Recently received my copy of "Windows on the Past..." and just loved it! Sue Gutierrez has truly captured Carlsbad's history, from its early beginnings to the present day. I was very impressed by how she managed to make her historical facts come to life, as well as her careful use of photographs, maps, and first-hand accounts...a great read! I highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to other works by this author!

Reading the book makes me want to visit carlsbad,california again.

For anyone who has visited California and tried to imagine what it looked like before the freeways, urban sprawls, masses of people, Windows on the Past, will take you back in time, back to 1769 and Spain's "Sacred Expedition" and bring you forward through the decades to a modern-day, beautiful city. I got a laugh in the opening lines of the chapter on Carlsbad's school system which the author describes as "challenging". The picture of the Carlsbad School and it's students was particularly fun to look at, as well. The book is packed with wonderful, and rare, photos which bring the author's words alive. A great read!

If you're a caver or just interested in caving, this book is a lot of fun. The Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico are home to some of the world's most beautiful caves, including Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave. This book describes Robert Nymeyer's adventures and misadventures with his buddies in the high Guadalupe caves. The descriptions of early vertical caving techniques using lariats and the photographs taken with flash powder are priceless examples of what folks will do when bitten by the exploration bug.

Chuck McCutcheon is an old classmate of mine, but I have to say that I found this to be a fine work. His book is direct and forceful in presenting the lengthy story of the creation of a facility to house radioactive waste. The author almost never bogs down in the technical or mundane even as the people he is writing about are doing exactly that. There's a lot to be learned from this book, namely, how Americans deal with periodic reminders that the unpleasant (or, in this case, deadly) byproducts of our military and technical might need to be dealt with, someway, somehow, somewhere.

Anna Pigeon, Park Ranger, has been called to New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns. She is not a spelunker, but her injured friend requested that she be on the team to bring them out of the caverns. The rescuers will descend over 800 feet in a short time.

This story is rich in details that take Anna across underground cliff faces like Razor Blade Run, through rivers and into the depths of airless passages, where all she wants to see is the sky. The descent must be done in such a way to protect the natural wonders of non-public caverns. On arrival Anna's friend tells her, "It was not an accident."

One of the strong, highly trained companions had murder in the heart. Anna must discover who and why before the killer can strike and succeed. Motives abound among well defined suspects.

Nevada Barr convincingly shows why rangers are called to locations other than their assigned park. Her descriptions are so rich that she must have been in the caves. She is a park ranger herself, and her view of the political structure is as eye-opening as the mystery itself.

Ms. Barr is a great storyteller. This is one of her very best novels. She has included enough clues to help the "who done its?" solve the mystery with Anna.

This original (sixth) mystery is a richly woven, caving, climbing and crawling adventure of murder and evil in our parks and wilderness areas. She grabs readers with her adventurous heroine, a yen for the environment, park service life and fear of dark and tight places far away from human comforts. This well-researched story has some of the identity and beliefs flavor of Hillerman and the visceral storytelling of Francis as Nevada Barr takes us to the 300-mile labyrinth of New Mexico caves, 800 feet underground. You have lots of possible villains above and below ground, but you wont get ahead of the story until the end. And you may be surprised. This well researched, craftily written story of expeditions underground unravels in a believable way from this intelligent, strong woman's point of view as she involves us in her natural vulnerabilities, the terror of claustrophobia and the joy of being above ground in New Mexico. Most readers will discover new territory here and clamor for her next book! Each Barr book improves on the last. Like her other stories, you won't soon forget this book. As a caver and environmentalist who lived in our National parks for 11 years, I loved the clear and correct descriptions of the life, the work and the adventure. It is clear that she has been there and lived it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books in the Anna Pigeon series but "Blind Descent" is the best of the bunch so far. Barr's books are always interesting and well-written but the previous ones sometimes didn't have quite enough clues with the result that the endings came as a bit of a surprise. "Blind Descent" not only has the requisite number of hints, but they are so skillfully interwoven into the story that you will find yourself thinking, "oh of course" at the end. This is a terrific book, the descriptions of the cave are harrowing, the other characters are well-drawn and intriguing and the pace of the book is fast.

I wanted more bear action in this novel. It seems the "extinct" bears got less play than the romance? between exes Jack and Cassandra. I know I wouldn't want to be in some deep, dark cave with my ex! All in all this book reminds one of a few recent books like "Extinct" and "The Trench" where thought to be extinct creatures come in contact with man with expected results. I'm not saying this is a bad novel, just that there are better examples of this genre out there.

I have to admit that I could not put this book down. A fast entertaining read. The story line moved and subplots were good. If you need a book for the plane or the beach, Get this one. I for one liked the ending and the far fetched plot. I like a book that I can read enjoy and feel satisfied with. If I want a book heavy with reality or more realistic could be, I read one. Sometimes I just want to read books because I want to be entertained by them. This was one.

The setting is an unexplored cave near Carlsbad Caverns and the scientists who study it ' and begin disappearing. Something is evidently down there, and amid issues of nuclear waste and research lies evidence of a new threat to mankind which must be stamped out. Cavern features fast action and a thrilling plot which will keep readers guessing to the end.

James is a B&B owner in Alpine, Texas, and he knows this country! I used Jim's book to help me plan my own trek through West Texas while researching the Texas guide for Lonely Planet. Definitely worthwhile, even if it's becoming just a bit dated.

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

This title popped up under a search for books about Carlsbad, NM. Unfortunately for me, I ordered the book and found that it was a history of Carlsbad, CA. If it's a book on the history of Carlsbad, CA that you're looking for I'd recommend it. I only wish that it was what I was looking for.