In my opinion (and possibly in fact), this is the only field guide worth using. Ms. Komarek pays explicit attention to detail, and has created wonderful keys to quickly and reliably identify whatever plant you may be viewing.

The book also lists many plants found in the lower elevations surrounding the San Juans, such as Durango, Bayfield, Pagosa, Mancos, and Cortez. If you are serious about plants in this area, or if you would simply like to identify them, this is the book that you need.

I take this book everywhere I go when exploring in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. It is well organized and comprehensive, with excellent illustrations.

Dave and Nancy are gods in the hot and spicy food business. As usual you can expect concise information along with mouth-watering recipes. As host of the television series "The Sonoran Grill" and author of 4 cookbooks, I know good food writing when I see it and this is as good as southwest cooking gets. Just click on "All Books" by either Dave or Nancy and you'll see why they are so qualified to write this important cookbook and why I must add a copy of it to my collection

Food in Santa Fe is a major part of the style and ambiance of the city. New Mexican regional products, especially chilis and corn, and southwestern cooking styles, everything from barbeque to Tex-Mex to authentic regional Mexican and Indian cooking, are strong influences. But Santa Fe has everything from tiny cantinas with home style New Mexican cooking to 5 star restaurants where New Mexico is an influence, but suave professionalism, integration of tastes, and high presentation is the norm.

The Food of Santa Fe takes you there, telling you about the food, the style, and the best restaurants. We've been to Santa Fe many times and reading the book is like taking a brief (and teasing) visit. I have to head for the kitchen and check out the chili supply. It's also a good way to prepare for a trip -- briefing you on what to expect, what to look for, and where to find the very best examples.

There are many Santa Fe cookbooks -- those from Mark Miller and the Coyote Cafe being the best known -- but this is perhaps a better overview, and a very pretty book to read.

We expect to buy copies for our Santa Fe loving friends as Christmas gifts.

Dry limestone based soils such as the Edwards Plateau area of Texas and other places in the southwest, provide a major challenge to gardening which is addessed in this book. In such areas many plants simply will not grow well. Trying to get them to do so is an exercise in frustration and general garden books can lead you far astray. This book is not about how to try to change your soil, high pH soils cannot be effectively acidified. The book is about plants, trees, shrubs and varieties that do well in dry calcarious soil conditions. It will save you a lot of time, money and frustration if you face these conditions. A great book, a gold mine of information.

This is the most practical, useful, and enjoyable book on gardening that someone in the Texas Hill Country could ever want! It's not as big or comprehensive as the Wasowskis' "Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region", but that's because it focuses on the challenges of gardening in these "difficult" (nice word!) soils that we live with. Ogden's observations and advice about dealing with our limestone and caliche, and his reality-based recommendations of plants to use and the ones to avoid, gave me hope, encouragement, and new ideas for making this corner of the world a more beautiful place! It's got some great color photos, too.

These are no ordinary fictional stories that Ms. Word has made up. Each is real as told to her by people she interviewed in getting ready to write the book. Having been lucky enough to not only grow up in southern Louisiana but to have had the chance to see and visit some of the places she spoke of as well I know the stories to be true. It's worth your time to read this book. If you're a skeptic you won't be anymore by the time you're done with it.

Allright. Ghosts right? Not me, no way. There is no reason why any of us should belive in ghosts right? Wrong. In this book by Ms. Word, you do belive. The reason you do is because this book is REAL. There are no made up stories and like Ms. Word said, all stories she has recorded have been told by the good ol' folks of south Louisiana. I had the good fortune for Ms. Word to visit my elementary school when I lived in So. Louisiana and I was one of the few who bought a copy and had her sign it. Almost 8 years later, I still have this book and as I go through college, these stories still have a firm place in my mind. Even though I no longer live in Louisiana, I can still go back with her book.

I looked for a long time for a Mexican cookbook with the recipes for my favorite foods - cheese enchiladas, chile rellenos, tamales, burritos, tacos, etc. Most Mexican cookbooks have a bunch of weird recipes for stuff I never heard of, but this cookbook has the really good recipes that I was looking for. They turn out wonderful, plus the author has little Mexican sayings and extra tidbits at the bottoms of some of the pages. I recommend this book!

Mexican recipes are just what we needed for our dinner tonight.

