When I read this book, Simon Ortiz's voice came from the pages. Simon Ortiz writes like he speaks and his stories are rich and beautiful. As a student of his I have had the unique opportunity of hearing many of these stories orally, but they have not lost their beauty and depth being written down. If you like this book, check out Simon Ortiz's poetry. You won't be disappointed.

Mr. Simon J. Ortiz's work, "Men On The Moon", is a collection of three earlier groups of his short stories. The tales are not just of contemporary Native American life but also of their History, and specifically their History with the, "Mericano".

The History of Native Americans cannot be written without the experience of loss, displacement, internment, and racism to mention just a few. The Native Americans are one of the Genocides that this Country is responsible for, and even though we who made read this History took no part in the atrocities, we also are the only ones who can make amends. Those responsible, the dead, are not terribly productive.

These stories are not complaints nor are they a cry for pity. They are each brief statements of fact that no matter how tragic maintain a sense of hope. Justice, fairness, acknowledgement of the crimes committed against them are perhaps some of the redress they illustrate/seek.

The book is not grim; it is full of irony, sardonic moments, and even humor. The short story that is also the title for the book is wonderful. An elderly man muses about the first information he sees on viewing his first TV. A series of questions follow with answers from a younger family member. If NASA had to answer these questions as put forward by this wise old sage, the groping for answers would be amusing, and the space program would be doubtful. I don't believe the Author was actually questioning the merits of the space program, rather illustrating how easily things may happen despite failing the most basic of queries.

There are stories of heroic service for the United States during her wars, and too there is a story of one man that went to prison rather than serve. I mention these as I found this book very balanced. This is not one Native American's list of complaints, rather a reasoned and balanced view of their History and what that History has wrought.

The book is great reading that communicates its message in an informal conversational way consistent with Native American Culture. It loses nothing to the extent its format is not structured in the traditional manner of, "scholarly", History. Nonetheless this man is a wonderful writer, a poet, role model, and eloquent representative for his people.

Last night I had a dream. It was about this unpublished book. I read it there and it was wonderfull

"Dorothy Cave uses her extensive experience and travel of New Mexico to show the world the beauty she has discovered. She skillfully spins a story rich with cultural and linguistic details. She expertly captures the innocence of small town life. Cave brings Descano alive with her vivid description of its residents and their customers. By the end of the novel, the reader dreams of giving up the hustle and bustle of today's world and going back to 'that forgotten pocket of God's overall,' where nothing is too important and everything can wait until manana."

Dorothy Cave has given us an unexpected gem, a work that radiates with a love of the blended cultures of the remote villages of Northern New Mexico. In "Mountains of the Blue Stone", we experience life as seen by an Anglo man, Drake, as he discards the trapping of his own life in hopes of finding his true self. Drake becomes "Carlos" and discovers the roots of his own soul, and in so doing, finds that life lived simply, near to the old gods of the earth, is life at its best. Ms. Cave demonstrates considerable talent as a mature writer who knows and cares deeply about her subjects. I look forward to her next work.

If you enjoyed Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima", you will treasure this work.

I recently lived in El Paso and traveled throughout New Mexico. And Dorthory Cave's novel, Mountains of the Blue Stone, captures the land, the people, and the intense mystical spiritual realism of New Mexico. Through the eyes of Drake Cavanaugh, a near burntout "modern man," we view the book's main characters: the people of the land who are still giving meaning and birth to the spiritual.

The book is a journey of the soul, a trip up one of the many paths of the mountain to meaning. "But first we have to find the mountain!" Cave has found the mountain, and she and Drake happily allow us to travel with them and the proud and beautiful people of the "Land of Enchantment."

You are going to love this book. I am an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and my wife is a school teacher. We have both read this book and found our way up the mountain enlightened. Perhaps you will too.

This is a great little book, and possibly the best overview available of the long and fascinating history of this region. There are Pueblo villages encountered by Coronado in the 16th century that are still inhabited today, and Simmons skillfully portrays the interactions over the centuries of these and the other cultures that have mingled in this harsh region. Those readers who are inspired to study this subject in more detail (and that will probably include most who read Simmons' book!) may then want to delve into a longer classic such as Paul Horgan's "Great River."

This book was a very easy to read book.It displayed a different perspective about the history of New Mexico and it's people.Also,many significant events New Mexico helped shape are described in detail.The book covers the different periods in NM in a clear and focused manner,from Spanish conquest to Statehood and beyond.This book is perfect for persons wanting to learn about NM and the southwest.

