This book provides color photographs, in-depth descriptions, and migration/nesting habits of many birds in the southwestern US.

Bird species include water birds, birds of prey, hummingbirds, songbirds, etc. that residents or visitors to the southwest may encounter.

The book is very well organized and is useful as a quick reference when viewing birds.

Two great experts on the history of the Sudan coordinated a fine study of the only time a force of regular African troops were deployed to the New World. Taking place during the French intervention in Mexico, this is the story of a battalion of Sudanese infantry who fought against Juarez and his Mexican patriots.

Hill and Hogg start off with a look at the Sudan during the first half of the 19th century. Then part of an Egyptian empire, they explain why these soldiers would be sent to Mexico, and how this impacted on Egypt's foreign relations.

The work covers a wide range of topics, ranging from recruitment, training, deployment, and combat. Also nice is a look at how the surviviors played important roles in the failing Egyptian empire of the 1870s-80s.

American, French, Egyptian, and Sudanese sources are employed. An interesting work that will proabaly never be surpased. Sadly, it was Richard Hill's last book.

This is a highly popularized recounting of some episodes which occurred during the turbulent teens of this century along the US Mexican border as a consequence of the spillover of the Mexican Revolution. I have little idea of the sources used by the author but I do know that his tales ring true so far as I, a specialist in the period, am aware of. This book is obviously not intended as final or definitive history. (I had never heard of the publisher until I was told of the book. Nor had I ever seen a review in any publication.) The book's purpose is to entertain. Each story (chapter) stands alone, thus there is a little repetition. The chapters read as stories written for Frontier Times or the True Magazine of the forties and fifties. Taken as it is presented, a remuda of well written, fact-based historical tales intended for the general reader's entertainment (and incidental acquiring of knowledge along with that entertainment) this work succeeds admirably. I enjoyed reading it and I believe you will too. Carter Rila "el cutachero"- the old border runner.

I thought the story was a fantastic story would like to see more western books by the same author

This is a double book written by one of Arizona's greatest ranchers. Set in Northern Mexico in the 1930's and Northern Arizona in the 1940's, it tells of some of the great old ranches. Some of these old Cowpunchers are still around after all these years! A great read.

i have to say that milo kearney does a great job in documenting the history of brownsville, and matamoros. everything has a beginning, and this Professor of Historical sciences at the University of Texas at Brownsville does a fantastic job. The only thing that is really not good are the illustrations by petr Gawendra. they are really non enthusiastic, and super cheezy. i dont care what any one else says,a lousy effort. any way the book is worth it, for any one who wants to find out the history of this city [brownsville]this book is for you. Antonio Knopp also contributed to this literature work.

Most every researcher and writer on this period has made great use of the State Department Consular and Diplomatic files in the National Archives and other foreign based collections. This makes great sense as the majority of them are literate in English first and Spanish second. It also makes sense because a Mexican reporting to a Mexican does not have to explain "Mexicanness" or things peculiar to his culture. Reporters and travelers for centuries have been doing the comparative bit. That is why people read travel books, to gain insight. The second reason for emphasis on "Yanqui" sources has been access. Many of the participants in the revolution lived very long lives and the political and personal animosities of the time lasted for some forty years after. It was their history, and they were sensitive about Anglos poking around in it. It was not until the 1960s that Pancho Villa himself was officially recognized as a hero of the Revolution, but even then, due to sensitivities, an equestrian statue erected in Chihuahua, and based on a photograph of him, had the features deliberately distorted by the sculptor so as not to be a likeness even though everyone knew the sculpture was in memory of Villa. I understand the files of the Mexican Ministry of Defense have yet to be opened to anyone for research. Fortunately that is not an insurmountable problem as many of the survivors who came out on top kept extensive personal archives. And so many of the dispatches, orders, and reports can be found in them. This is exactly what the author has been able to do. By making use of all the civil and personal archives that he could get to, he has constructed a Mexican view of the events of the time covered. In so doing he has set out to disprove a great misconception held by both the US government and the public that the Carranzista Army forces were not cooperative (which was true) but that they either were complicit or active conspirators in helping hide Villa from Pershing's Punitive Expedition. The author has satisfactorily proven that the latter hypothesis is false. The Carranzistas constantly fought major and minor battles with Villistas but were hampered by a loose system of command, a sometime lack of supplies, and the necessity of garrisoning various towns, thus exposing themselves to the same conditions of vulnerability to surprise attack as the inhabitants of Columbus, NM, had been in. The only major time that Villa was close to capture during this time was after a battle with Carranzistas in which he was greviously wounded in the leg and was an invalid for some months. What has obscured the Carranzista effort has been the unfortunate clash at Carrizal between a detachment of the Tenth Cavalry and the Carranzista garrison which occurred when the US commander insisted on passing through the town to the east in defiance of First Chief Carranza's dictum that the only direction US forces could go was north. The clash ended in the rout of the Tenth's troopers and the death of the Mexican and US commanders. War almost resulted but cooler heads realized that occupation and invasion of all Mexico in pursuit of a band of dispersed raiders was not only ridiculous but unattainable. So the author has done a great service in mining the Mexican records, and tied them together with a general narrative that sets the scene for the detailed story of the period. In addition, he writes with a commendable clarity and preciseness that is often lacking in scholarly works.

This novel fully captures the psychological essence of what it means to be the western hero in a world where modern times tend to make the term obsolete. Howeveer, this book is not just for those interested in westerns, in also manages to take hold of what it means to be just a "regular" person in America. The storyline captures the reader, and moves them along the countryside, engrossing them in the story that unfolds. Border Crossings is a great read.

David Perry's photos are very moving. Strong imagery caputured gently. Great text, great concept. Well done. I loved the last book these guys did as well so I am not suprised.