing her own adventures. At the age of eighteen, she met with the governor of New Mexico to plead the case of the man that she loved, John Slaughter. He was accused of cattle rustling, which was a very serious crime during this time. "Viola was not afraid of much except maybe Indians and snakes," the author writes . She eventually married John and they moved to Arizona and took up cattle ranching.
If you have a chance to read this book I encourage you to do so. Doc Holiday's Gone is a triumph for women in the respect that it shows another side of the Wild West, this time it is through the eyes of women.
April Brown

PURSUIT: Western Stories
By Verne Athanas
Edited by Jon Athanas
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 1999. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 215p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1842-8
Verne Athanas was an exceptional and outstanding author. He was famous for Western fiction stories. Verne's tales appeared in such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's. Verne Athanas was preoccupied with the timeless themes and the accuracy of historical detail and very careful with the ideas of the American frontier. In his book Pursuit, he brings together some of his most celebrated and notable short stories.
In "Ointment for Mangas," a bloodthirsty chief, Mangas Colorados, leader of a war tribe of Apache, is attacking a troop of U.S. Cavalry. The endangered men are some of Mangas' sworn enemies. One of the men being attacked was responsible for whipping Mangas unmercifully when he was a peaceful Indian. The issue now is to protect or abandon this man who is the primary object of the attack. The story is a nail-biting episode of struggle.
In "The Day of Saint Andrew," Molly Pritchard is the heroin. The story is about the populace of a small remote "ghost town" in the west. Molly is an orphan who now runs a restaurant out of her own home. She gives work to a wanderer by the name of Rob Ferguson. She inevitably falls madly in love with him. The only problem is that Tom Laing, a high-profile rancher, wants Molly and will not let anyone else get in his way.
Allison Brown

BANDIT INVINCIBLE: Butch Cassidy
By Suzanne Lyon
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 1999. 5 5/8 x 8 1/2, 351p., $19.95, hard 0-7862-1843-6
A novel about an individual with many aliases, Bandit Invincible by Suzanne Lyon explores the life of a violent and daring man constantly making himself unseen by the law.
Butch Cassidy was born to a father who was a farmer and a mother who was a Mormon. The name given to him at birth was Robert Leroy Parker; however, he used various names throughout his life. His main reason for the name changes was his desire to not disgrace the family name.
The novel begins with Butch's first encounter with the law. As a youngster he worked on a ranch and needed a pair of overalls. In town he left an I.O.U. at the local general store, which no one was attending. This relatively innocent act was the beginning of many encounters on the wrong side of the law. A thief Cassidy robbed banks and stole cattle and horses. He never killed a man, however, despite his leadership of the Wild Bunch.
Butch was involved with several women in his lifetime, but one woman, Mary Lyons, was more important than the rest. Mary was half- Indian, and to Cassidy, she was the light of day.
I think this book is an amazing first effort for Suzanne Lyon. Her use of language is both inviting and engaging, painting pictures of the Old West for the reader that seems to bring a lost era to life again.
Yvette Gonzales

DARK EMBERS AT DAWN
By Stephen Overholser
Five Star Books, P.O. Box 159, Thorndike, ME 04988, 1998. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 199p. $18.95, hard 0-7862-1163-6
The setting of this novel is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Cap McKenna is a Civil War hero who moves west to start a new life. He homesteads some land in Colorado and meets a man named J. Stuart Reynolds, owner of the Reynold's Overland Transportation Company. They strike up a deal to use Cap's land as a change station for the horse teams on the run between Denver and Cheyenne. While Cap is out riding one day, he comes across an abandoned infant by the riverbed. He decides to take the baby in until he finds the mother. One day a Cheyenne women shows up at his doorstep and lets it be known that she is the mother of the child. She tells him that the baby's father is a U.S. Cavalry soldier and convinces him to help her find him.
As the story unfolds, so do the adventures of these two people. Other characters are added from time-to-time as the reader is drawn into the life and web of emotions of Cap McKenna.
This is a well written novel, as is typical for Overholser. I think the reader will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the book.
Joseph Thompson

