John Harrisson is my neighbor and he and his wife are ALWAYS cooking SOMTHING evrything he asks me to try is supurb!

This book is wonderful. La Casa Sena restaurant in Santa Fe is absolutely incredible--their food is so delicious.
I highly recommend this cookbook.

Stories about particular bears and events in the southwest, from the 1820s to the present. Shows the changing attitude toward bears. Written by David Brown, who also wrote the very good book "The Grizzly in the Southwest: Documentary of an Extinction".

I could not put this book down!!! Wonderful stories about the Great Bear that roamed so much of the American West. This is really a history lesson about how our ancestors exterminated the Grizzly mainly due to not fully understanding this animal. Let this be a lesson for present and future generations on how to preserve the American Grizzly.

This is a very good book. It depicts R C Gorman as a wonderful artist and a an artist on foods as well.

R.C. wrote that he (in his youth) went hungry. He has made up any pain and now loves to watch Cooking shows and has a wonderful cook, Rose. Sharing all this in the book plus friends favorites then his "gift" of art is really a bonus. Love this book.

I guess I would give this book more like 4 1/2 stars. My fiance is from New Orleans and I wanted to serve more native dishes but in a healthier way. This book is just the ticket. The only thing I'd change is a few more of the "traditional" recipes but what is in there is very good with easy-to-follow directions. I especially like the way it shows you the difference between the original and lighter recipes. My future mother in law has used the book for years and really likes it. I can't wait to try more recipes.

My husband --- like so many others--- is on a modified diet. This cookbook took already delicious recipes and modified them with the help of a licensed dietitian to fit our newly apdopted healthier lifestyle. The nutrition notes give ideas on how to cut the recipe even further plus lets you know what was your saving in calories, fat, salt... I like the sidebars stories; They add interest. I also like the "Something Extra" section at the end. The Curried Chicken Salad is a luncheon favorite at work.

Seasons of Sante Fe is a well-written and delighful Southwestern US cookbook experience with some of the best recipes for this style of cooking we have ever had in our home. We love it so much that we ordered numerous copies as gifts for friends and family. Much of the proceeds for this book go to preparing and delivering meals to many in that area who are in need. We discovered Seasons of Sante Fe on a recent trip to that beautiful and historical city that is packed with art and culture much of which is the product of native Americans. This is a great and wonderful cook book.

Seasons of Santa Fe was selected Second Place National Winner of the 2000 TABASCO Community Cookbook Awards competition. And no wonder. This is a delightful cookbook with wonderful recipes and great photos and info about the yearly events and celebrations -- such as Indian Market, Spanish Market, and the Christmas Eve Farolito Walk -- that make Santa Fe, New Mexico such a unique place. The proceeds from the book sales go to the organization Kitchen Angels, which provides free, nutritious, and delicious hot meals to homebound Santa Feans with cancer, AIDS, and other life-challenging conditions.

I agree withthe high praise given this book by the previous reviewer, but I would not give the book five stars. While it covers many areas often neglected in tour books of Great Britain, it does not give the detailed information which distinguishes a truly invaluable guide.

Twenty walks are included, though some are in the same location: Bath (2), Cambridge (2), Canterbury, Chichester, Church Stretton, Dorchester, Hay-on-Wye, Knole, Oxford (2), St. David's and Solva, Salisbury, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tenby, Wells, and York (2).

Each walk is covered in eight to ten pages including a one or two page map (labelled with main thoroughfares only). The tours lead one to enchanting sites and draw one's attention to architectural and historical points of interest, but the narrative is minimal and so may detract from one's enjoyment of a place. No information is given about the approximate length of a walk or transport to and from the walk, nor niceties such as refreshments available along the way, but museums are listed with times (not phone numbers). There is good index.

I would rate this book three-and-a-half stars but that is not possible. I will round up to four because I think that the spirit of this book is not to document every step of your way, but rather to help you enjoy the underdiscovered path; in that it succeeds, and would make a lovely supplement to a more traditional tour book.