I loved reading this book. It presented the highlights of the rich history of the southwest from the Spanish colonization to the recent decades in a essay-like tone that is very readable. The story itself is exotic and very compelling,as anyone who has lived in or vistited the area should know. I imagine that Mr. Simmons is the "dean" of New Mexico history. His knowledge of the broad sweep of centuries of history, comprising numerous diverse cultures, is impressive. More impressive is his ability to convey his personal feeling for the subject matter. A reader can tell by his personal epilogue about camping in the New Mexico desert that Mr. Simmons loves working in the shadows of the Conquistadors, the Pueblos, Navajos and American mountainmen and pioneers. This book brings the history alive. I am on the hunt for other books about southwest history, and for books by Marc Simmons.

Stephen Mertz has written a great story and I could not put it down until I finished it! The story is suspenseful, fast moving, main characters likable, and he used a theme of romance, suspense, and the mystical, which really works. I do hope we have another book soon from Mertz. An enjoyable read!

Stephen Mertz has written a fast-paced, exciting novel. Robin Curtis and her son Paul move from Chicago to the small town of Devil Creek, New Mexico, so that Robin can escape from a bad marriage. Naturally, Devil Creek harbors all sorts of dark secrets despite its idyllic appearance. The plot edges over into Dean Koontz territory at times, and Mertz's sure-handed writing keeps things popping. This is a very entertaining book. Highly recommended.

This excellent book is both a mystery and a good character study of the two principal figures in the story. Set in the beautiful Southwestern desert, Mertz writes with both economy and a depth of description that leaves the reader fully immersed in the story. It literally was a book that was hard to put down and kept me up late a few nights, unable to stop at the end of the chapter. With diabolical skill gleaned from years of polishing his craft, Mertz leaves each chapter with a hold-your-breath cliffhanger scene that caused me to actually want to skip chapters to see what happened, and then backtrack. But of course, as readers, we can't do that! I particularly enjoyed the angle of the main female lead having recently moved to the new town with her 12 year old son. This is a book that has many moving parts and much for readers of all kinds to relate to.

This exciting cookbook presents a sampling of the artist's Georgia O'Keefe's favorites dishes. The author worked for Ms. O'Keefe for several years. The recipes are not complicated. I have made several of the dishes and all have been delicious! I highly recommend this book! Doug Moring

Lavishly sprinkled with black-and-white photographs of the artist as well as full-color food photos, A Painter's Kitchen is a feast for the eyes as well as the mind and the stomach. MAIL ORDER GOURMET

Through anecdotes, personal recollections of conversations, black-and-white photographs of Georgia O'Keeffe, full-colored shots of the simple, but elegant food displays, and the unpretentious, sometimes austere recipes of Miss O'Keeffe's favorite foods, one gets a very personal, warm feeling about this celebrated artist. Southwest International Wine & Food Revie

This book, combined with Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1, which covers Colorado and Utah, is an absolutely essential tool for serious photographers who are looking to spend time photographing some of the most spectacular natural sights of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
I own both books, together with the accompanying cd roms, and I can honestly say, as a serious advanced photographer, I have never made a better investment. Since aquiring these guides, I have returned to the Southwest three times in three years, and each time have returned home with memories and photographic images that I had never known existed. These books are well written with great attention to details and chock full of black and white photos which excite the imagination. The cd roms provide hundreds more photos of these and nearby areas in vivid color. Together, this is a must have collection.
These books are not mere travel guides; they are an indispensable aid to photographers looking for the most photogenic spots in any given area of the Southwest. After spending hours enjoying these volumes, you will learn exactly how to get to each of these awesome spots, the best time of the year to travel to them, the preferred time of day to arrive for ideal lighting, suggested lenses and equipment and even the best spots (literally) to stand for ideal camera angles. Laurent Martres pretty much does it all for you; however, you will have to put on your own hiking boots and do your own walking, climbing, scrambling and whatever else it may take to get you to some of these hidden and often out of the way places. The rewards are great for those willing to follow his suggestions which will often include getting up well before dawn, hiking a few minutes or a few hours in some cases and a few days in others, scrambling over bolders or squeezing thru narrow canyons, wading thru waist high water or four-wheeling over back roads that will challenge the most adventureous among us.

Since getting hold of these books I have done all of the above and have always come home with more than my share of wonderful memories and prizewinning photos. I have discovered spots that I must return to over and over again because I just can't get enough of their jaw dropping beauty. I have spent time in locations you won't find in travel books or just about anywhere else for that matter. Many of these are places you would drive right by, never realizing their existence were it not for these books. A good number of the places featured in these books are generally not well publicized or often written about.
If you have interest in photographing or seriously exploring the lesser known and less often visited scenic wonders of America's Southwest, then I can't recommend both of these books and their accompanying cd roms enough. They should be on the bookshelves and in the backpacks of all serious lovers of the Southwest. They are invaluable in planning my photo trips; before I leave home, I pretty much know where I'll be going each day and what I can anticipate along the way. I have yet to be disappointed in any of the places I've spent time hiking to; quite the contrary since I am most often overwhelmed upon experiencing these spots in person. I expect to spend many future years searching out and exploring the great number of wonderful places Laurent Martres brings to our attention in both of these volumes. Thanks, Laurent; I'm looking forward to your future works.

