A rock art guide for interested amateurs that attempts to classify petroglyphs and pictographs by their form. Draws heavily on older sources and fails to put the art into the context in which it was created. Useful for site lists.

I needed an excellent source book for primitive petroglyphs for some art work. This book proved to be an excellent resource

Work done by others is always fascinating, which is why national parks featuring ancient ruins are so popular; they showcase the incredible and often very beautiful work done in the Southwest before Europeans arrived.

It takes a lot of work and skill to create a petroglyph. I know, I've tried it. A full day's work produces only a small image. First, find a hard river stone with a pointy end; then, spend hours using it to chip away enough desert varnish and surface rock to make a shallow indent on a large boulder or cliff face. When you finish, since rocks don't rot or grow back, the design will last thousands of years.

Rock art wasn't doodles or graffiti, churned out in a trivial moment or so; it is serious statements of faith that Native Americans took days or weeks to produce. The original meanings may never be recovered, which is a great loss; but, the artistry can still be appreciated. Patterson's sketches are clear, concise and free of unrelated static. Since petroglyphs are the originals of modern Native American art, this is also a guide for artists, historians and poets of the Southwest.

It is a bilingual dictionary, everything from "arrow" and "atlatl" to "X-ray styles." In Spanish, it helps to know "Alto" means "Stop;" in the petroglyph language, it helps to know what sign means "Sun." Patterson offers educated insights into 600 common petroglyphs. People today link certain symbols to ideas, such as an "apple" as a gift for a teacher, a still life art object, a kind of pie, or a computer. In all likelihood, every petroglyph had as many or more meanings -- depending on the story teller.

Consider Patterson's description of the sun sign, which is still a popular design for silver jewelry from the Pueblos: ". . . the outer circle represents the ring of light around the Sun, the second represents the sun itself, and the inner circle or dot, his umbilicus, which opens to provide mankind with game and other sustenance." Next, think of modern artists who see the sun and paint a yellow circle, while others paint a yellow circle and create a sun. Now, the petroglyph sun sign takes on new meaning.

Art expresses a sense of adventure. A thousand years ago, petroglyphs were patiently chipped into boulders and cliffs to create a permanent memory of unique and special events. They portray a dramatic history of gods, demons, giants, tricksters and rare events as powerful and devious and clever as any Nordic saga. They also offer maps to the beginning of creation and pathways to a fulfilled life. Petroglyphs are a record of the exploration, knowledge and interpretation of America long before its "discovery" by Europeans. It reminds us that we have much yet to understand; it may not be the "Rosetta stone" of the Southwest, but it is one of the texts.

This is a masterful guide, sensibly devoid of guesswork and idle speculation (that's my field). Every society invents, discovers, experiments and creates to explain its origins and values. Patterson classifies common themes that were important enough to be written on rock. Rock art is one of our cultural treasures. If you want a book of facts about it, this is where to start.

A black scout, stupid most of the time and was smart enough only once to rescue a guy, with limited knowledge of scouting and some experience in shooting; Graham, a somewhat tough and stubborn wagon master; a girl called Aggie; an old plainsman with a sidekick Kid; a lot of Camaches and butchering killings assembled together this going-no-where and aimless story. Lot of flash-backs trying to give the readers some unnecessary backgrounds of these vague characters during a close-circuit fighting at a crossing only ruined the whole scenario with too many digressions. What's the symbol of being gelding the private part of Moses? This story is just like one of the mass productions out of Hollywood in black-and-white Camanches attacking wagon train lousy movies. A total failure of Clay Reynolds if compared to his latest more mature and almost perfect novel, "PLAYERS". Readers given this book a "10" should at first to finish "LONESOME DOVE" and "BRULES" , and then might tell the difference of goo

This book was actually spell binding. I found the author had me completely caught up in the characters lives. The book was hard to put down. I think that there was enough material to make two books and the characters certainly could have gone on for quite a while, those that lived. Moses Franklin was exactly as I would think a black man in those times and circumstances would feel and act. He was very believable. It floundered somewhat in the ending but I didn't mind it was a very good read.

Each of the aspiring pioneers in this book suffers, none are quite whole. While one character's mental anguish may not precisely match that of another, the pain is still real, the dream still unfulfilled.

These men and women are moving out west in the desperate hope that they will find what they desire, whether it is worldly success, relief from a horrible situation, or just a sense of internal peace.

That, of course, does not happen. Instead, they become trapped in a claustrophobic pecan grove, surrounded by brutal Indians. There, in Franklin's Crossing, each person's weakness becomes even more apparent, pronounced, whether it is greed, selfishness, or cowardice; and so, when it is vital for everyone to work together, most fall completely apart.