I took the very first edition of "Turn Left at the Pub" with me on my very first trip to Britain in 1972, when I was a graduate student on a limited budget. Rather than doing the usual tourist stuff, I wanted to get a "feel" for what Britain was, and had been during the medieval period I was studying. This book was terrific: the authors offered fresh perspectives on popular destinations such as Bath and the Cotswolds, and their recommendations for "off the beaten track" walks in Cornwall were superb. The descriptions were informative, thorough, and great fun to read. Later editions of the book have updated the contents while remaining true to the spirit of the original. This is one of the best guidebooks I've ever used, and it has much to offer to the seasoned traveler as well as the person making a first trip to Britain. I highly recommend it.

This is the first Hillerman novel I picked up and it won't be my last. The story centres around the unexplained disappearance of an anthropologist who is suspected of being a 'thief of time' or pot hunter. While Lt. John Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee look for the missing person, recent dead bodies are discovered at plundered sites. It's up to Leaphorn and Chee to find out who's causing all this destruction before they find another body.

As an anthropology student, I liked Hillerman's detailed research and his obvious respect of the Navajo Nation. As a mystery reader, I liked the police story line and how it fit quite nicely with Hillerman's anthropological angle. Great read and I hope to read more from this exceptional author.

Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police join forces in Hillerman's imaginative series on crimes occurring in or around the four corners country of the Southwest. Leaphorn and Chee track down a killer and along the way travel throughout the vast Navajo nation imparting arcane data on Native American pots, shards, and rituals.

Leaphorn and Chee's murder investigation touches on the "thieves of time;" those persons who desecrate and often destroy Native American archaeological sites in their fervor to collect ancient artifacts. The officers decipher clues leading to the identity of a killer who leaves bodies at Anasazi sites which have been looted. The interchange between Leaphorn and Chee, both said and unsaid, forms the main contrast in this book. Both men are interesting but Leaphorn is a more complex person; an aging Indian nearing the end of his career.

Known as the ancient ones, the Anasazi have been the subject of numerous studies by academia as to their origin and demise ranging from speculation to sober reality. The end result is conjecture although Hillerman is able to touch on the Anasazi lifestyle and history with a sure and steady hand.

There are more than 140,000 Native American sites registered within the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Registration is required and approval is needed from the U. S. Government before digging can be undertaken by archaeologists at any of these sites. Unfortunately, the vast majority of sites are unidentified and thus unregistered. If they are identified, they are often unprotected and subject to vandalism by anyone.

Many of the unregistered sites are located on private land allowing the owner or others to remove aritifacts under cover of law. Some Indian artifact stores in the Southwest have knowingly bought stolen artifacts but the proof required to convict the owners is often lacking.

Hillerman introduces a reader to more than murder within the pages of his books. The various facets of the investigation opens the door to a reader's mind. Hillerman's main purpose is to educate a reader to the Navajo and Hopi tribes; their rituals, their people, and the gentle pace of their hard won existence.

Read Hillerman's series of books on Leaphorn and Chee. You'll become as addicted as millions of other readers have.

I must admit I'd never read any of Tony Hillerman's novels. Someone said if I liked James Patterson then I would like Tony Hillerman. Reluctantly, I read this book and I was totally shocked on how very interesting this book is. Navajo detectives Lephorn and Lee, one who is old and traditional and another who is young and modern tries to solve a case with a missing archaelogist. The whole indian culture, landscapes, tradition and history were perfect elements in this book. I have never read a fictional book that was deep in a culture that is vastly slowly fading away. Hillerman not only written a cultural quick fast paced story, he added a couple of twist which had thrown me off. I feel if this book had a great effect on me, which by the way, engulf me into a culture I rarely see anymore, I would truely read another Hillerman.

