Richard Trimble's Trail of the Wolf is a good read with an important message between the covers.

The book is set in the old Southwest, with a set of very believable characters, good, bad, and all varieties in between. The author has clearly done his homework on the geography, customs, and language.

I won't give too much away, but the substance of the book is an exploration of a what if: What if a town in the New Mexico Territory had fallen for one of the great public policy delusions of contemporary America? The consequences are disaster. Trimble's working out of the ramifications are exciting, well-hewn, and illuminating.

I hope the author has more books like this one in him.

Westerns have never been my thing - I can take them or leave them. This one was hard to put down. I became involved with the characters and stayed on the trail with Blackie. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read!!!! I can't wait for another book by this author.

If you like westerns, "Trail of the Wolf" is a refreshing new look at what the west was really like. It is written in a style that does not follow the same old worn-out western formula. In fact, it is more than a western. Action, adventure, human nature, are all in this book. The author paints such a realistic picture of the late 1870's west; it's like he was an eyewitness to the events portrayed in the book.

The story is set in the New Mexico Territory in 1878, in the quite little town of Gold Creek. There is a cause and effect to all our actions. What happens when the residents get complacent about their lives brings to light what can happen in any age, not just "the Wild West".

This is a story that is as fresh as this morning's newspaper. I couldn't put it down until I finished. There are very few books today that I can say that about. If you want a book that will hold your interest, entertain, and give you an insight into human nature, this is a book you should not pass up. A great read.

Read this book before you read "Rain of Gold". "Wild Steps of Heaven" is a short read and actually the paternal part of the family story. I wish Villasenor had included the info in Wild Steps of Heaven" in "Rain of Gold". Both books are a wonderful patchwork of history,and genuine family integrity. Excellent summer read!

This is a wonderful book. This book is about a family living during the Mexican Revolution.His writing just takes into this magical world and even though you know that he has made a little piece of history into this great big piece of fiction, he does it so as a matter-of -fact that you just can't believe that it's not true.

In times of hardship heroes are needed and none moreso than in Mexico as revolution rages. The Villasenor family patriarch, an exiled red-haired Spaniard, has married an Indian woman. The first ten years of the marriage are a time of great love and passion, and the children born first are fair and favor Don Juan Villasenor. Later children are dark like their mother. One of the dark ones, Jose, from age 12 must live in the barn because he defied his father and gentled a stallion to rescue his baby brother holding onto the leg rather than shoot the horse. In his exile and solitude a hero begins his training with Grandfather Don Pio Castro who knows Jose understands the power of love and gentleness. This will be the son who defends la familia during the revolution from the soldiers who time and again attach the village. The colonel commanding the troops more particularly desires Jose's true love Mariposa and destroys her. Ultimately, the younger brother Juan (author Villasenor's father) begins to show heroic tendencies himself and will be the one to defend his mother and the remaining family against the colonel. Villasenor moves the tale along with a powerful, songlike cadence. Notable characters are the giant cousins, Basilio and Agustin, who strip naked and race the lightning and then Halley's comet on January 17, 1910, a night of magic and love, the day before el colonel begins shooting up the home village, el paraiso de Los Altos de Jalisco. Each chapter begins with epigrams featuring "Great Father Sun" that provide a sense of power from above, as in "the heavens smile . . . as all around him the gods and serpents did battle." When the final epigram tells us "and out of these children of the earth and of the stars would now come a glorious new gente in all their wonder and fire," we realize that while we have been traveling through an exciting story with more twists and turns than fiction, we also have been participating in something approximating a creation myth. Highly recommended is Villasenor's first tale of the family Villasenor, Rain of Gold.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this unusual book and highly recommend it.

What an unusual book! I thought it was a travel book, and since I love anything about Mexico, I picked it up. But it's MUCH MORE than the usual travel journal... so personal and intimate, also funny and insightful. If you're going to Mexico, take along this book. Or stay home and take the trip from the comfort of your own couch. (I doubt anyone else would ever have a honeymoon like they did, anyway. Pretty fun, doing it vicariously!)

This is a completely magnificent book. Get it! Give it to your loved ones! Totally brilliant, romantic, a fun and enlightening read. The art is also waaaaaay cool.

BEAUTIFUL enormous glossy full-color photos that do more justice to the Mexican ruins than any other book I have EVER SEEN!! I love this book SO MUCH that, since I couldn't afford to BUY it, I went in to the bookstore about once every month or 2 for a YEAR AND A HALF to visit it, pore over it and covet it until a friend took pity on me and bought it for me as a gift! I have BEEN to several of the ruins pictured here, and they are MASTERFULLY captured in the photographs. The author even includes some of the little, lesser-known sites, such as Dzibilchaltun, especially dear to me as my Mexican host family took me there on a family day outing!! This book is just AWESOME!!!