THE LAST RUNNING (reprint)
By John Graves
Illustrated by John Groth
The Lyons Press, 123 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, 1999. Appropriately sketched with line drawings throughout, 6 X 9, 96p., $12.95, soft 1-55821-953-6
Graves has a way of resurrecting the past! He seems to be able to recall in quaint and wonderful detail an era in which he never lived. And he has the uncanny ability of saying things without actually stating them. The Last Running is an engaging story about an old Indian who longs to hunt the buffalo as they did when he was a young brave. The underlying current of this book speaks to anyone who has ever wanted to go back in time and do something over that has indelibly written its memory across his or her soul.
William Kittredge said of the book, "What a beautiful piece of work." Verlyn Klinkenborg wrote, "Graves writes with a terse authority that makes the reader lament a far-gone world." Publisher's Weekly said, "This lean, affecting parable . . . looks back to a time when the prairies were not lacerated by wire fences. Groth's wiry, kinetic line drawings underscore the clash between two cultures, two destinies."
Just as the rancher Tom Bird in this book gives a new meaning to an old way of life, the Lyons Press here has revived a classic work that continues to stir the hearts of the adventurous.
Other books by John Graves are: Goodbye to a River (1960), Hard Scrabble(1974), Blue & Some Other Dogs (1981), From a Limestone Ridge (1980), The Water Hustlers (1970), Texas Heartland: A Hill Country Year (1975), and Of Birds and Texas (1986). If you have never read Graves, you are in for a treat. If you have, I need not say more.
Rawlyn W. Richter

~CHILDREN/YOUTH~

STAGECOACH: The Ride of a Century
By A. Richard Mansir
Charlesbridge Publishing Co., 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472, 1999. One graph, two maps, color illustrations, index, 8 1/2 x 11, 32p., $6.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 1-57091-955-0
This is a history of the stagecoach. The author goes into great detail about each facete of this famous mode of transportation in the Old West.
Mansir discusses some of the individuals who made traveling on the stagecoach legendary. He explains the different types of coaches, their capacity, size, and even describes their old routes.
Stagecoach: The Ride of a Century would be a useful tool for an elementary school library.

COW
By Jules Older
Illustrated by Lyn Severance
Charlesbridge Publishing Co., 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472, 1997. 11 x 8 1/2, 30p., $6.96 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-88106-956-6
Even the other livestock on the farm would not know as much about a cow as this book has to offer. Its text is written at about a second or third grade level. The information offered covers the different breeds of cattle, what they eat, how they make milk, and an assortment of other facts about this common but remarkable animal.
The colorful and lively illustrations are very entertaining and will capture the imagination of a child.

POISON DART FROGS
By Jennifer Owings Dewey
Boyds Mills Press, 815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 1998. Color illustrations, 8 1/4 x 10 1/4, 30p., $15.95 US, $19.95 CAN, hard 1-56397-655-2
This is a colorful and informative children's book that familiarizes them with the life, nature and dangers of these beautiful creatures.
The book is packed full of (what looks to be) colored pencil drawings of the different species of dart frogs. The artwork is of high quality and the text goes directly to each point the author wishes to convey.

LITTLE CRITTERS OF THE WEST
By Sarah Gustafson
Edited by Abby Stoll
Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 221 North Court, Tucson, AZ 85701, 1999. Website: www.spma.org, Full color illustrations, 4 1/2 x 6 1/4, 16p., $3.95, soft 1-877856-99-1
This little book is adorable from beginning to end. It is a picture-book of baby Southwestern "critters." The first page displays a delightful baby Grey Fox, the next page is a baby Bighorn sheep, the next a baby Bobcat, then on to a Desert Cottontail, and so forth.
Each picture in this pocket-sized book is accompanied by a brief description of the animal and its habitat. Children of all ages will enjoy the artwork, and the text reads at about a fourth or fifth grade level.
I was captured by each tiny critter but my favorite is the Baby Cottontail.
Mary Ann Tolth

LIFE ON THE RANCH
Life in the Old West Series
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Company, 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1999. Illustrations, photographs, glossary, index, 8 1/4 x 10 3/4, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-7787-0103-4
This book would be a useful tool if you were not familiar with ranch life and were going to work on or visit a ranch in the Southwest. I am sure it is a fact that the "honest-to-God," real life cowboy might think this book is for rookies, but for the rest of us it offers some very interesting information.
Kalman breaks down ranch life into bite-sized pieces so that the non-rancher can see how it works. For example, it shows how to saddle a horse, rope and brand a steer, fix a fence, and even how to accomplish jobs inside the ranch house.