Joe R. Lansdale's book Rumble Tumble stepped on my long-sleeping interest in murder mysteries, and woke it up. And after the shock wore off my interest and I started to laugh. And the laughing out loud continued for page after page, starting with Joan Crawford's comment on Nietzsche (via the film adaptation of Edna Sherry's "Sudden Fear") through Lansdale's take on long and pointless stories ("laborious as the Book of Mormon") and beyond. All of which makes reading satisfying. But this book is published by the Mysterious Press, and it's supposed to deliver more than just laughs. Suspense. Fear. Heroes on a quest that just might be pointless, except for the honor of doing the right thing. Danger. Pet armadillos. And sex. That's the great thing about Rumble Tumble. It delivers everything. Even the armadillo. Hap Collins is the clear-eyed Don Quixote of this tale, a little old and more than a little down on his luck. His own house was blown down by a tornado. His Dulcinea is a beautiful sexy red head named Brett, who ended her first marriage with a shovel and a match; Hap doesn't want to move in with her unless he thinks he has a good chance of not screwing up their relationship. At the same time his need to move in with her or somewhere is increasing as his current host and best friend Leonard Pine tires of Hap's lack of housekeeping habits. If Leonard is the Sancho Panza of this tale, he has extra qualities the original lacked, qualities which make him a good friend. He can help you burn down a crack house or raid a whore house, and get away with your life. His hard-eyed take on the world can do more for his friend's conscience than a first confession for a seven-year-old. Which is good for Hap: although he doesn't have a lot on his conscience as the story opens, he has a lot on his mind. He worries over what he's done and what he might do. Especially when the right thing to do becomes a rescue of Brett's daughter Tillie from a whore house in Hooty Hoot, Oklahoma. As the adventure continues from Hooty Hoot to a prairie dog farm in west Texas to a special little vacation spot for gang members down in Mexico Hap's sins of omission and, especially, commission mount up. Betrayal and murder keep them close company until the payment of the final bet. Some readers may complain that this book is just the same old themes recycled in a politically correct suspense thriller. The evidence starts with a tip of the Stetson toward ageism (all the good people are in their forties), there's a black and white friendship (Hap is white and Leonard is black ), homosexual/heterosexual friendship (Hap is straight and Leonard is gay), an acknowledgment of women's strength (Brett shoots and clubs with the rest of them), and a tribute to cross species friendship (Leonard is a man and Bill is an armadillo). The defense points to Red, a midget with a bad childhood who constantly displays his sensitivity to references to his size. When Leonard says "I just don't care for your sorry little ass" Red's response is, "There's that little stuff again." Red's problems have nothing to do with his size, and everything to do with his moral nature. He's a con man, a thief, a pimp, and a murderer: He'll do anything for money. Leonard's take on Red is, "he could talk up a good steak ranchero, but he should have died at birth." The defense rests. Rumble Tumble is a good read. Enjoy it.

This was the second Joe Lansdale book I read, and the first novel in this seris. To be honest, I didn't even know it was part of a series when I picked it up. The beauty is, it didn't matter. 'Rumble Tumble' was a fun book with good characters that didn't need knowledge of a huge backstory. I enjoyed the main character of Hap the best. He's a good man who'll do whats right, but he's not necessarily a brave man. Writing such a macho, roughneck type book, it must be tempting to make the main character a one-dimensional badass, but the people who populate this story are truly interesting characters. Can't wait to read the other books in the series.