Have you ever been in "The Southwest" without looking at Laurent Martres two guide books Vol. 2 and Vol. 1, than you really have to visit the place again.
If you see landscape-pictures in magazines, calenders, on postcards or posters and you think: "Whow, this is something I want to see with my own eyes.", than you will surely find it in Martres' two books "Photographing the Southwest".
He not only shows beautiful pictures from things you have never seen before and I'm sure you like to, no, additional he gives very good way descriptions (including needed time) and a lot of tips how to take the best pictures and at which time of the day.
I visited the area and the National Parks (and the visiting tourists) in more than one vacation. Laurent Martres was able to lead me to the places I ever dreamed of, "behind the tourists".
Planning your next trip? Best buy!!!

Laurent Martres' Volume II has been the most valuable and most helpful guide book for me during my last trip to Arizona in November 2002. He describes all those locations and viewpoints, I was always looking for, and never found in any other travel book. In addition, he gives tons of detailed advice about shooting professional photos. I also recommend his separately sold Comparison CD Rom with hundreds of Martres best photos in high resolution. They are a great source of inspiration, too. While viewing the pics on my PC, I could "pre-visit" the locations and choose my personal favorites.
Karsten

Race to the Moonrise, by archaeologist Sally Crum, is a wonderful resource for teachers teaching the history and cultures of the Southwest and Colorado. It is a fictional story which contains a vivid picture of the cultures of the Southwest from Casa Grande to Chimney Rock in Colorado. I used it with my fourth grade students to enable them to visualize the people and their lifestyle, compare the environments, weapons, religions, clothing, tools, foods, building styles, use of natural resources, trade, household objects, and travel of the Pre-Puebloan people. The story is appropriate for fourth grade and above and through a fictional narrative with carefully researched background, keeps students interested and learning throughout. The author has also published a teacher's guide with questions and activities to use with the book. I would recommend Race to the Moonrise to other teachers. It has been a great addition to my unit on Colorado History.

Race To The Moonrise is a carefully researched adventure tale of two young Mogollon trader children who run an exciting race against the full moonrise in prehistoric (1200 A.D.) northern Mexico and southwestern U.S. Little Basket, the young girl prophetess and her brother Long Legs make the arduous journey from their village in northern Mexico to the area of Chimney Rock and Finger Rocks, near the Four Corners area of today, before the 19th full moonrise to participate in a religious ceremony. All details are carefully researched and help authenticate this exciting children's educational action adventure book. Note: Race To The Moonrise was approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education. It is fascinating to follow the ebb and flow of this exciting tale. So much of early Native American prehistory is not known, yet what can be surmised of these ancient MesoAmericans is both intriguing and of enduring value to the young people of today. Race To The Moonrise is a fine work to honor one's ancestors with.

I have a really difficult time reviewing children's books. Until now. I have just finished "Race to the Moonrise: An Ancient Journey" by Ouray, CO author Sally Crum. It is a wonderful book. It was written for the fourth grade level, but let me tell you, I think readers of any age will not only enjoy the book but will finish it with a greater understanding of native American culture and feel good about having read it. The setting of the book is around 1200 AD and centers around Little Basket, a young girl with some very special powers, and her brother, Long Legs. These two, with their uncle, embark on a journey from their home in Mexico to what is now southwestern Colorado. The purpose of the journey, which takes them through the country of the Mogollon of New Mexico, the Hohokam of the Gila and Salt River Basins, the Sinagua of Wupatki Pueblo, the Hopi, and the Chaco Canyon, Aztec, Mesa Verde and Chimney Rock Pueblo peoples, is to save their village. Besides being a great read, the book is impressively accurate in its description of the native American cultures, and geographic and archaeological places which exist today. On a recent trip which included many of those places I was amazed at the author's accuracy. Do Little Basket and Long Legs save the village? To be sure, it's not here today. But then, when a little girl has special powers and a strong, brave, and protective brother...who knows? Sally Crum is a working archaeologist and has worked for numerous national parks and monuments over the past 16 years. The book has been approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education and published by Western Reflections Inc., so you know the quality is second to none. This is a wonderful, enchanting book. It is truly for children of all ages...right up into geezerhood!

Outstanding! Since I travel frequently to and through New Mexico, this book was everything I hoped for. Familiar terrain takes on a new meaning now. The seller (BookPlanet) delivered the book promptly, at a reasonable price, and in new condition. Very satisfactory deal all the the way around. John Bradshaw

I expected a pretty dry book regarding a pretty dry subject. I was wrong.