HOMES OF THE WEST
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabapple Tree Publishing Company, 350 5th Avenue Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1999. For children and young adults, illustrations, index, photographs, glossary, 8 1/4 x 10 3/4, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 Canadian, soft 0-7787-0106-9
This workbook-size, paperback book is beautifully illustrated with pictures showing homes of the west in their natural settings. The text itself explains each type of home, including the materials they were made from and how they were built. To make it personal, some sections include a story about the people who lived in and built the houses. There are even photographs illustrating how these homes were furnished.
This book is one in a series of books emtitled Life in the Old West. The age group intended for this work is from about the third grade level and older. It is potentially a good supplement when studying homes of the old West. The book has a sturdy binding and the illustrations are enriching.

SNAPSHOTS FROM A WEDDING
By Gary Soto
Illustrated by Staphanie Garcia
G.P. Putnam's & Sons, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Illustrations, 8 1/4 x 10 1/4, 29p., $15.95 US, $21.50 Canadian, hard 0-399-22808-X
Within the circles of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. Now imagine a wedding story unfolding and told through the innocent eyes of a child. Snapshots of a Wedding, by Gary Soto, will engage you in a distinctive moment in time when a child attends a wedding as a flower girl.
The front cover of the book gives a lovely and delicate invitation to open and enter another world. The cover has a lovely gold picture frame surrounded by delicate white lace, peach and white flowers, a set of gold wedding rings, and miniature decorations. These are set in lovely warm peach and ivory tones. Once you open this fanciful cover, the memories of the wedding begin.
Maya, a little flower girl, tells the story. She is looking at pictures from Isabel's wedding. Illustrator Stephanie Garcia created the characters. She used Sculpy clay and created objects such as sugar flowers and potato chips. Each photograph is set on a delicate pink material with lace overlay. The characters are very life-like and make you feel as if you are part of the story.
The wonderful excitement of the story is depicted through the lives of a Hispanic family. It includes timeless events that really hit home to Hispanic families. I, as a person of Hispanic origin, was deeply touched by Maya's narration. Timeless events such as eating mole, singing mariachis, and tios and tias crying are all included. All children--young and old--will enjoy Snapshots From a Wedding. You will want to keep this book as a family heirloom to share with generations to come.
Michelle Gonzalez

CLARENCE GOES OUT WEST: and Meets a Purple Horse
By Ekman Adams
Rising Moon/Northland Press, P.O. Box 1389, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-1389, 2000.Illustrations, 32p, 10 1/2 X 9, $15.95 hard 0-87358-753-7
Jean Adams, who writes and illustrates this debut children's book, has created another wonderful pig to engage the fans of Wilbur and Babe. Clarence is quite sophisticated. He lives alone in "a nice apartment in the city." Essential to his well being is his favorite pillow and his "cloud hat." When he arrives at a dude ranch "out West," realizing he has forgotten to pack his pillow, things look bleak. And then, he meets Smoky, a large purple horse. Adams' gentle moral revolves around the value of friendship. The art work is delightful.
J.C. Martin

WILDLIFE REFUGE: A Classroom Adventure
By Lorraine Ward & Laura Jacques
Charlesbridge Publishing Co., 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472, 1993. Color illustrations, 10 x 10, 32p., soft 0-88106-964-7
This is a classroom book about animals. It is a realistic view of how a wildlife refuge is run. The students are shown how nature provides food for every species, how animals prepare their own places to sleep and live, how they defend what is their own and, on occasion, share what they have with others.
Children will see snakes, butterflies, dolphins, bobcats, deer, birds, and many other more familiar creatures. The text is clear and easy to read.

~AUDIO BOOKS~

SHE SAID YES
ByMisty Bernall
Brilliance Corporation, P.O. Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417-9973, 1999. Two Audio cassettes, three hours, unabridged, case size 4 x 7, $17.95, 1-56740-492-8
Can anything good come out of such a horrific tragedy? The loss of so many lives, the mental anguish, the nightmares, and the haunting memories are harrowing. The savage raid on Columbine High School students by two mentally deranged young people has forever changed the lives of those caught in its wake. But to assume that nothing good could ever arise from such a tragedy would be negating the resilience of people like the Bernalls family.
She Said Yes answers a need for a source of information that reveals the minds and lives of teenagers caught up in a world they have no way of understanding. This is a book that can assist parents in dealing with teenagers bent on self-destruction. It contains vital information that too often is reserved for those who have successfully reared their young and are willing to share what they have learned in their struggles.
To say that this book is powerful would be correct. To say that it is emotionally gripping would be an under statement. I was intensely engrossed in this drama as Cassie Bernall's family and friends told of the heart-rending situations in this child's short life, her struggles, her temptations, and her "victory."
There is no verse or script as potent as that of a personal testimony from an individual who has undergone a life changing situation. This audio book is such a testimony. Every mother and father of young children could benefit from this experience. In it one might find a glimmer of hope for his or her own struggling teenager.
I highly recommend this excellent audio book for both parents and their children. Played at an assembly, it would make an indelible impression on youth groups.
Rawlyn Richter