RUMBLE TUMBLE, the fifth novel in the series, by Joe R. Lansdale continues the saga of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, beginning where BAD CHILI left off. It all starts when Hap's girlfriend, Brett Sawyer, tells him that a man called on the telephone and said that he had news about her wayward daughter, Tillie, but that it's going to cost her five hundred dollars to find out what it is. Hap and Leonard (think Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson--thanks, Dale!), accompanies Brett to the seedy motel where the voice on the phone is staying. It turns out there are two men at the motel--a redheaded midget with an attitude the size of King Kong and a stupid giant-size piece of white trash who thinks he's tougher than he actually is. Both guys want to make some quick money by telling Brett that her daughter, who's a prostitute, is being held against her will in Hootie Hoot, Oklahoma by the local crime lord, Big Jim Clemente. Naturally, it isn't long before Hap, Leonard, and Brett are heading to Hootie Hoot to rescue the trick-turning prodigal, but nothing is ever easy for these folks. After a big confrontation and a shootout in Big Jim's house of ill repute, the trio finds out that Tillie's been sent to Mexico to sexually service a gang of bikers called the Bandito Supremes as punishment for a misdeed. Hap and Leonard are two tough hombres, but the odds against rescuing Brett's daughter just got considerably higher with the addition of a biker gang of killers. Before the week is over, our two favorite amigos are going to have to deal with the treachery of a midget that can do handstands, an ex-biker turned preacher who wants redemption for his past deeds, a Texas armadillo in need of little friendship and kindness, and a shootout in old Mexico that will remind you of the ending in the movie, The Wild Bunch. RUMBLE TUMBLE delivers with full force the fun and excitement expected from any 'Hap Collins/Leonard Pine' novel. The characters are deftly drawn, the dialogue is true to the ear, and the story line has all of the necessary ingredients to fulfill one's desire for action, suspense and drama. Mr. Lansdale has created Hap and Leonard with not only a strong sense of humor, but with an avid sense of justice and honor. These two men also have a profound view of life and how to live it that gives the reader an opportunity to think about his or her own belief system. This fantastic series is more than just popcorn entertainment for the masses. It's a great author's attempt to tell a good story, while at the same time reflecting on what it means to be a decent human being and staying true to one's values. I can't recommend the 'Hap/Leonard' novels enough. This is writing that has power and honesty, and is able to touch the heart, as well as the funny bone. Now, it's time to pick up MUCHO MOJO, the third book in the series, and find out what the dysfunctional duo was like before Brett came into the picture.

This book was really exiting it had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time reading it. The Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman is the perfect book for the murder mystery lover. Ernesto Cata and George Bowlegs are best friends they both mysteriously disappear, Cata leaves a pool of blood and is found dead, and George flees the area. Joe Leaphorn a Navajo police officer follows up on the case, but a number of things complicate his journey to find George and solve the Mystery. This book is suspenseful and a real thriller there are just enough characters to make it interesting but not confusing. The book was so great that I could not put it down until I learned what happened next. This was because of the author's style, which always left you hanging at the end of each chapter. Although this book was one of the better books I have read it does not have a very intriguing beginning, but whatever you do don't stop reading. I almost put the book down and stopped reading a few times in the first two or three chapters as I neared the end I was definitely glad that I continued. There's no doubt that you should definitely read this book.

This is the second book in the "Navajo Detective" series by Tony Hillerman and the first in which detective Joe Leaphorn is the principal charactor.

Dance Hall of the Dead is a sad story. It concerns the murder or disppearance of two boys, a Navajo and a Zuni, and Joe Leaphorn's efforts to find the missing boys. The riddle is entwined with Zuni religious ceremonies which Leaphorn, a Navajo, tries to understand.

Hillerman gives a virtual travelogue of the Zuni and Navajo country of New Mexico and Arizona in the early 1970s when the book was written. Leaphorn is a thoroughly likeable hero, rational, even-tempered, and ethical with a compulsion to get to the bottom of things. Hillerman is a master of creating an exotic atmosphere of Zuni and Navajo culture and ceremonies overlaid by the splendor of the natural setting. With such ornament, it hardly matters that the solution to the mystery itself is not very convincing.

What a great title! If you're a wide-open-spaces-kind-of-a-person Hillerman is unbeatable as a mystery writer with a western twist. In Joe Leaphorn he has created a fictional detective who can take his place among the all-time best.

The Dance Hall of the Dead will cause you to lose sleep! Not only is it one of the most suspenseful books around, the reader simply will not be able to put it down.

Hillerman writes in such vivid terms the reader will feel the chill of the wind and snow as well as see the vistas that have enchanted so many who have been on the Navajo and Zuni reservations. The characters come to life, and you will find yourself right next to Joe Leaphorn as he searches for clues to solve this mystery of murder and intrigue.

All of Hillerman's books are more than just mysterys, and this one is no different. Zuni culture explored at the finest level enriches this story tenfold. If you are interested in knowing about a small Native American culture that is difficult to find information about, this book is for you.

