QuickTrips Travel Letter: "Exhaustive in its detail and compelling in its descriptions, I'd go with this hefty, extremely thorough and very informative book."

Articulate, specific summary of the actions of Ricardo Flores Magon and his brother during, before and after the Mexican Revolution. Also traces the activities of the PLM (Partido Liberal Mexico) and IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), my only criticism is the lack of actual writing by Magon, of which there are only really 10 pages, so you get a lot of history, but not a lot of justification for his and his organizations' actions during that time.

Solidarity and revolution.

I highly recommend this book for children. This book has great artwork. You can discover alot about the Anasazi by looking at the pictures. The pictures are in earth/clay tones. The story is very good too. It is very acurate. I have read many books about the Anasazi tribe and this is one of my favorites. It is for a third grade or above reading level.

This is a beautiful pictoral journal of the ancient Native American sites of the Southwestern United States. The pictures and the text are both interesting and informative. If you have lived or will travel in this part of the country, it can be considered an arm-chair guide to many places in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. These places include Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, Montezuma Castle, Wupatki National Monument, Navajo National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Aztec Ruins, Walnut Canyon, Casa Grande and Tuzigoot National Monuments, and many more. The only thing lacking in the book is a map of the region.

I wasn't sure what to expect, being a devoted fan of Billy I can get very sensitive about material on him which I believe is false or slanderous. I know a good book when I read one, and this was a fabulous one. This did not claim, as so many articles , books and films do, that Billy killed 21 men,(he didn't, although he probably shot that many)or that he was a vicious psycho (he wasn't, he was a gentle, kind, likeable person). this book also dispelled some of the many lies and untruths told about Billy's reputation. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Billy the Kid or anyone who wants to read a real story without historical hearsay.

It is very difficult in the field of archaeology to discern social and political relationships in the archaeological record--especially in non-literate cultures such as the prehistoric pueblo (Anasazi). This excellent collection of essays, edited by two of the very best Southwestern arcaeologists, is cautious in drawing conclusions from the record but also offers informed speculation on social and political organization. A good read for the interested layperson as well as those in archaeology. - Richard Schott, Ph.D.

Unlike Lister's previous book, *Pot Luck: Adventures in Archaeology*, her account here is less anecdotal and personal, but she goes into more scientific detail as she focuses in on five prehistoric Southwestern U.S. sites, namely Lowry Ruin in Colorado, Awatovi-Kawaika-a in Arizona and Kuaua, Pottery Mound and Gran Quivira in New Mexico. The prehistoric pueblo Indian time frame is from the 6th to the 13th Centuries and the conquering Spanish overlays are investigated up to the 17th Century. Archeological discovery times covered are from the 1930s to the 1960s.

College students, Native American helpers, and professional archeologists uncovered scores of embellished walls, different kinds of pottery and evidence of agricultural practices of the pueblo peoples, but conserving the finds was tricky at best and impossible at worst. Some of the most stunning finds were at Pottery Mound in the Rio Puerco in New Mexico. Wall paintings were startlingly abstract, complex and sophisticated. Shells, pottery, and gemstones not found in the area evidenced trade with Mesoamerica while pictures of fish and bison indicated exchanges with plains Indians.

The downside of these finds, the inside story of how archeologist Frank Hibben fudged on and suppressed some of the data at Pottery Mound for instance, is also chronicled by the author. At the end of her chapter on the subject, she states that "It is a pity that they are beclouded by controversy and that the original records are today beyond the reach of further scientific study."

Photos in this book are clear and intriguing. An excellent beginning and in my opinion a must-read for anyone interested in any or all of these five sites.
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Ely's _The Big Sandy Valley_ is the only extended work published on the history of this region, centered along the border between Kentucky and West Virginia. Ely, a Southern sympathizer, scrupulously avoids discussing the Civil War, though he refers to it many times in connection with some of the family histories he presents in the text. For many of the foremost families, he provides some history, how they came to the region, where they lived, and what they did for their livings. Unfortunately, Ely focuses on some families, but makes no mention of many others who contributed to the development of the area. Though the book is nearly 500 pages in length, it is notorious for what it does not chronicle as much as what it illuminates. No mention is made of the Hatfield-McCoy feud as the book was published at about the time the feud began. While it is flawed and presents some incorrect versions of some of the stories, it is still the only extended work discussing the history of this very important, but often overlooked, region.

Look for a similar work compiled by historian William Elsey Connelley and written, in part, by the Reverend Burris. This additional, yet-to-be-published work discusses many of the families and events which Ely chose to ignore.

While the style of this book is relatively light and informal, the book does a very good job of presenting all the species of cacti in the southwestern United States and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of Mexico. The cacti are organized by scientific name, but common names are given as well. Identification information and short natural history information is presented for every cactus. The large, visually appealing color photos show enough of the plants to allow for easy identification. This book has only two major drawbacks. First, it only provides written descriptions of the cacti's ranges, whereas maps would have been more useful. Second, the regions covered by this book seem to be fairly nebulous; it is unclear as to exactly which parts of the United States and Mexico are fully represented. Nonetheless, this book serves as a very good field guide for anyone interested in cacti.