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
By John N. Maclean
Simon and Schuster Audio, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 1999. Abridged, 6 hours, 4 cassettes, 4 X 7, read by the author, $25., 0-671-57367-5
The son of acclaimed writer Norman Maclean shares his father's concern with detail as he writes of how small errors in the Bureau of Land Management's fire fighting attempts led to the devastating 1994 fire on Colorado's Storm King Mountain. Four of fourteen veteran fire fighters died in the attempt to control the fire.
Maclean spent five years and traveled thousands of miles to get the records of this tragedy right and on paper. This is not really comforting reading in the wake of the spring 2000 Los Alamos fire in New Mexico--another botch-up, although of an entirely different kind. Maclean's unprofessional (though not unpleasant) voice adds intensity.
J.C. Martin

FIFTH LIFE OF THE CATWOMAN
By Kathleen Dexter
Read by Cindy Hollenberg
Arania Books Audio & Print, P.O. Box 15691, Fort Wayne, IN 46885-5691, 1999. Unabridged Audio, 6 cassettes/ 9 hours, $29.95, 1-893530-12-4
Lessons learned in life can often conceal enormous consequences, and not all of them are good. For one to be true to his or her convictions is almost certainly asking to tinder a toll of ridicule from the unbelievers that many are unlikely willing to pay. To attempt to teach others of those convictions (if they are too different from the "norm") can not only brand the individual as a person to be avoided, it may literally cost that individual his or her life. It has happened in the past and most certainly will happen again in the future. And that brings me to Kathleen Dexter's Fifth Life of the Catwoman.
Dexter's use of a feline-related vocabulary in this audio production (1999) of Fifth Life of the Catwoman (copyright 1996) is cunning to say the least. It is as if she were scrutinizing a pride of cats as they played and prowled around while she composed the work. The text seems to move softly and quietly as if on padded feet to bring the listener ever-so-keenly into her secret places of make-believe.
It is very difficult to read (or in this case listen to) a book of this scope and then merely sit down and write a review on its contents. Instead, works such as this are so provocative they evoke a desire for an extensive criticism. Dexter has opened up so many avenues of thought which entwine themselves throughout her text that it becomes extremely difficult for me as a reviewer to simply focus on just one aspect--the book as a whole.
The writing metaphorically applies the projected attributes of a cat's life and behavior onto that of a human being's. Not only the cat's multiple lives, but its emotions, its cunning, its ability to learn and to use what it has learned to teach those who follow. The author considers the weight of intolerance as she teaches through allegory the realities of hunger, deprivation, fear, justice (and injustice), violence, poverty, and many other calamities that befall human kind.
As a cat/woman Kat has nine lives. She has used up four of her nine lives through being misunderstood, wrongly accused, and misinterpreted. She has survived the ignorance of others (which has brought about unnecessary hardships) only because she has had another life that followed the one they took away.
In her "Fifth Life," she is looking for a place in which to retreat, to hide, for her rewards are not worth the pain she must endure. Later, Kat is finally convinced by Angelo that what she has indelibly learned in her previous four lives is far too valuable to hide--she must pass it on to others. Kat becomes a teacher.
The premise from which Dexter operates is that of a common-sense reality for everyday living. I must admit that the title had me a bit confused and I was not sure that I wanted to listen to the tapes--but I am glad that I did.
Douglas L. Quinten

JOURNEY OF THE DEAD
By Loren D. Estleman
Dove Audio. New Star Media, 8955 Beverly Blvd., L.A., California 90048. Unabridged, 4 cassettes, 4 X 7, 6 hours, performed by Robert Forster, $25., 0-7871-2155-X
This is a moody western in which Pat Garrett, killer of Billy the Kid, and an ancient Spanish alchemist isolated in his New Mexico retreat, each tell the story of his life and the sources of his discontents. It's not Cormac McCarthy, but you get the feeling that is where successful mystery writer and former Detroit journalist Estleman is headed.