This has stimulated my interest in geology. Each time we travel now, we take this book and the Roadside History of NM book with us. It makes our trips through New Mexico much more interesting. We stop and look at the places these books mention and read about the events that occured there and what the rocks are telling us. Sometimes we even take side trips to see things that are mentioned in one of these two books.

I particularly like how this book has diagrams and pictures to help clarify what it is exactly I'm looking at. There are answers to questions I wouldn't have thought to ask in this book.

If you drive through NM quite a bit, this is a good book to have with you as you travel. Even if you don't think you are interested in geology, this book is a good book to have.

Over the years, I have been saving up pictures and memories of geologic curiosities in New Mexico. I had meant to ask a geologist and/or look up books on the subject, but never quite got around to it. When we lived in Taos, I wanted to know more about the geological ages evidenced in the rock layers at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. When we lived in Los Alamos, I was fascinated by the sculptured sandstone pinnacles in the canyon lands that look man made (but are not). When we lived in Santa Fe and environs, I wanted to know how climate and human interaction had altered the land and what the countryside must have looked like to ancient Indian peoples in that place. And now that we're living between Grants and Gallup, I'm most interested in the lava flow of the Malpais region. This author says that "The youngest flow is less than 1,000 years old and may figure in Indian legends as 'fire rock' that buried the fields of Indian ancestors." To the East is Mt. Taylor, an "eroded composite volcano."

So it's all here - the answers to all my questions and more - with photographs and diagrams and history. It covers all of New Mexico and into the states it touches - Arizona, Colorado and Texas (as well as the four corners region going into Utah). From Precambrian to Quarternary ages, from ancient flood plains and the Rio Grande rift to mountain rock glaciers and the Palisades, it's all here in this little gem of a book.

A perfect resource to accompany you when you're touring New Mexico either on the main highways or off the beaten track, you can go as deeply into the geology of the area you're seeing as you want or simply check out what type of rock you're looking at. *Roadside Geology of New Mexico* by Halka Chronic is exactly what I was looking for in one compact volume, and I'm most please to have discovered it.

pamhan99@aol.com

With "The Teachings Of Don Carlos", you delineated your path. With "Toltecs Of The New Millenium", you shared your experiences on that path. Victor, you have brought a reverence and sense of respect back to this world. You have shown us that here, all around us, we have a remarkable opportunity-- to tune one's spirit to the world at large. Embracing the world in such a way brings one into a deeper and clearer relation with Intent. This, is truly perception, and being, worthy of pursuit. Thank you.

Pre-Colombian with an o not u

For many of us looking for answers that doctrined religions cannot quite give us, Victor Sanchez has exposed a world where faith meets reality. Through his own research and paticipation, Sanchez experiences a spiritual domain that continues to exist admist the colonization and materialism now precedent around the world. Not restricted to boundaries of religion, Sanchez takes the reader through first hand understanding of what is possible when your allow and train your mind to believe in "separate realities." In a Carlos Casteneda like approach, Sanchez writes of his experiences with a group of Native Americans in rural Mexico, who have sustained their belief system and way of life before and after Spanish colonzation. Sanchez spent 15 years with these people and is sharing the world that these people "see." Those who have been exposed to Castaneda's work would find equal enjoyment with this book and have another supporting perspective of human capabilities with spirit and energy. Sanchez provides an answer to what is real to our eyes, may be only what we've been told and trained them to see. How easy is it to believe something you can't see, and if you do, should it be excused as hallucination or paganism. To the growing number of people not completely happy with formal religion, here is a glimsp of ancient wisdom that offers a possibility of human existence on a separate reality, one that is real.

The thread that binds cultures is stronger and more firm than most people think. Complicating beliefs in order to make them seem original has nothing to do with their essence. Underneath it all they spring from a common source, with an extraordinary parallelism. God is God, no matter by what name. All of that and more is embraced by this amazing book, beautifully written, thought-provoking, a reference source for a lifetime of consultation. Highly recommended.

This book is apparently complicated but in fact is quite simple: underneath the dogma and ceremony, all religions are the same. They have in common a need for answers but also a need for questions that lend themselves to lessons in morality, cautionary tales, structures of ethics that permit the fine fabric of law and society. And furthermore, the societies we think of as primitive are anything but that. Each culture devises a standard of values and behavior, that is essentially like every other culture. A valuable book, a fascinating and provocative one, as applicable as a textbook as a bedside reference source.

This book is a fantastic read - it's passionate, poignant and well written. The research done to write it is obviously extensive and thorough - Carol Miller certainly did her homework! even though the subject is highly intellectual, it's an easy read - great for a flight or a trip to the beach.