Thanks James H. Kraft

This week, I returned home to the Bluegrass for a spot of Thoroughbred racing and attending horse shows. I wanted a receipe of the famous Kentucky Hot Brown and was purusing a book store where I found Col. Masters book. I was disappointed that he did not include the Hot Brown in his book, but found many other useful receipes.

What is also included in this wonderous little book his is thougths on the life of a true gentleman. Hosting your family and friends for food and libation is a tradition that has been seemingly lost in our fast paced world of today. The good Colonel reiminds us that not only is it fun to do, but it restores a certain dignity to the soul. His receipes are simple and not hard to do, so that once your guests have arrived, you have time to share a bourbon and enjoy their company before enjoying the repast.

My lady friend and I can't wait to put together a little dinner for our guests this summer, using the Colonel's book. Some hot summer Saturday evening, a pitcher of mint juelips, ice tea so sweet it makes your teeth hurt, beef tenderloin and good friends. Here's to you Colonel Masters!

Amazon.com has just notified me that my book, "Hospitality--Kentucky Style" has been entered into their database.

I thought I would be the first to comment on the book. Mark Twain was asked late in his career if writing was difficult. His answer gave me the encouragement to write "Hospitality--Kentucky Style." Mark Twain replied that he did not find writing difficult noting that, "I always write about things I know about."

I hope you enjoy reading "Hospitality--Kentucky Style" as much as I enjoyed writing the book. I hope the book inspires you to practice "simply elegant cooking and entertaining."

Very Truly Yours,

Col. Michael E. Masters

This book has received an Award of Excellence for book design in the 2001 Southern Books Competition. "Lovely green cloth binding opens to stunning title page typography that sits upon faint leaves. The typographic design is classic without being boring. Details, like the screened-back ornaments on the Contents page speak to the refinement of the design." Congratulations to the author and illustrator, designer Ellen McKie, and the University of Texas Press.

If you are serious about learning more about plants, all forms of propogation, then this is the book for you. It gets technical, but again, if you are serious, then you can figure it out. Comprehensive, well organized, good drawings, good glossary (no pronunciation guide though)and good index. A must have reference. Thanks to Ms Nokes.

When I cook using this book, I create mouthwatering masterpieces! Living in Texas, it's common to serve Southwestern-style cuisine for a humble get together with friends. If you're having a fiesta, and you WANT your guests to visit again, you should use this cookbook. The food will please your guests' tummies and tastebuds! They'll think you're a superior chef.

Granted I've not tried ALL of the recipes, but I've made *several*-- enough to have confidence and faith in the rest of the book... enough to cast a vote of confidence for Jane Butel.

Jane's recipes are well written, and I've enjoyed the diversity of her recipes. Many different salsas and sauces, entrees, drinks, and desserts! My creations have tasted so very fresh and delicious. Jane Butel knows what she's talking about! So, check out this great cookbook and start delighting tastebuds in your town!

I have never taken the time to review a book before, but this one definitely deserves the kudos. It is well-written and nicely displayed. The recipes are exactly as described. The vast majority use ingredients that are easy to find (even in my rural town) and the instructions are easy to follow. Everything I have made from this book turned out wonderfully and most require only an average amount of effort in the kitchen (nothing too complicated!!) The dishes were truly beautiful and delicious.

In this volume, encompassing three novels, we are introduced to Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, educated at a White college yet living on the reservation, and discover some of the ways of the Dineh, the people. The subject novels -- "The Blessing Way," "Dance Hall of the Dead," and "Listening Women" were written between 1970 and 1978, and deal with the effects of jealousy, greed, rage, and revenge brought onto the Navajo reservation by outsiders. Hillerman has an unerring talent for using small bits of Indian culture to weave convincing stories laced with an inticate pattern of mystery.

From day one, Hillerman has been a successful mystery writer. He writes with integrity about the lives of the Southwest Indians (emphasis on the Navajo) with perception and understanding. Hillerman has won many fans with his series of mysteries but some in the Navajo nation are disturbed over a White author writing about their "ways" even though Hillerman doesn't get into secret tribal matters. Regardless, Hillerman has fostered a lot of good will for the Navajo, the Zuni, and the Hopi with his large audience of readers.