~GUIDEBOOKS~

HIDDEN COLORADO
By Richard Harris
Ulysses Press, P.O. Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703, 2000. Nine line drawings, twelve maps, three indexes, local information on transportation, dining, lodging, and sports, 5 X 7 7/8, 376p., $14.95, soft 1-56975-192-7
This is a handy paperback to put in your pocket or duffel bag and use as you travel the length, breadth and height of Colorado. Errors here and there can be remedied by checking with the local Chamber of Commerce or the rangers at the park entrance. The information needed may not be under the classification you choose, but with patience, you can find what you want. Good Hiking!
Kathleen L. Keefer

CALIFORNIA-NEVADA ROADS LESS TRAVELED: A Discovery Guide to Places Less Crowded
By Don & Betty Martin
Pine Cone Press, 631 N. Stephanie St. #138, Henderson, NV 89014, 1999. Illustrations, index, maps, 6 x 9, $15.95, 334p., soft 0-942053-28-1
Don and Betty Martin have taken us out on a road trip to Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, San Diego, and more in the Southwest. This is another successful travel guide that mixes accurate and useful information with witty commentary. They love to travel and just reading their book makes you want to hit the road too.
It is arranged in four major parts-- California North, California Sierras, California South and Nevada. California North includes ten road trip tours; California Sierra has four; California South has seven, and Nevada has four. Examples of the tours are "Northern Sonora, California's Other Wine Country," and "The Shasta Route, Across the Top to Lava Beds & Alturas." Each tour emphasizes less traveled roads to less crowded places.
Each tour begins with a "trip planner" that tells you the best time to go, driving distance, RV advisory, what you will see, what to do, and where to begin. The actual tours give you directions on what to see along the way, right down to where to park for the best view. A black and white line map is included with each tour to show you the route. Each town on the tour has a short history and interesting and often humorous descriptions (such as Markleeville is the smallest county seat in America). It includes a section on "Dining and Reclining" with useful information on restaurants and lodgings found in and around the town. Information is provided on campgrounds and parks with camping facilities, hiking trails, whether they have flush potties and showers and much more. It also points out and describes the natural wonders you see and suggests other places to go and museums to visit.
It is a fine guide for a fun read and a good time.
Diane Moore

~POETRY~

POETRY
By Nancy Wood
Double Day Publishing, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, 1998. Illustrations, index, photographs, 8 1/2 x 10 1/2, 73p., $25. hard 0-385-32515-0
Sacred Fire is a fine work of culturally directed poetry. The text and the amazing art touch the soul. This is Native American poetry in its purest form and would make a magnificent addition to any southwestern library.
The prose and poetry are by Nancy Wood, the paintings are by Frank Howell, and they all deal with the Native American People. To be more specific, it deals with the history, religion, legends, and philosophy of the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest.
Sacred Fire is an excellent book to use in a classroom if one is working on a chapter or unit that deals with cultural themes. The book allows exposure to the basic roots of this particular group of Native Americans.
I highly recommend Sacred Fire to anyone, especially those who enjoy history in the Pueblo heritage.
Teofilo Alvarado

A CHECK LIST OF OTHER GOOD BOOKS
Non-Fiction

KENT RUSH: A Retrospective 1970-1998
By Lyle W. Williams
The University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819,1998. Glossary, bibliography, chronology, list of private and public collections, 44 color prints 8 1/2 x 11, 98p., $24.95, soft 0-916677-40-0
This is a collection of the artwork of Kent Rush. In 1996, the McNay Art Museum commissioned a series of five retrospective exhibitions devoted to artists from San Antonio and South Texas who have made major contributions to the visual arts of the region.
Rush's work is composed in a variety of media. It includes paintings, drawings, printmaking, and photography.
This beautifully done book would be of value to those interested in the history and artwork of this man.

Non-Fiction

CRAFTING NEW MEXICO FURNITURE: A Handbook to Design, Plans, and Techniques
By Kingsley H. Hammett
Red Crane Books, 826 Camino de Monte Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, 1994. Drawings, layouts, sketches, index, bibliography, glossary, color photographs, 8 1/2 x 11, $19.95, 109p., soft 1-878610-33-3
This is a "how to" book on building and carving southwestern furniture. It covers woods, tools, styles, patterns, techniques, traditions, and the masters that make it all look so simple. It follows the process of building and carving from the sketch to the finished product.

Youth/Reprint

ANIMAL CLOSE-UPS: The Wolf, Night Howler
Text by Christian Harverd
Charlesbridge Publishing, 85 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472, 1996. Color photographs, 8 1/4 x 91/2, 27p,. $6.95, soft 0-88106-436-X
This is an informative arrangement of photographs and text that exposes the life of the wolf. It explains the different species related to the wolf and gives pertinent information pertaining to the survival of these species.