This book is packed with information and color photographs of the ancient cultures of Mexico, from the Olmecs to the Zapotecs to the Mayas to the Aztecs. The author even includes sections on the lesser known and understood cultures of Western Mexico. With a fold-out time line and detailed maps of the most famous archaeological sites, this book gives a good overview of the history of these cultures - and then hones in on specifics such as dress, burial customs, religion, war, and games. Extensive attention is also given to the major cities representing these peoples. With color photographs on nearly every page, this is a gorgeous addition to any library. As a reference book, or even as a coffee table book to browse through occasionally, ANCIENT MEXICO can't be beat.

This book takes the reader thorough the history of pre-columbian mesoamerica, the daily life of the people and then tours a number of important archaeological sites in Mexico and nearby countries. It includes wonderful photos of amazing artifacts decorative pieces, ceramics and jeewlry and the archaeological sites. It is a stunning book and serves to emphasize the colossal loss the Americas sustained with the conquest. If you've been to Mexico and love it, this book is a nice memento. If you havn't, this will make you want to go.

If Frank Lloyd Wright is King, than indeed Bart Prince is Prince. The photographs in the book are brilliant and Christopher Mead's Commentary is awesome and highly informative as well. Showing a lot into Bart Prince the man himself. I hope one day to own a Bart Prince Home.

A book as interesting as the funky forms it analizes. I have had the honour of both reading this book and attending Professor Mead's architecture retrospective class series. The book is filled with an incledibly informed, and informative text which is supported with excellent photos and diagrams. I highly reccomend this book for students of architecture, or just for an interesting read, and if you find yourself in the area of the University Of New Mexico, I highly suggest you do yourself the favour of sitting in on one of Professor Mead's lectures

This is a beautiful book, not only on the architecture of Bart Prince, but about Bart Prince himself. It is an excellent book, one of the few in which you can find information on him. It is very detailed. It is usually very hard to find such detailed information about modern architects who are still alive. The written as well as the visual parts are very well done. The photographs are excellent, including images of plans, sections, and elevations. Usually all that is out there on Bart Prince is just concentrated on the Price House , the Prince Residence and his own home, but on this book you will find much more than that. Here, everything is included, his life, his architecture, and his origins.

These two authors have taken much of the guess-work out of fly fishing new trout waters in Arizona. Their combined experience and knowledge have been put together to aid both beginner and experienced fly fishermen. Virtually every productive trout water in the state is covered, along with tips, techniques, directions, and tackle needed to be productive. The book is both fun and easy to read, plus extremely educational for the fly angler seeking to fish Arizona's trout waters. This is the much needed book that every fly fisherman/woman in Arizona has been waiting for. If you are even thinking about fishing in this state, read this book!

I would like to commend the authors for a great job on a book that has given the Arizona resident like myself a new outlook on fly-fishing. I am excited about using the plethera of information that I have, and cannot wait until I can put this information to work on my next outing. Thank you Charlie and John for a job well-done!!

Reading Arizona Trout Streams, I thought my spots were being exposed. But as I got into the feel of the writers tone, I felt as if I were reading something written by a friend who was sharing his secrets. The book is punctuated by Arizona Fly Anglers names, friends of the authors who wrote the book. A nice touch. Certainly most people like to see their name in print, especially a book on our subject. Organized by geographics, the pages move from one stream to another in good form. Not all streams are listed, just the ones that are well known, and a few that aren't. One of my favorite streams is listed. The author gives it a poor rating, and for this I am happy. It seems that his idea of a small stream rating and mine do not closely match. That is ok by me, life is not black and white. There are some streams that I haven't even heard of. I know the area where they drain, but I haven't heard of them through my information channels or in my wanderings. I have a log, even one a little more in depth than I show you online. I check the insect hatches in my notes, and the hatches listed in Arizona Trout Streams is dead on. My knowledge of entomology is limited, but what I do know, I can say that it certainly matches the book. That my friends is a great feeling because I feel so lost when it comes to the Latin part of flye angling. I would have paid more for color pictures, but the black and white photographs are excellent. The pictures in the book look like ones that we have all taken. For instance, the Haigler Creek photograph is what I am talking about. A good look at what the stream really is. There is a section on Lee's Ferry that has been fully researched. The history of Trout strains at this tailwater are discussed along with flys and techniques used. I am impressed that I could have learned so much from a paperback book written on my subject. (my ego, has been deflated! just kidding.) Again, what a great book. Arizona Trout Streams is a must own for every Arizona Fly Angler and anyone who wants to know more about our Trout Streams. If you are thinking about coming to Arizona, go and purchase this book. It will make your knowledge of our streams match even some of us who have fished here our whole lives. Thank you Charles Meck and John Rohmer for making such a great book. I have been sweating it for a long time, and now I know that I am indeed learning many things, along with some new streams.

For anyone interested in learning more or learning for the first time about the Aztecs, this book is highly recommended. As mentioned by the other reviewer, it is filled with so many high quality art pictures and is very effective in describing the history, beliefs and rituals of this great empire. Someone stole my book, but I'm going to buy it again. It's that good.