What I liked best about the book is that it is a woman who directly faces the nearly impossible challenges, a woman who survives and adapts and continues to fight back against ridiculous odds.

And, while little joy surfaces throughout the tale, the final feeling is that there is always hope, that the possibility of a better life exists for those who take the necessary risks

The Potts Hot Springs/Hot Tub is on Private Property and has never been open to the public with out permission. Because of all the people this Hot tub had been pulled. It is No longer there.

I absolutely LOVE this book. If you're a hot springs addict (like I am) you'll never leave home without it. It has remote hot springs with excellent directions, she-she spas, photos and honest descriptions. Clothing optional to "Versace only bathing suits required." It's the only book you'll need for hot springs if you travel on the west coast. It's definately the most thorough one I've come across.

I bought several guides to hot springs in Nevada & California, and this is clearly the best. Provides a B+W photo for every spring, as well as GPS coordinates, detailed driving instructions, pool temporature and detailed description. This book described several springs that were right under my nose and that were described nowhere else. If you get this guide, you won't need any other.

This book is an excellent explanation of the case for Brushy Bill Roberts as Billy the Kid. The authors do a good job of seperating fact from fiction and using all available information to dig to the bottom of Brushy Bill's identity. Before I traveled to Hico, Texas and purchased this book, I didn't beleive the claim of Brushy Bill. Even though I am still not %100 convinced about Brushy Bill, I believe the evidence is heavily on his side. It seems to me that the authors and supporters of Brushy Bill as Billy The Kid have been tormented and shunned by the supporters of Pat Garrett and the New Mexico travel industry. Through all of this torment, the supporters of Brushy Bill have stood firm. You should decide who is on the right side of this battle for yourself. You dont even have to go to Hico, Texas to get it like I did.

BRUSHY BILL DID NOT SEEK ATTENTION TO HIS REAL IDENITY, HE TRIED TO HIDE IT ALL HIS LIFE, ONCE BILL MORRISON CONFRONTED HIM HE ACKNOWLEDGED WHO HE WAS...HE KNEW TO MUCH ABOUT LINCOLN COUNTY WAR TO HAVE NOT BEEN THERE. HIS GENEALOGY HAS ESTABLISHED ALL OF THE SURNAMES HE USED AND ANYBODY THAT HAS READ THIS BOOK AND THE 4 BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM WOULD HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT HE WAS THE KID. I HAVE READ ALL 5 BOOKS THAT I KNOW OF THAT DEAL WITH BRUSHY BILL AND AFTER READING THE FIRST 4, THAN READING THE RETURN OF THE OUTLAW BILLY THE KID I'M MORE CONVINCED THAN EVER OF WHO HE WAS. TRADITIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE RE-WRITTEN. POLITICS & MONEY DEMAND THAT THE TRUTH NOT BE KNOWN. LINCOLN NEW MEXICO'S BIGGEST MONEY MAKER IS THE BILLY THE KID LEGEND AND, IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN THEY WOULD NO LONGER HAVE THE TOURIST FLOCKING TO LINCOLN. W.C. JAMESON & FREDERIC BEAN DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PICKING UP WHERE THR OTHER AUTHORS LEFT OFF.

At last, some solid science has been applied to the controversy regarding who was killed by Pat Garrett. William Henry "Bushy Bill" Roberts was Billy the Kid, as shown by the computer comparisons of faces conducted by the University of Texas, making them a statistical "match". This is a noteworthy continuation of the work by Harvard Ph.D. Charles L. Sonnichsen who wrote Alias Billy the Kid in 1955, showing Roberts could quite possibly be the Kid. Now computer science has answered the long-debated question. Garrett shot the wrong man. All these years people have relied on the doubtful word of Ash Upson and his fanciful tale of a Robin Hood-type figure, with no facts to support any of his claims regarding the Kid. This is a compelling book filled with facts and statistically valid comparisons of the two images. Only the die-hards now believe the Kid is buried at Fort Sumner. He lies in a pauper's grave in Hamilton County, Texas, having died peacefully of a heart attack in 1950. Garrett, and his ghost writer Upson, were both frauds, and modern science has given us undeniable proof. A great read for those with an open mind!!

Michael Hickey's book has been promoted as being an in-depth analysis of the death of outlaw John Ringo which provides a final answer to who killed him. In my opinion, this massive book fails utterly to do this. The "analysis" seems little more than speculation and the evidence presented is absurdly thin, especially considering Hickey's reliance upon the discredited memoirs of Josephine Earp as "edited" by Glenn Boyer. Some of the maps and photographs are marginally interesting, but the authenticity of some of the latter must be questioned in light of the minimal information given their provenance. Students of Tombstone know that phony photographs have long bedeviled this topic.