Gorgeous writing about the mystical Indian culture and the personal tragedies that concurred with that culture's demise at the hands of the White Man -- authentic, serene, spiritual and heartbreaking. It's the story of Abel, raised in the old Indian culture by his grandfather and swallowed up by the "white man's" culture as an adult.

While it's beautifully written, this is a very hard book to follow. Momaday moves through time freely and the reader is constantly lost as to where he is and who his characters are and what any of them have to do with each other. He's constantly switching, with nothing more than a paragraph break, from myths and dreams and the present and the past and previously unknown characters that he picks up on mid-stream. There is very little background to the story until the very last chapter, and so if you've stuck it out til then you're rewarded. It all makes much more sense in the end. This is a book that merits two readings -- the first for the experience of its spirituality, the second to fill in the blanks of the story. It's only 200 pages but it took me four days to get through it - it slows you down when you're constantly back tracking trying to figure out what you've missed only to find that you haven't really missed anything - at least not anything that you know of yet. It's written very surreally and it gets a bit frustrating to tell the truth. There is alot to give Momaday credit for here though. It was an interesting experience but not one that would make me go and seek out everything else he's written.

This is a beautifully written novel about a man Able who is struggling to find his identity and place in life. He is a Native American from New Mexico who is convicted of murder and when released moves to Los Angeles. He is torn between the choice of his traditional Native American culture and the Americanized culture of LA.
Momaday writes the novel in a modernist tone, switching perspectives, narrators, and even periods of time. He writes in the present in the past using flashbacks, he then will throw in a few myths and maybe some history. This makes the novel very difficult to follow chronologically at times, even though each chapter is dated. The majority of the book is told from the perspective of Able, his character I found to be fairly under developed a long with many of the other characters. The novel seems somewhat allegorical at times because of this, especially with the character Ben Benally. He is Abel's friend and roommate in LA and a portion of the novel is told in his point of view. He is a simple character who represents a huge concept that is vividly portrayed throughout the novel. This is the idea of Native American Assimilation; Ben Benally represents the assimilated Native America, Abel the man who cannot choose if he wants to assimilate, and then Francisco (Abel's Grandfather) the traditional "ideal" Native American. This is all very confusing to pick in a first read though, because there are so many different things going on and ideas being tossed around at once that the reader is too overwhelmed to do anything but decode the plot.
Despite its confusing nature, Momaday is able to portray some of the most beautiful nature images a novelist can. He describes an eagle in flight as if he is the eagle, a grasshopper framed by the moon like his lover, and suicidal fish like the miracle of birth. "They were golden eagles, a male and a female, in their mating flight. They were cavorting, spinning and spiraling on the cold, clear columns of air, and they were beautiful. They swooped and hovered, leaning on the air, and swung close together, feinting, and screaming with delight." His tidbits of Native American myths and history add to the allegorical feel of the novel, and make for an interesting read.
This is a wonderful novel despite Momaday's modernist writing style, and switches in perspective and time. It does require at least two reads though, do not expect to sit down and thoroughly understand it the first time through. Do expect it to get better with each read, for the descriptions to become more alive, and the themes to become more real. For the patient reader who enjoys modernism, Native American literature, or just overall beautiful writing this book can be what you want it to be. I highly recommend this book, and if it does not fit your liking the first time just try, again it will only get better.

Understanding the plot of this book was difficult at first. In particular, in Part One, I was confused whether the protagonist of certain episodes was Abel or his grandfather as a young man. However, after surmounting this difficulty, I found this book to be a subtle, moving, and intricate narrative. The prose remained starkly simple and poetic throughout, a distinguishing characteristic of this book. Abel, the main character, has little dialogue throughout the novel, thus marking his role as a symbol for Momaday's theme, rather than a developed character. I believe that the lives of Abel and his grandfather are meant to coincide. After the latter's death at the end of the novel, Abel sprinkles blue and yellow meal on his body before reporting the death to the priest - which, as we learn from the memoirs of a 19th century priest, was exactly what the grandfather's people had done in their day. Abel returned to his roots.