NON-FICTION

Birthing a Nation: Gender, Creativity and the West in American Literature by Susan J. Rosowski, 1999. University of Nebraska Press, 233 N. 8th, Lincoln, NE 68588-0255, notes, works cited, index, 6 1/4" x 9 1/4", $50, 242p, hard 0-8032-3935-1
" Birthing a Nation is about national identity and the American West. If it is a truism that facing west was the American male version of invoking the Muse, what happened if you were female? Most past interpretations of western American literature have echoed Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier hypothesis, emphasizing the conflict of wilderness and civilization, the hero of rugged individualism, the act of returning to origins and reemerging as the reborn American Adam. In this reading of western American women writers who responded to the challenge to give birth to a nation, Susan J. Rosowski proposes an alternative, more hopeful affirmation of our cultural history and perhaps our cultural destiny." (UNP)

Children and the Law in Texas: What Parents Should Know by Ramona Freeman John, 1999. University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819, 6" x 9", 281p, soft 0-292-74051-4
This is a non-lawyer's guide to all areas of Texas law affecting children. Ramone Freeman John uses a question and answer format to answer frequently asked questions in layman's terms. She also offers advice about dealing with lawyers and judges and how to use the law to protect and serve children. Being a lawyer once herself, she offers this authoritative guide to assist individuals in their legal rights and responsibilities regarding children.

Captain L. H. McNelly Texas Ranger: The Life and Times of a Fighting Man by Chuck Parsons & Marianne E. Hall Little, 2001. The State House Press, P.O. Box 15247, Austin, TX 78761, end notes, bibliography, index, b/w photographs, 6" X 9", $21.95, 396p, soft 1-880510-74
The phrase Texas Ranger engenders thoughts of saddles, guns, the wild west, outlaws, and long days and nights on the trail, but no Texas Ranger attracts as much attention or generates more thought-provoking tales than does L. H. McNelly. His life is a legend that has been told many times, and this work by Parsons and Little is the most complete single-volume work on the subject. The historical photographs are very supportive of the text and the research is comprehensive. The authors have included their notes so that further research on the subject can be accomplished.

The Wild and the Domestic: Animal Representation, Ecocriticism, and Western American Literature by Barney Nelson, 2000. The University of Nevada Press, MS 166, Reno, NV 89557-0076, notes, works cited, index, 6 1/8" x 9 1/4", $21.95, 192p, soft 0-87417-347-7
The mythical use of animals in literature is as old as literature itself. Here Nelson presents a fresh and unique view of the domestic qualities of many wild animals. Her work is ground- breaking and original. She investigates the logic behind why we call some animals "domestic" and others "wild."
" Nelson's reading of Edward Abbey's work through the lens of [Mary] Austin's theories and experiences reveals her surprising influence on an environmentalist held in disfavor by ecofeminist critics. Nelson's scholarly explorations in this beautifully written and sometimes startling volume are enhanced by several lively and thoughtful personal essays concerning her own life on the land." (UNP)

Willa Cather's Canadian & Old World Connections: Cather Studies Volume 4 edited by Robert Thacker and Michael A. Peterman, 1999. The University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE 68588-0484, notes, work cited, index, illustrations 5 1/2" x 9", 342p, soft 0-8032-6398-8
" Cather Studies 4 contains eighteen essays and elaborates a theme, "Willa Cather's Canadian and Old World Connections." Such connections are central to Cather's art and artistry. She transported much from the Old World to the New, shaping her antecedents to tell, in new ways, the stories of Nebraska, of the American Southwest, and especially of Quebec, in Shadows on the Rock." (UNP)

New Essays on Cather's My Antonia edited by Sharon O'Brien, 1999. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, notes, bibliography, 5 3/4" x 8 3/4", $49.95, 140p, hard 0-521-45275-9
" My Antonia is the Cather novel that is most often taught in high school and college courses, and the one that most readers try first when they approach Cather. It is at once her most autobiographical novel and her most aesthetically complex; it can be enjoyed both for its simple, pure prose and for its literary depth. The essays in this volume place the novel in the context of American literary history, African American music, feminist theory, and Southern writing, offering illuminating ways of reading Cather's best-known work." (CUP)

Crowding Out Latinos: Mexican Americans in the Public Consciousness by Marco Portales, 2000. Temple University Press, 1601 N. Broad Street, USB 305, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6099, notes, bibliography, index, 6" x 9", $19.95, 209p, soft 1-56639-743-X
Professor Marco Portales's Crowding Out Latinos is a provocative study on Latino education, media representation, and Chicano literature. His recent studies demonstrate how the current educational system is inadequate in reaching, training, and placing Hispanic students. He likewise shows how Chicano literature has tried to establish itself as a postcolonial voice struggling for national attention. Portales also reveals how education and the media have deprecated and negatively misrepresented those American citizens whose first language is Spanish. Portales feels this unjust treatment has shaped and created a social injustice that needs immediate attention.