This a handy little book that can be taken with you anywhere, it is smaller than an average man's hand. It's an excellent source book for covering the the rise and fall of the Mexica(Aztec) civilization. The illustrations are wonderful reproductions of some of the most famous paintings of the conquest, including many from the murals of Diego Rivera. The paper is thick stock and fact filled with little commentary that is conjecture. The strength of this reference book is that it has many rarely seen pictures from an assortment of codexes and the reproductions are superb. Some are small but the quality remains so as to distinquish what you are looking at without any problem. The color in the illustrations is great and very much as the originals. Every page has at least one picture and most have numerous. It is visually stimulating to see as you read the history. Another strength of the book is that it has one third dedicated to documents. The conquest is retold, again, in a series of original documents, dating from the time period being discussed, most of which are primary documents. Anyone interested in Mexico and it's history will benefit from this book. Also anyone interested in art will enjoy the collection of illustrations throughout book. This is an excellent, little, wealth of information waiting for the student of Mexican history.

This was a very helpful book in understanding the Aztec civilization and culture, and the spanish conquest. The illustrations are very helpful and the judgements are sparse and generally fair.

I have been reading "Under The Lemon Moon" to four-year-old twins before bed every night this week. When we read, they become entranced by the story. They also enjoy searching for the characters in the beautiful illustrations. There are many lessons to be learned from this story, including forgiveness. I highly recommend this book!

This engaging book is a wonderful tool to help young children gain brief insight into Mexican culture. With basic Spanish included in a glossary, reading Under the Lemon Moon to your children may be the perfect way to stimulate interest in and discussion of foreign language. Perhaps more significant than exposure to other cultures, this entertaining tale teaches initiative, principles, and respect. The harmonious blend of captivating artwork and thoughtful plot make this story a must for all children over the age of three.

AFter hearing "Under the Lemon Moon" read aloud to a group of 15 kindergarten students, I knew my original assessment was correct - kids will love this story! The illustrations so enhance the author's tale that it is hard to imagine one without the other. The glossary is vital, and helped the children recognize the Spanish words in context. The librarian/reader fielded such comments as: "That girl is really nice",and "the old man shouldn't have stolen the lemons, but he wasn't bad". Then they discussed how many of the class liked to eat lemons without sugar. Several asked if they could check the book out - always the clincher!

We are trying to get an "island" feel for our home and this book was the perfect reference. Not only are the pictures of the homes (inside and out) breathtaking, but there is enough detail about the decorating itself to be useful for our purpose. The only downside is that it makes you want to sell your current house and just travel the world staying in these amazing homes! Especially tempting is the contact information at the very end in case you actually want to rent one of them on vacation...

I found this to be a wonderful book - it has some amazing pictures. It affords you the opportunity to view some beautiful private houses that you are unlikely to be able to visit. Unlike some other books that focus primarily on houses in South East Asia, this one also features some great houses in Mexico and Jamaica.

Tropical Houses takes you around the globe to find some of the most interestingly designed homes in the world. The photographs are at once detailed and lush. If you are going to buy one book on tropical interiors, this should be the one.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, and will no doubt go back to it again and again. The photos of both historic and modern weavings are gorgeous, and I especially appreciated the detailed description (and photos) of the laborious process of washing, carding, spinning, and dyeing the wool before weaving can begin. The photo of a man rinsing cochineal-dyed skeins in a stream is especially evocative, showing clouds of the red dye blooming in blue water. My only complaint is that the author occassionally seems as if she's selling the town and its inhabitants in the same way she sells their crafts. I think we need to ban the word "magical" from all descriptions of indigenous/low tech comunities until we acknowledge the "magic" of our voodoo market economy and the hard materialism present in even idyllic-seeming villages. But that's a relatively minor flaw in a very good book.

This book is well-written as well as thoughtfully and lavishly illustrated, giving one a true insight into the famous Zapotec weavers of this lovely and traditional Oaxacan community. Zapotec precolumbian traditions are mentioned, and the illustrations show many steps in creating dies, yarns and weavings ranging from the traditionally inspired to the most avant garde, from natural dies to the use of anilines and naturally colored churro wools.

As one who has spent time learning to appreciate the arts of weaving and embroidery from weavers through Mexico and Guatemala, including a hospitable and skilled family in Teotitlán, I heartily recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the topic covered.

This is an excellent book with gorgeous photos of Zapotec rugs and weavings. I recently returned from a trip to Oaxaca where I had the opportunity to visit the village of Teotitlan and purchase some rugs from one of the families featured in the book. I just wish I had read the book before I went so that I could appreciate the beautiful examples that I saw even more. Besides the information on the laborious process of making the rugs, the book tells the differences and qualities that make some "works of art" and some imitations. And in telling the story of the weavings, the friendliness and pride of the weaving families must be told. I will treasure the book as well as my memories of the village of Teotitlan and her people.