The first half of Hickey's book is written in what can only be called a "novelistic" form, and it seems that this really should have been published as a novel rather than history. Many of the details given have no possible real source, and the rest are built upon very shaky ground.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone who expects to learn who (if anyone rather than Ringo himself) killed John Ringo.

A Treasure Chest of Earpiana

"John Ringo: The Final Hours" is yet another superb volume on Earpiana from Michael M. Hickey and a must for all true enthusiasts. Like his earlier book which delved into the mystery surrounding the killing of Warren Earp, this work centres on another controversial death, that of John Ringo. Also, like the other book, it is as big as the great outdoors, exhibiting a remarkable generosity in the vast amount of information it has to offer pertaining to the Earp saga. In fact, basically, here is yet another Hickey treasure chest of Earp lore for those of us who just cannot get enough of the doings of Wyatt and Co.

The book is well written and immensely readable. Hickey has the knack of keeping the reader enthralled, never quite sure along which trail he is going to be taken next. His writing style reminds me of the classic whodunit crime writers who always loved to surprise their readers. Such a style is particularly appropriate here for Mr. Hickey is, as he says, telling a "Tale of the Old West", and the first third of the book is a vivid dramatisation of the events immediately leading up to Ringo's assassination as the author sees it.

Michael Hickey has not been afraid to use contemporary hearsay and local legend as a starting point for his theories but he is always determined to find documentary evidence to back it up if at all possible. This is clearly proved by reading the final two thirds of the book which is described as the "Author's Working Notes and Documentation". Here the reader will revel in a veritable cornucopia of reference material: maps (including Wyatt's own map of the Ringo killing), documents of all kinds, letters, newspaper reports, excerpts from other authors' work and, of course, a myriad of photos, each with a detailed caption. Even here, in the "documentary" part of the book, Hickey keeps us guessing, keeps the tension going for the reader as, little by little, he feeds us more and more information about that time and that place.

For this book is far more than just the story of how one notorious outlaw came to meet his end. It is a detailed analysis, told with extraordinary insight, of how Wyatt Earp and his posse put an end to the Cowboy depredations in Cochise County with the backing of Wells Fargo, the Pinkertons, various national and local government agencies and even the U.S. and Mexican governments.

As an author, Michael M. Hickey combines an imaginative and intellectual grasp of the Arizona milieu of the late nineteenth century, the intellectual fervour of a detective determined to ferret out the truth, together with a vivid and most entertaining writing style. Long may he continue to give us these treasures of Earpiana.

The information, footnotes and research contained in Michael Hickey's book, "John Ringo - The Final Hours" are compelling evidence that Ringo did not commit suicide. It is indeed the "story behind the story."

As a resident of Bali year-round, the number one complaint by almost every lonely planet carrying visitor is how inaccurate and outdated the lonely planet guides are. Whether it is Thailand or Indonesia, information that is needed on a daily basis is history by the time the lonely books reach the traveling consumer. Bookstores throughout Asia are piled high with lonely planets discarded by weary travelers eager to lessen their load. Lonely planet books do offer historical perspectives that can also be found on the internet, but the insider's information the first time traveler needs to save money and sanity their first days in Asia is sorely lacking. Updated info on how to avoid being ripped off from lodging to transportation to moneychanging is of primary concern to almost all visitors to Bali that we meet. Books as heavy as bricks with pretty pics are nice but hardly handy when you are in need of fast, accurate information. Try "The Beginners Guide to Bali" on cd-rom- it has weekly updated info and prepares the first time traveler to Bali for the unexpected.

I found this book quite informative and useful in its information about many different aspects of visiting Bali. The book provides wonderful cultural insights, historical background and detailed information.

The only major discrepancy we came across, for instance, was that the book said that Kuta has problems with tourists being hassled by street vendors, but when we went in April, we found that the main street in Kuta (where the Matahari Department Store is) quite the opposite. It turned out that the officials had just recently come down on the street vendors and put a stop to harassing tourists there. Instead, when we went to the center of town in Ubud, we were hassled a great deal by taxi/moped drivers to get us to hire them; this caught us off guard.

In response to concerns that the book isn't current on it's information, I feel that you shouldn't rely on a guidebook for prices, and that as a whole Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok gives the information that you need to know. It tells you in great detail about what there is to see and do, and where things are and how things work. I mean afterall, by the time any book reaches publication, isn't a lot of the information out-of-date? Otherwise, a book would never get published; it would be a newsletter.

I gave this a rating of 4 stars only because when we went to Bali, we didn't travel enough of the country (and we didn't get to Lombok) to give the book 5 stars.