The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings by David Drew, 2000. The University of California Press, 2000 Center St., Suite 303, Berkeley, CA 94704, 8 pages of b/w illustrations, 8 pages of color illustrations, appendices, bibliography, notes, index, 6" x 9", $29.95, 384p, hard 0-520-22612-7
The Maya culture has been under the scrutiny of researchers for over 200 years. Archeologists, historians, explorers, professionals, and non-professionals have labored to unlock the secrets of these people and their deserted cities.
Recent developments in deciphering the Maya hieroglyphics have revealed that alongside the material achievements of the culture were also the intellectual accomplishments in astronomy, math, and calendrics. Considered technically in the Stone Age, this culture's achievements were amazing, and David Drew's The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings is a remarkable step forward in understanding this extraordinary civilization. He answers questions in this book that have long been asked. He looks at the culture's history, art, architecture, political systems, religion, and shows that these are not lost or dead people but that there are five million descendants living in Mexico today.

Dancing Alone in Mexico: From the Border to Baja and Beyond, Ron Butler, 2000. The University of Arizona Press, 1230 North Park Ave., Suite 102, Tucson, AZ 85719, 6" x 9", $17.95, 220p, soft 0-8165-2022-4
This book tells of the author's love affair with Mexico--the land, the culture, the wildlife, the people, and the place itself. He lived in harmony for many years in the small villages as well as in the large cities. Here he records his experiences and the hidden treasure he has uncovered in Mexico. This book is interesting and, for those who love Mexico, it will be a welcome trip back to South of the border.

State of Mind: Texas Literature & Culture by Tom Pilkington, 1999. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas 77843-4354, notes, bibliography, index, 6 3/8" x 9 1/2", $24.95, 192p, hard 0-89096-839-X
State of Mind deals with the changes that affect Texas literature and culture. Pilkington feels that Texans are losing the identities that defined them as Texan in the first place and that Texas literature, and even Texas culture, is seriously reflecting the homogenization of new cultural ideas that are being introduced almost daily. Pilkington believes that a dilution through immigration from all areas of the country and even the world has so modified Texas culture that it is difficult today to even find those who sound like Texans--even in its literature. These essays delve into the roots of the state's history and its Spanish background.

Forever Texas: Texas, the Way Those Who Lived It Wrote It edited by Mike Blakely and Mary Elizabeth Goldman, 2000. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010, vintage b/w photographs, 5 3/4" x 8 1/2", $22.95, 208p, hard 0-312-86776-X
This is a noteworthy collection of writings of some of the most remarkable Texans who ever lived. The book includes works by President George W. Bush, H. Ross Perot, and from the past, Sam Houston, Davey Crocket, Stephen F. Austin, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Forever Texas includes stories of love,war, murder and Texas history in the way those who lived it wrote it.

Organic Gardening in the Southwest by Robert F. Smith, Jr., 1999. Sunstone Press, P.O. Box 2321, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2321, 6" x 9", 96p, soft 0-86534-282-2
If you are looking for a guide to gardening in a semi-arid climate, Robert Smith's Organic Gardening in the Southwest gives as clear and detailed instructions as you will find anywhere. He covers such plants as turnips, tomatoes, Swiss chard, spinach, garlic and thirty other common plants found in the Southwest. Instructions are given for each plant from start to finish--when to plant, where to plant, what to plant, soil preparation, pest control, care, and harvest. The text is detailed and clear. The book is also illustrated.

The Texas Folklore Society: 1971-2000, Volume III by Francis Edward Abernethy, 2000. University of North Texas Press, P.O. Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336, 154 photographs, 10 illustrations, index, 6" x 9", $29.95, 232p, hard 1-57441-122-5
In 1999, the Texas Folklore Society celebrated its ninetieth year in existence. It has met annually since 1909, except during wartime. This society has collected and preserved more folklore than any other group of its kind. This book is the result of a request that all the Society's programs be published in one volume. The request was made because members wanted to know what topics other members had been interested in since the first TFS meeting in 1909.