Youth/Reprint
ANIMAL CLOSE-UPS: The Brown Bear, Giant of the Mountains
Text by Valerie Tracqui
Photography by the BIOS Agency
Charlesbridge Publishing Co., 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02172, 1998. Color photographs, 8 1/4 x 9 1/2, $6.95 US, $9.95 CAN, 27p., soft 0-88106-439-1
This book gives the reader a look at the life (in the wild) of the largest carnivorous animals in North America. It discusses the bear's habitat, domains, and behavior patterns. It gives information about what one should and should not do when in bear country.
The photography is superb!

Non-Fiction
MEXICO: The Land
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Company, 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1993. Color photographs, index, glossary, 8 1/4 x 11, 32p,. $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-86505-294-8
Here, Kalman presents Mexico as a Nation (The United Mexican States). She considers the country as a whole, its people, culture, history, and future.
The book looks at the "arts" in Mexico, both past and present, and how these gifts are irreplaceable in understanding who the Mexican people are and the cultural structure that supports them. It also discusses their struggles in becoming a nation.

Non-Fiction
MEXICO: The People
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Co., 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1993. Color photographs, index, glossary, 8 1/4 x 11, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-86505-295-6
Wile Mexico: The Land focused on the country as a whole, this book highlights those who inhabit that land. The book reveals that these people are as intense and diverse as any people in the world.
Mexico is said to be a land of young people. It has 85 million people, and that number is expected to double within the next twenty years. This is a brief but informative look at their lives.

Non-Fiction
MEXICO: The Culture
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Company, 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1993. Color photographs, glossary, index, 8 1/4 x 11, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-86505-2960-4
This book looks at the Mexican people's way of life. It deals with their behavior patterns, religion, recreation, and the effects that the United States has had on their economy and culture.
Kalman's presentations are always inviting and this work explores some of the things that make us remember this land. She considers the people's love for fiesta, dance, literature, art, music and many other aspects that make these people who they are.

Non-Fiction/Youth
BANDANNAS, CHAPS, AND TEN-GALLON HATS
Life in the Old West Series
By Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Company, 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1999. Sketches, index glossary, b/w photographs, 8 1/4 x 10 3/4, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-7787-0105-0
Kalman here covers the different styles in clothing for cowboys, Native Americans, and vaqueros. The clothing and paraphernalia included here are for men and women. The work displays and explains the use of such things as spurs, boots, Stetson, sombrero, chaps, and other necessary items for working the range or riding.
The art work is accompanied by clear and definitive explanations of each piece of gear.

Non-Fiction
PONY EXPRESS: Voyage of Discovery, The Story Behind the Scenery
Text by Anthony Godfrey & Roy Webb
Photography by Jeff Gnass
KC Publications, 3245 E. Patrick Ln., Suite A, Las Vegas, NV 89120, 1999. Maps, drawings, photographs, 9 x 12, 65p., $7.95, soft 0-88714-147-1
Every library must have a copy of this book as a resource for students to learn about the early days of mail delivery.
The text is comprehensive and the photographic account is absolutely superb.

Non-Fiction
SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN POTTERY
Edited by Cheri C. Madison
KC Publications. Inc., 3245 E. Patrick Ln. Suite A, Las Vegas, NV 89120, 1999. 132 color photographs, one map, 9 x 12, 64p., $7.95, soft 0-88714-148-X
Some of the most famous pottery in the world can be traced to the Southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico. The artisans, both past and present, display a unique gracefulness of form and line that is found no where else.
This colorful book displays a recent addition to this ancient art form. The craftsmanship of these contemporary masters reflects the ancestral roots of their heritage.

Non-Fiction
HISTORICAL ETCHINGS: Travel
Compiled by Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing Co., 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 3308, New York, NY 10118, 1998. Thirty etchings, 8 1/4 x 10 3/4, 32p., $7.95 US, $9.95 CAN, soft 0-86505-616-0
The history of etching as a form of reproducing artwork is knowledge that most people do not possess--and yet it has a remarkable and prestigious history.
This brief representation of etching in historical records gives the reader a good idea of its use as a functional art form.
The true nature of an etching is in its reproductive qualities. These artists and the likenesses found here are very precise and reflect the ability of each artist to record for others a moment in time.