We have just returned from Bali (October 2000) and strongly recommend taking this LP with you. I have been a bit skeptical about the info of some LP's (Mexico-we hardly used it!) but in Bali whoever put this one together knew their stuff. FORGET THE PRICES MENTIONED, they've at least doubled for meals accomodation etc , but then so has the amount of rupee you'll get!! One interesting note. We took a taxi to the Temple of Gudang Kawi, an 11th century temple. LP justifibly raves about it. The only other tourists there we saw were holding a LP. Local tour operaters didn't seem to think tourists would be interested in it and must take them to more boring temples!(and believe you me, they get boring!)

The topic which this book covers, the oppression of the Apache Indians by the American Government, particularly the Long Walk, is an amazing story of struggle and brutal oppression. However, this story, an account of the events from a family memeber of Big Horse the Warrior, leaves the reader feeling a little slighted. Very little detail of the horrific events is given and worse yet, the events end up sounding watered down, as if they really weren't that bad.

Overall, I feel the historical event of tragic proportion deserves a much better account which brings the readers into the emotional aura surrounding the events.

This book reads just like a story with real life accounts. It's very entertaining and interesting, but not redundant and textbook-like. I recommend reading it! It's short enough to read in one night. It also provides great insight into the Indians and the suffering they had to go through. Great book!

I've met the author - Tiana Bighorse Butler. Her pride shines through as she tells the stories of her father. Written in Navajo english, the reader is taken into the traditional navajo way of life. Wonderful stories give an honest perspective and a clear understanding of warriors in that point of time. Buy this book!! Compelling reading that you'll never forget!!

LeSueur's book is well written and provides much documentation, but LeSueur has an axe to grind. In this book, he suggests that the Missourians were fairly good-natured and that the Mormons were the ones most responsible for the escalation in mob violence against the Mormons and for the ensuing "Mormon War." This depiction is only possible by ignoring the history of the Saints in Missouri prior from 1831 to 1837, a period which receives about two paragraphs of treatment. But failure to understand prior persecution and expulsion from other counties in Missouri makes it impossible to properly understand the replaying of those events in Caldwell County in 1838. The Saints had already been through the cycle of persecution, appeal to apathetic state leaders, escalated violence by mobs, taking of arms in self defense, indignant cries of "insurrection," followed by government action against the Saints. LeSueur's case against the Saints loses much effect if earlier Missouri events are properly considered - and they are not.

LeSueur's desire to implicate Joseph Smith with the misdeeds of some other Mormons, especially Sampson Avard's band of "Danites," also leads him to neglect major sources of evidence and to not even acknowledge the arguments raised in major works on this topic. The most significant LDS treatment of the topic at the time of LeSueur's work was that of LeLand Gentry, who provided significant and credible evidence that directly undercuts LeSueur's position. LeSueur speaks of many hours of discussion with Gentry in the foreword and acknowledges Gentry's work as being extremely valuable in the bibliographic essay, but never addresses the issues raised by Gentry. Thus, the reader is not allowed to even know that Gentry makes a case for two groups that were called "Danites", one being the legitimate community of Saints organized to perform various community tasks and later organized for self-defense against mob attacks, and the other being the small, secretive band led by the corrupt Sampson Avard. The latter group, the subversives within a larger legitimate group, is all we think of now when "Danites" is mentioned. Much of LeSueur's case is built on the assumption that all references to "Danites" are to a corrupt and secretive group, which LeSueur weakly argues was actually led by Joseph Smith and not by Sampson Avard.

If Joseph were really behind the corrupt Danites, who supposedly swore to support Joseph and maintain secrecy or be killed, then we must wonder how Avard was able to save his own skin so easily by testifying boldly against Joseph Smith when Avard was captured by authorities after the violence in Daviess County. He told his captors exactly what they wanted to hear, testified to support every point of the state's case against Joseph, and was able to go free by putting all the blame for the misdeeds of some Mormons on Joseph Smith, blaming him as the leader of the Danites and the perpetrator of violence. Joseph went to jail for months because of Avard. If what Avard said were true, he would have been killed for breaking the Danite oath - but Joseph's only action against Avard was excommunication. LeSueur sees Avard's testimony as largely credible and sees the mock hearing in Richmond as reasonably fair, in spite of the spirit of injustice that prevailed.

Contrary to LeSueur's allegations, Joseph opposed secretive bands like the Danites and did speak out against such groups, not just against Sampson Avard. His letter of March 25, 1839 from Liberty Jail clearly refutes one of LeSueur's arguments against Joseph. And Avard's own statements show ongoing opposition from Joseph, not support.