Speaking Through the Aspens: Basque Tree Carvings in California and Nevada by J. Mallea-Olaetxe, 10/2000. University of Nevada Press, MS 166, Reno NV 89557-0076, appendices, notes, glossary, bibliography, index, 72 b/w photographs, 22 illustrations, 1 map, 237p, $39.95, hardcover 0-87417-358-2
There are many records of immigrants whose presence has enriched our country over the last 100 to 150 years but none so tentative as the Basques' records documented here by J. Mallea-Olaexte. These records are vanishing daily--never to be seen again. Speaking Through the Aspens is a chronicle of more than 20,000 Aspen trees that have been carved with names, dates, events, graffiti, art, and anything else that came into the minds of those who tended the flocks of sheep that roamed the mountains of California and Nevada in the mid-eighteenth century.

Taking the Waters in Texas: Springs, Spas, and Fountains of Youth by Janet Mace Valenza, 2000. The University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819, 51 b/w photographs, 14 line drawings, 1 map, notes, bibliography, index, 6" x 9", $ 24.95, 279p, soft 0-292-78734-0
For those who are interested in natural pools of mineral water, Southern Texas hosts a greater variety of mineral waters than any other place on the planet. These pools and spas still attract thousands of people annually, but once they were the destinations of only the rich and famous. This book is a guide to those "fountains of youth" today and also a look back at their days of glory. The book contains vintage photographs, advertisements, and the historical records of these hot spots of Texas.

Women and Warriors of the Plains: The Pioneer Photography of Julia E. Tuell by Dan Aadland, Mountain Press Publishing, P.O. Box 2399, Missoula, MT 50806, 150 b/w photographs, 10 color plates, notes, 7 1/2" x 9 1/4", $18., 182p, soft 0-87842-417-2
This book is the dream and vision of Julia E. Tuell's son Varble Tuell. Varble is the youngest of Julia's children, and it is because of Varble's perseverance that this book exists today. This accomplishment is a historical record of photographs and documentation on the Northern Cheyenne and the Lakota Indians ninety years ago. It contains a rich treasure of personal information about a people who rarely trusted, and almost never, accepted outsiders into their lives. Yet, Julia E. Tuell has documented here some of the most interesting moments ever recorded about these people and their lives. This work is truly a treasure and a gift to generations to come.

Black Cuban, Black American: A Memoir by Evelio Grillo, 4/2000. Arte Publico Press, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2174, 8 b/w photographs, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", 224p, $13.95, soft 1-55885-293-X
Evelio Grillo is the first living author to have become a part of the "Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage" series. His life's work as a leader among Hispanics has earned him this unprecedented honor. Grillo has put into print the joys and sorrows of the U. S.-born blacks as seen alongside their Hispanic counterparts. Grillo has captured a culture that slowly faded with his years of growth to adulthood. This is a ground-breaking piece work and it deserves the praise bestowed upon it.

Guide to Hopi Katsina Dolls, A by Kent McManis, 11/2000. Rio Nuevo Publishers, P.O. Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703, 80 color photographs, glossary, list of carvers, pronunciation guide, bibliography, 6" x 9", 59p, $9.95, soft 1-887896-17-1
The Hopi People live in a world of sacred dreams and ideas. Everything they do reflects their connection with the katsina,or inhabitants of the spiritual realm. They understand that these spiritual powers control the rains, harvests, and the amount of wild game available for hunting. Their alliance with these powers is revealed in over seventy dolls which appear during the Hopi ceremonial year. Here, McManis presents each doll along with a description of the ceremonial dances connected to each and also discusses both the contemporary and the historical katsina dolls.

Guide to Navajo Sandpaintings, by Mark Bahti with Eugene Baatsoslanii, 2000. Rio Nuevo Publishers, P.O. Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703
No culture takes its art more seriously than do the Navajo Indians. Their sand paintings in particular are created to exact prescriptions. Each particular image that the artist creates must be fashioned to a mirror image of the god or hero on which the medicine man is calling. Tribal members believe that a misrepresentation in these sand drawings could bring harm to both the medicine man and the patient. Here Bahti and Baatsoslanii have photographed the masters in action and present over forty of these exquisite works of art. The text is clear and adds important historical material about these masterpieces and the people who create them.

Canyons of the Southwest by John Annerino, 2000. The University of Arizona Press, 1230 Park Ave., Suite 102, Tucson, AZ 85719, 83 color plates, 1 map, bibliography, 160p, $17.95 softcover 0-8165-2092-5
This is an exciting pictorial journey through the canyons of the southwestern regions of the United States. The photography and text are combined to give the reader/viewer the next-best thing to being there in book form. The dramatic 8 1/2" X 11" plates are in full color. This book is a reprint of the hard cover issue by Sierra Books (1990).

