This book has some good suggestions on ways to keep these pests out of your house. Written in an informal, easy-to-read style.

The 86 black and white images in this book reflect dozens of visits by Ansel Adams to the Southwest over more than 50 years. Adams liked what he saw, and felt that "this land is offering me a tremendous opportunity; no one has really photographed it."

This volume has two weakneses. The images are often too small to accurately reproduce the detail that Adams intended us to see in the foregrounds and backgrounds, and many are over inked. Second, the introduction by William A. Turnage is not up to his usual standards. He makes a number of strange assertions such as that Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941 (poorly reproduced in this volume) is "beyond doubt, his most famous photograph." Hmmm. What do you think? In other places though, Turnage adds interesting details about Adams' introduction to the Southwest and the influence on his photography of Paul Strand.

The book contains many letters from Adams about his experiences in taking the photographs, including many near disasters with his station wagon breaking down. One of the really interesting ones is to Patsy England in 1936 in which he says that in many ways the "Carlsbad Caverns are symbolic of my life; beautiful and exquisite things that exist only in the light of the moment." That may be the finest characterization of Adams' work that I have read.

Here are my favorite images (as reproduced here) in this book:

Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, c. 1929

Monument Valley, Arizona, 1937

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1942

Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1941

Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, 1942

Burro Mesa and the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, 1942

Farm, Autumn, near Glendale, Utah, c. 1940

Tree Against Cliff, Zion National Park, Utah, 1947

In Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah, 1947

Manly Beacon, Death Valley National Park, California, c. 1952

Grand Canyon from Yavapai Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1942

Grand Canyon from Yavapai Point (Bright Angel Canyon), Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1942

After you have finished reading about Ansel Adams' adventures and learning in the Southwest, I urge you to take your own driving trip through this beautiful country. Be sure to visit the spots that Adams did. I also suggest that you be sure to add Sedona in Arizona, Mesa Verde, the Meteorite Crater in Arizona, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen West in Scottsdale, and the Navajo reservation to the areas depicted here.

See the most beautiful places you can as often as possible! The beauty will seep into your soul.

For anyone interested in growing food (anything from vegetable plants to fruit trees) in the high desert of New Mexico (and possibly Colorado/Northern Arizona), this book is a great guide to help the novice gardener. The guide is easy to follow and has hints for all areas of gardening in the high desert region.

I just completed a 24 state tour of the Central, Northwest, West Coast, and Southwest. I visited several National Parks, Indian Reservations, National Forests, and state capitols. I purchased Ms Strutin's book, "A Guide to Contemporary Plains Indians" at one of the Parks.
I found that this book tells rather candidly and concisely what happened to the American Indians of the Great Plains. How we took their land through false promises, deception and sheer force. I've been delivering this message to all who would listen for many years. In this book are many details of the atrocities committed during the settling of the Plains by the white man. I was so impressed by this book, that I've searched the web for an address for Ms Strutin, in order to abtain pernission to excerpt her accounts on my website and in my online journal. I've not been successful in my search, but I will continue. The message contained in this book should be spread. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American Indian history.
Greywolf0518

This book is an excellent reference to anyone who collects or sells Native American Jewelry. It shows the mark of the well know artists in Native American silver jewelry. The Navajo , Hopi , Zuni Indians are all included in this book. Very detailed, I highly recommend it.

This book is an important resource for anyone interested in Southwestern culture and archaeology. I use it continually at work and have found its detailed information invaluable. There are many illustrations, diagrams, and timelines that help illuminate the text. As there are multiple authors within the volume, comparison of information and facts is often enlightening. My only hesitation in giving this book top rating is that some of the information is dated. I would love to have this as well as the entire series of the Handbook of North American Indians in my library.

Lucinda broke new ground with the first edition of this book, and she's done an excellent job of refining the territory with the second. She obviously loves her herbs and loves cooking with them. A great compliment to the kitchen and the garden.

I remember meeting this man briefly as a child. We lived in the same hometown and it was at a Democratic Party meeting very early one morning. I didn't in any way grasp who he was, but I distinctly remember thinking that this man was 'somebody'.

The book is a good read going his humble beginnings and, most interesting, how he had the feeling very early on that he wouldn't be satisfied staying in his hometown and living a farmers life, as his father had. This didn't seem to be said in a pompous way....he expressed admiration several times for his fathers ability to live a quiet, content life being satisfied with what he had. I had no idea of the things he had done and the people he had come into contact with during his life. It was pretty amazing.

Being from his small hometown of Versailles, I have always wondered how we could have had a resident who knew Winston Churchill, F.D.R., the Commissioner of Baseball who let the first African-American into the big-leaugues, a Senator, Governor, as well as a serious Presidential candidate and not have a single street or building acknowledging him?

My son is in 2nd grade and they're doing a unit on Native Americans. We read this book together and enjoyed the story as well as the beautiful illustrations. This book also lends itself to do the shadowbox project that goes along with the class studies. I enjoyed the Navajo concept of how the stars are patterned in the sky. We would recommend this book for the 7-9 year old group.