I am an active member and priesthood holder in the LDS Church. I'm electing to remain anonymous on this review as I don't want the grief that oftimes comes with supporting unpopular historical perspectives.

The review written by Lindsay below is a significant distortion of LeSueur's book. The author does not portray the Missourians as peaceful and the Mormons as troublemakers, rather it gives a very balanced view that shows while the Missouri pioneers were easily stirred to violence, that the situation could have been much more peaceful if the Mormons had not engaged in several destabilizing activities.

The book is very well written and steps one through the events that led up to the Mormon expulsion from Missouri. Along the way we are exposed to the perspectives of believing Mormons who tried to head things off and impart some sanity to the situation. Members who later were used as scapegoats by Mormon authorities, in order to somehow justify how things could have gone so badly for inspired leaders.

The Mormons did suffer terribly and deserved far better protection from government officials. However the later histories written of these events were understandably tainted by the anger of those writting them. These histories have been perserved within the LDS Church to this day as being accurate.

If one is interested in knowing more about this period, then I recommend this book highly as the single best reference available. LeSueur, who once worked as a historian at Brigham Young University, uses both Mormon and non-Mormon sources, balancing them nicely. This book received several positive reviews from both Mormon and professional historical societies.

This is the definitive book on the 1838 period of Mormon history. LeSueur is fair, and treats it as the historian that he is. As a strong Mormon, I view LeSueur as the most impartial of the many authors I have read on this period of Mormon history.

This is a fine book length study of a small, but important, Civil War action. It is richly detailed and it is obvious a great deal of research was done. I know how hard it is to find reliable information about the MSG. True, there are minor inaccuracies (like the ones listed below in another review) but they do not detract significantly from an otherwise fine book.

I enjoyed this book and thought that its format was excellent for giving a complete view of the battle and where it fit into the border war campaigns. It has all of the elements necessary for a proper treatment of a battle: numerous maps showing terrain and troop deployments, a reasonably thorough order of battle, discussion of events leading up to the battle and the events immediately thereafter, along with detailed re-telling of the action based on surviving records. In addition, it includes a tour guide for the battlefield, and photographs of key positions. Another feature which I appreciated was the short section describing the after battle exploits of notable figures in the book.

On the negative side there were a number of typographical errors and a few omissions, but these were merely an annoyance rather than a fatal flaw (as the previous reviewer might have you believe.) It did appear that there was a slight pro-Union bias in the book, which seems to have ! offended the previous reviewer.

I had never heard of the Battle Of Carthage when I picked this book up the first time. It looked interesting, had a nice cover design, was a Civil War History and I'm a buff. What I found was one of the best small battle histories I've ever read! Well written, multiple maps, where you need them, pictures, notes, OOB this book has it all,including a Battle Field tour.

Unless you have no intrest in the Civil War you will like this book.

This is the most boring book I have ever read. Its plot is so infinitely small that it is not worth mentioning. I have read all of the Newbery Medals up till 2002, and although some haven't been that good, this one takes the cake for the worst (Even compared to "M.C. Higgens the Great). Personally, I'm glad it is finally out of print, and I would never suggest it to anyone. Of course, it is an alternative to counting sheep...but never mind.

I do not agree with the review given by Horn. This is a gentle story told with compassion and respect. It does not degrade the Dine nor their culture. Laura Armer respected the Dine and, in turn, was respected by them. They called her "the woman who wears turquiose" (she wore turquiose long before it was popular to do so) and "hard-working woman." This story can be appreciated by children who have secret places and are in awe of the beauty and wonder of nature. There is a magic quality to it that supports many children's belief in the mystical realms. I read it to my son when he was seven and we both loved it. I think it might even encourage some to find out more about the Dine people and their culture and beliefs. I suppose the reaction of the Dine characters when they are in the city could be taken as demeaning by those looking for that particular view. However, these people's lives were based on relating, daily, to important life issues, not the non-essential elements that abound in city living and the art/museum world culture - this could make them appear simple. Yet, if the situation were reversed, and the people from the urbanized world were put on the Dine reservation, especially in the 1930's, they would appear awkward, superficial, and "illiterate" in the ways of survival. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I exchanged about a hundred letters with Armer before her death. From her unpublished manuscripts I edited 10 chapters of her Navajoland adventures for Desert Magazine. These chapters were then published as "In Navajoland." She shared many mystical insights with me and a credo which I cherish: "I will walk with fate / And thus compel / The jade to go my way. / A jackal falling down a well said, / "Here I camp today." I have in my living room the large canvas Armer painted called "The Shepherdess," a scene described in one of her books. I welcome any comment on Armer.