Taming Texas: Captain William T. Sadler's Lone Star Service by Stephen L. Moore, 2000. State House Press, P.O. Box 15247, Austin, TX 78761, illustrations, footnotes, notes, charts, maps, bibliography, index, 6" x 9", $24.95, 399p, soft 1-880510-69-3
" Taming Texas is a stirring history of Texas in which the giants of Texas history, such as Houston and Lamar, appear as characters secondary to that of William Sadler, Texas pioneer farmer, private in the battle of San Jacinto, a Ranger Commander, and an Indian fighter who participated in the Battle of Kickapoo and the Cherokee War and in quelling the Cordova Rebellion. He was never president of the Republic nor governor of the state, but he served with distinction in the Ninth Congress of the Republic and in the first two legislatures of the new state. At age sixty-six he served in the Civil War!" (SHP)

River Flowing from the Sunrise: An Environmental History of the Lower San Juan by James M. Aton and Robert S. McPherson, 2000. Utah State University Press, 7800 Old Mill Hill, Logan, Utah 84311-7800, 2 maps, notes, drawings, documents, bibliography, index, 232p, $21.95, softcover 0-78421-403-3
River Flowing from the Sunrise is a delightful reminder of John Graves's book Goodbye to a River where Graves gives a dramatic historical account of the area surrounding and along the Brazos River in central Texas before dams were built. River Flowing from the Sunrise is likewise a story of a river--this one the enchanted Lower San Juan River. This book is an effort by Aton and McPherson to document the environmental history that accompanies this magnificent place.

Ten Texas Feuds by C.L. Sonnichsen, 2001, University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, notes, bibliography, index, 6" x 9", $16.95, 248p, soft 0-8263-2299-9
The confirmed feuds contained in this book are as authentic as the people who lived them. C.L. Sonnichsen went from door to door in the backcountry of east and southcentral Texas for twenty years collecting the information contained in this work. Many of the notorious gangs that recklessly roamed the backcountry were the progeny of these feuds. Names like the Regulators, the Moderators, the Hoodoos, the Heel Flies, and the Boots found their lineage in a feud between families or neighbors. Sonnichsen's approach to these violent acts is both illuminating and humorous. This book should be of interest to the historians of Texas and its neighboring states.

Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink: Offbeat Travels Through America's Southwest by Tom Miller, 2000. National Geographic Books, 1145 17th Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20036-4688, b/w photographs, 6 1/4" x 9 1/4", $24., 250p., hard 0-7922-7959-X
For those planning to travel through the American Southwest, acquiring a copy of this book before leaving would be a good idea. Tom Miller has a keen way of seeing and hearing interesting things that most people never notice. Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink is a chronicle of Miller's travels through Arizona, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Texas, and Northern Mexico. Here he examines the art, literature, history, food, and politics nestled deep in many of the small communities--and it is quite interesting to read.

Legacy of Honor: The Life of Rafael Chacon, A Nineteenth-Century New Mexican by Jacqueline Dorgan Meketa, 2000. Yucca Tree Press, 2130 Hixon Dr., Las Cruces, NM 88005-3305, photographs, maps, poetry, appendix, notes, bibliograph, index, 6" x 9", $19., 456p, soft 1-881325-24-5
Rafael Chacon (1833-1925) witnessed the end of the Mexican Period and was a participant in commercial, military, and political events during the early decades of the American era from territory to statehood. His account represents one of the few surviving documents to record the Hispanic point of view. Its publication in English provides an important new source for history, for it is unique in its use of detail, its anecdotal style, and its human interest.
Chacon wrote his memoirs in his seventies to record for his family the drama, adventure, and sorrow he had experienced. Legacy of Honor is an important contribution to the literature of Hispanics in New Mexico before and after it became a part of the United States. (YTP)

Texas Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff by John Kelso, 2000. Globe Pequot Press, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437, b/w photographs, maps, index, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", $12.95, 276p, soft 0-7627-0600-7
Texas is full of local lore and unique and fascinating people. This book presents an amusing side of life in the Southwest. Texas Curiosities is purely a book of entertainment and a means of discovering Texas in a very special way. It is a wealth of strange wonders you never thought possible--things like a house that looks like an upside-down cooking pot, dead cockroaches dressed like celebrities, the world's largest peanut, roadside stops that sell fried rattlesnake meat, a Washing Machine Museum, and a hundred other curiosities put on display with an invitation to the general public to come and see. Each entry comes with its location and a general description of what it is and who created it.

Fly Patterns of Northern New Mexico by Karen Denison and William Orr, 2000. The University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, 15 illustrations, 50 halftones, index, spiral bound, 6 1/2" X 9 1/8", $14.95, 160p, soft 0-8263-2030-9
If you enjoy fly-fishing and are talented enough to tie your own flies, then this is a wonderful addition to your fly-tying library. This one book describes in detail fifty patterns that an individual can follow and tie. The text is clear and the illustrations and photographs are very helpful in following the author through each step. The spiral binding adds the perfect touch to this handy and impressive fly-tying guide.

Ute Indian Arts & Culture: From Prehistory to the New Millennium edited by William Wroth, 2001. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, 185 full color illustrations, 44 duotones, index, 9" x 10 1/2", $45, 248p, soft 0-916537-12-9
The Ute tribes whose arts and culture are the focus of this handsome book are mountain people centered in Colorado with territory extending into New Mexico and Utah. The essays collected here are contributed by Ute cultural leaders and by other scholars. They reveal the richness of the Ute material culture, heretofore almost unknown, in groundbreaking studies of Ute prehistory, history, world view, culture, and art. The book is illustrated with full color photographs of 139 historic artifacts and over 40 contemporary works, as well as numerous historic photographs of Ute life. (UNMP)

Coast to Coast by Automobile: The Pioneering Trips, 1899-1908 by Curt McConnell, 2000. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 94305-2235, appendix notes, index, 8 3/4" x 10 1/4", $45, 349p, hard 0-8047-3380-5
" Coast to Coast by Automobile engagingly explores the challenges met and overcome by the first motorist to drive across America. Because automobiles were viewed with considerable interest and also considerable skepticism in this period, the extensive publicity that these trips generated played an important role in establishing the practicability, reliability, and widespread appeal of automobiles in early twentieth-century America. The author describes the first ten years of such pioneering trips, beginning in 1899 with the first attempt and concluding in 1908 when Jacob M. Murdock accomplished the unheard-of feat of driving his family from Los Angeles to New York City."
The book is full of vintage photographs and documentation of these remarkable adventures. (SUP)

Rio Grande: From the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico by Peter Lourie, 2000. Boyds Mill Press, 815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 52 photographs, 1 map, 10" x 8", $9.95, 47p, soft 1-56397-896-2
After the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers, the Rio Grande is the third longest river in the United States. In its 1,885 mile course to the sea and in the history that has unfolded on its banks, it is also one of North America's most dramatic rivers. Take a journey with Peter Lourie as he follows the Rio Grande from its headwaters in Colorado's snow-capped Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico's sub-tropical shores. You will discover Rio Grande Means "Great River." (BMP)

Galveston and the 1900 Storm by Patricia Bellis Bixel and Elizabeth Hayes Turner, 2000. The University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819, 86 b/w photographs, bibliographical essay, index, 10" x 8 1/2", $60, hard 0-292-70883-1
The worst storm on record to hit the city of Galveston, Texas was during the hurricane season of 1900. The storm killed at least 6,000 people and completely wrecked the city, leaving its residents without shelter, power, potable water, or even a way to call for help. There are several good books covering this dramatic event, but this work is an important addition to the corpus. Bixel and Turner, both ardent history professionals, have assembled a unique collection of documentation and photographs that add new light to the events of that unimaginable day.

A Living Bay: The Underwater World of Monterey Bay by Lovell Langstroth and Libby Langstroth, 2000. The University of California Press, 2000 Center Street, Suite303, Berkeley, CA 94704, 249 color illusrations, 14 line illustrations, 1 map, appendix, glossary, references, index, 315p, 8 1/2" X 10", $29.95 soft 0-520-22149-4, $60 hardcover 0-520-21686-5.
Submerged beneath the waves of Monterey Bay in central California is a hidden world unlike any other on the planet. Shielded from the ravages of surface winds and rain, this paradise is alive with thousands of brilliantly colored creatures, both large and small. A Living Bay takes the reader underwater and into the world of the marine biologist. Over 240 full color photographs that bring the bay to life and many of the close-ups are actually more revealing than if one were there in person. The text combines the most recent scientific information with short stories about the organisms that thrive in this bay.

Aggies of the Pacific War: New Mexico A&M and the War with Japan by Walter Hines, 1999 Yucca Tree Press, 2130 Hixon Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88005, 11 maps, b/w photographs, appendicies, selected bibliography, index, 166p, hardcover 1-881325-37-7
Many books have been written on the events, times, and people surrounding the most devastating war in recorded history. Aggies of the Pacific War gives not only a documented account of the war in the Pacific, but it also brings that war home to the Southwest. New Mexico Aggies were at Bataan; they were in POW camps; they helped to liberate the Philippines; and they played a role in the surrender of the Japanese Army. This book, with its distinct photos and poignant text, is a tribute to those who helped secure the peace that too often we take for granted. Aggies is an inspiring work.

Capirotada: A Nogales Memoir by Alberto Alvaro Rios, 1999. The University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, b/w photographs, poems, 145p, 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", softcover 0-8263-2094-5
This is a memoir of the Rios families, neighbors, and friends. It is written like most anyone would record his or her family history. The text is quaint and friendly. The stories are real and the people involved are common everyday folks.

Ill Nature: Rants and Reflections on Humanity and Other Animals by Joy Williams, 2001. The Lyons Press, 123 West 18 Street, New York, NY 10011, 224p, 5 1/2" X 8 1/4", $22.95, hardcover 1-58574-187-6
Joy Williams frankly presents her views on the unhealthy state of nature in the United States. Ill Nature was not written to please, but to inform. This book is a close-up look at our consumer culture and the devastating effects of our current land management pratices. The author is angry and alarmed at the attitudes of our passive society. The phrase "Rants and Reflections" aptly describes Williams' work.

Culture in the American Southwest: The Earth, the Sky, the People by Keith L. Bryant, Jr., 2001. Texas A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354, b/w photographs, notes, selected bibliography, index, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2", 397p, $34.95, hard 0-89096-948-5
As the European settlers moved into the Southwest territories, they brought with them the urge to recreate the worlds they left behind, and thereby created a culture unlike anything this country had ever known. Bryant calls it a "High Culture" and traces it from Houston to Los Angeles, and from Tulsa to Tucson. His research is well documented and his narrative style adds an authentic touch to an already rich history.

Lighthouses of Texas by T. Lindsay Baker, 2001. Texas A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354, 12 color plates, 17 b/w photographs, map, bibliography, index, 11 1/4" x 11 1/4", $39.95, 156p, hard 1-58544-145-7
Lighthouses of Texas covers twelve famous lighthouses on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Each of the twelve locations are generously covered, with photographs and historical records of construction and events that made each lighthouse famous. The book is of library quality and every Texas school library would do well to have a copy of this book on its shelves.

Recording Vanishing Legacy: The Historic American Buildings Survey in New Mexico 1933 - Today by New Mexico Architectural Foundation and the American Instute of Architects (Albuquerque Chapter) in association with New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, 2001. Museum of New Mexico Press, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087, 55 photographs, maps, appendices, notes, glossary, selected bibliography, index, 12" x 9", $29.95, 166p, soft 0-89013-380-8
This book is a chronicle of surveys of American buildings in New Mexico for the purpose of preserving a detailed record of their existence. Historic American Buildings Survey or HABS was founded in 1933 as a relief program employing architects to record American buildings. The structures included here are accompanied by photographs, drawing, layouts, and documentation of the locations. The work covers ancient Pueblo communities, plaza-centered Hispanic villages of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and railroad-era main streets of commerce and tourism.

The Big Ranch Country by J. W. Williams, 1999. Double Mountain Books, Texas Tech University Press, Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79410, 81 b/w photographs, 17 illustrations, maps notes, index, 6" x 9", $17.95, 312p, soft 0-89672-416-6
This classic book was first published in 1954 and is recognized by ranch historians as the standard work on big ranches in Texas. Its text is very friendly and, combined with the vintage photographs of that era, helps one to understand how such huge tracts of land were owned and controlled by so few ranchers. It deals with ranch life itself and how these ranchers managed to acquire and hold onto such large estates.

Nature A Day at a Time: An Uncommon Look at Common Wildlife by Cathie Katz, 2000. Random House, Inc., 201 E. 50th Street, New York, NY 10022, fully illustrated, 5 1/4" x 7 3/8", $20., 379p, hard 1-578-05050-2
Nature a Day at a Time is a close-up look at the natural world that surrounds us. This fully illustrated book offers an incisive glimpse into the lives, habits, and environments of individual creatures. The book is set up on a calendar format with a day of the year at the top of each page. Each page represents an individual creature. The text is concise and the illustrations are delightful pencil sketches. It is hard bound and of library quality.

FICTION

American Woman: A Novel by R. Garciay Robertson, 2001. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010, 6 1/8" x 9 1/4", $15.95, soft 0-312-87629-7
A young Quaker schoolteacher by the name of Sarah Kilory heads west to teach in Indian Territory. She meets and marries an Oglala Sioux brave. Her life becomes that of the Sioux, and she often travels from the Dakotas to the Southwest with them. This is also a second look at General Custer and his treatment of the native peoples. Robertson has extraordinary wit and imagination which, when combined, create an historical yet contemporary novel.

The Last Matriarch: A Novel by Sharman Apt Russell, 2000. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, 5 1/2" x 8", $19.95, 194p, hard 0-8263-2131-3
The Last Matriarch is a novel that recreates everyday life in a family group in southern New Mexico 11,000 years ago, when early humans co-existed on the plains with mammoths, great bison, and the big cats. Through the power of the imagination, Russell allows us to share in some of the experiences of our ancestors in the Paleolithic past. Russell's characters are realistic, and the events and circumstances they endure are believable.

American West: Twenty New Stories fron the Western Writers of America edited with an introduction by Loran D. Estleman, 2001. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010, 6 3/8" x 9 1/2", $25.95, 384p, hard 0-312-87317-4
This is a unique collection of old-line writers like Elmer Kelton, Jory Sherman, and Loren Estleman. It also includes new-wave writers like Johnny D. Boggs, JoAnn Levy, and Deborah Morgan. The result is unquestionable proof that the Western story is still very much alive in literature today. Some of the stories include "Hewey and the Wagon Cook" (Kelton), "A Piano at Dead Man's Crossing" (Boggs), "Going Home Money" (Lilly), "Mother George, Midwife" (Sherlock), and "The Snows of August" (Sherman).

On Her Way Home : A Novel by Harriet Rochlin, 2001. Fithian Press, P.O. Box 1525, Santa Barbara, CA 93102, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", $21.95, 272p, hard 1-56474-666-6
On Her Way Home, the third novel in Harriet Rochlin's acclaimed Desert Dwellers Trilogy, is conscience-driven, action-packed, and full of the authentic roughhouse spirit of the frontier West. Inspired by an actual family murder and its extraordinary adjudication in the Arizona Territory, the author deftly blends court records and newspaper reports, her extensive knowledge of the overlooked early West--women, Jews, Mexicans, Chinese, poor Anglos--with her by now familiar characters. The resulting novel is a tragicomic tale that is as fresh, distinctive, and believable as a heart-rending memoir." (FP)

Moon Medicine by Mike Blakely, 2001. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010, 5 1/2" x 8 1/4", $25.95 hard 0-312-86704-2
This book is from the author of Comanche Dawn, and it is the story of the first American fort in Comanche County and the men and women who built it. Honore Greenwood came to America as a stow-away on a ship bound for New Orleans. He was wanted for killing a man in Paris who had raped the woman he loved. To vanish, Greenwood headed for the wildest frontier in America in the 1840s--the Indian ranges of the Great Southwestern Plains. After hopelessly falling in love with Gabriela Badillo, a woman he can never have, he volunteers to build a fort in the most dangerous place on the plains, Comanche County.

Two Pink Horses: A Novel by Jeffrey Stewart, 2001. The University of West Alabama, Livingston Press, UWA Station 22, Livingston, AL 35470, 6" x 9", $12, soft 0-942979-75-3
This is a story of a young person who is a victim of paranoid schizophrenia. Karl Small is the hero of this novel. His heroic acts are not readily noticed until near the novel's conclusion. Jeffrey Stewart has created a very sympathetic novel with heart-warming scenes. There is a lot of reality mixed into the narrative, and it allows the reader an understanding of what Karl is going through.

Men on the Moon: Collected Short Stories by Simon J. Ortiz, 1999. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ 85721, 6 1/8" x 8 3/4", 204p, soft 0-8165-1930-7
This collection of short stories is filled with memorable characters from the Native American community and culture. Ortiz has written twenty-six short stories and several collections of poetry. Though these stories are fictional, they embody many truths about the Native American people, and the reader will find Ortiz to be wise, poignant, and humorous.

Cuentos from Long Ago by Paulette Atencio, 1999. The University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, 6" x 9", $13.95, 131p, soft 0-8263-2064-3
Cuentos from Long Ago offers a bilingual sampling of southwestern tales, legends, and myths of the New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and northern Mexico regions. These tales deal with subjects ranging from making a deal with the devil to finding peace through love. This work has stories that will interest readers of all ages and deals quite often with the mystical beliefs of the Mexican people. It written in both Spanish and English.

Dixon's Edge by Dennis O'Keefe, 2001. Parintel Publishing, 4195 Valley Fair Street, Suite 104, Simi Valley, CA 93063, 6" x 9", $15., 308p, soft 0-9702160-0-9
O'Keefe sets the stage for action and does not disappoint his audience. It is 1867, and the place is a prison at Bosque Redondo called "Devil's Island." Charlie Tree, an Apache with revenge in his heart, intends to escape from prison and pay the white man back for the inhumane treatment his people inside the prison are having to endure. His target is Colt Patterson, a rancher whom he feels is the cause for their being there in the first place. When the two finally meet, their war rivals that of the Little Bighorn.

Azteca: The Story of a Jaguar Warrior, by Andrea M. Guadiano, Denver Museum of Natural History, 1992. Roberts Rinehart Publishers, P.O. Box 666, Niwot, CO 80544, notes, glossary, bibliography, 80p, $14.95, softcover 1-879373-05-X
This picture storybook is illustrated in the traditional comic-book layout. Multiple drawings with captions fill the pages as the story line unfolds the life of a Jaguar Warrior of the Aztec age. The book is first written in Spanish and then is repeated in the second half of the book in English. This is a wonderful way for youth to learn about the history of the Aztec culture.

The Texicans: A Novel of Early Texas, Elizabeth Maul Schwartz, 2000. Maddog Press, P.O. Box 3891, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635, 5 3/8" x 8 1/4", $21.99, 290p, soft 0-9677505-0-4
Most books dealing with Texas and Texans focus on familiar events and famous figures that have dominated the history of the state. Schwartz has chosen to transport her audience back to the early years of the 1800s, when Anglos and Anglo settlements in Texas were almost non-existent. Her story is told through the lives of the Frederick and Katherine Stockman family. Settling at the mouth of the Trinity River in what was then Spanish Texas, the Stockmans would fight wars for freedom, battles for land, and feuds for family honor. The family grew with the new territory and, after three generations of Stockmans and a multitude of adversity, Texas was to become their home and the roots of their children's children.

Red Moon by Michael Cassutt, 2001. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010, 6 3/8" x 9 1/2", 380p, $29.95, hard 0-312-87440-5
This is a "what if?" type of thriller. The space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was headlines all over the world for nearly a decade and here Cassutt capitalizes on many of the questions asked by those of us who watched it happen. Red Moon covers the space of the Soviet Union's Sputnik, the United States' answer by landing on the moon, and many things that came before and after. I imagine that many of the things Cassutt uncovers in Red Moon could have actually happened.

Ziegler: The Essential Jack Ziegler Compiled and edited by Lee Lorenz, 2001. Workman Publishing, 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9555, illustrations, 8" x 8", $12.95, 150p, soft 0-7611-1758-X
This is a Ziegler collection of sharp social satire by use of puns and over 150 comic strips. His wit is as keen as ever, and this collection will keep the reader entertained for hours. Ziegler cleverly combines the application of the comic strip with those of the one-panel gag cartoon. Some of his work takes time to figure out, but just look around and it will hit you.

West to Comanche County by Doug Bowman, 2000. Forge Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, 5 3/4" x 8 1/2", 303p, $23.95, hard 0-312-86545-7
Natives of Tennessee, Kirb Renfro and his wife move to Texas in search of their dreams. After acquiring a modest ranch in Comanche County, the two settle in for the timid winter season of Central Texas. During one of Kirb's absences, his wife is murdered. Set on revenge, Kirb goes on a manhunt that consumes his every thought and eventually earns him the title of the most heartless killer and fastest gun in Texas History.

Trotter Ross by James Hoggard, (reprint) 1999. Wings Press, 627 E. Guenther, San Antonio, TX 78210, 5 1/2" x 8 5/8", $17.95, 247p, soft 0-930324-50-1
Trotter Ross is an archetypal coming-of-age novel that shows the title character stumbling and lurching toward adulthood. The backdrop for this novel is west Texas in the 1950s. Like most young people, Trotter has adults around him that can be used for models, but finds it easier sometimes to mark his own path in life. There is a lot of good common sense here, and young readers might find a few gold nuggets to help them in their struggle to adulthood.