Over the years, the possibilities inherent in the mystery formula have become exhausted. Hillerman has developed, within the framework of the formula, a Navajo policeman who solves crimes with a mixture of modern and ancient skills and also educates readers about Navajo beliefs. Hillerman's stories don't challenge a reader's intellect. That isn't the author's intention. What he produces is a likable hero, descriptions of fabulous scenery, unobtrusive murders, and the absorbing lives of the Navajo. The author ably works the White and the Idnian worlds as he explains the reality of Whites and some off-reservation Indians intruding on the reservation and the resulting conflicts. In Hillerman's mysteries the reservation Indians always win.

The author's writing skills are evident as he mixes the acts and thoughts of different individuals smoothly and coherently in "The Blessing Way." The author employs McKee, a close friend of Leaphorn, to do most of the work. McKee deduces, faces danger, solves dilemmas, but Leaphorn actually ties the loose ends together at the finale. Leaphorn reveals clues but you'll be none the wiser unless you have some knowledge of Southwestern weather, fauna, hieroglyphics, Indian beliefs, and similar arcana.

The author uses the "Dance hall of the Dead," to really educate a reader in SW Indian lore. The central point to the story is an archeological excavation and the disruption brought by the White man to the reservation. Navajo mysticism pervades this murder mystery. We learn about the Beautiful Mesa Families, who elected to die when Kit Carson arrived in 1864; Zuni Indian spirits who join the Kachinas and become one of them; the Navajo Chindi who spread sickness and evil among the Dineh; and the Shalako Ceremony which grants fertility to crops and brings needed rain to the desert regions of the reservation.

In the "Listening Women," Hopi ways are introduced as are the Navajo concepts of -- Remaining in harmony with the universe; Navajo wolves identified as men and women who turn from harmony to chaos and assume the guise of Coyotes, Dogs, Wolves, and Bears in order to spread sickness among the Dineh; Disharmonious sand paintings which can cause death; and Destruction of tradtitional Kiowa medicine bundles when the Buffalo disappeared. While this quantity of information might seem daunting to a reader, author Hillerman allows Joe Leaphorn to solve a murder while smoothly inculcating a reader in Native American lore.

The author has applied a gentle and refined twist to the mystery formula by creating an intriguing product employing Southwest Indian lore, the masterful Joe Leaphorn, and a little murder or two wrappoed up in a pleasing package. Try Tony Hillerman's mysteries, you'll enjoy his flights of imagination.

The Joe Leaphorn mysteries by Tony Hillerman have become one of my favorite reads. I never thought that I would be interested in mysteries set on an indian reservation but this book changed all that. After reading this book I found and read every Hillerman book I could find and watch the lists for new ones. I have also learned a lot about reservation life and have a new-found respect and understanding of what life is like for the American Indian today. Kudos to Tony Hillerman!

[reprinted courtesy of The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)]

"KENTE CLOTH" WADES INTO STORYTELLERS' WATERS

From a full-length performance poem in script form to a teen-ager's image-laden perception of self, "Kente Cloth: Southwest Voices of The African Diaspora" (University of North Texas Press) revives on paper the ancient tradition of "griots" or storytellers. James Mardis, an award-winning poet and radio commentator in Dallas, has compiled an anthology that features mostly unpublished writers. Collecting the work of more than 45 scribes primarily from Louisiana and Texas, Mardis has succeeded in capturing the rhythm-and-blues lives of people in a common-folk vernacular. Simple, earnest and true. "Kente Cloth" is divided into four basic categories: Witnesses, Performers, Tellers and Signifiers, with a range of styles and tales that tantalize the reader into jumping into a pool of griots. Jesse Truvillion's "A Stray Dog's Great Day," Nadir Bomani's "Someone's Knockin' at My Door" and Phyllis Allen's "The Red Swing" run the gamut from tribute to modern-day vignette. The poetry of Monica Denise Spears, Bertram Barnes, Zenaura Melynia Smith, Gayle Bell, Freddi Evans, Glenn Joshua, Mawiyah Bomani and Kalamu ya Salaam are lyrical emotion-rides, while the prose of Bernestine Singley, Charley Moon, and James Thomas Jackson invoke fiery responses. "Lovve/Rituals & Rage" by Sharon Bridgforth brings the joy of performance art to the page and the gentle "Soul Soother" by Zenaura Smith, a freshman at John Ehret High School (in New Orleans), offers a touch of innocent love. Even editor Mardis slips in a folktale and a couple of poems, most notably "Sting," an ode that balances lemonade and death. A dozen New Orleans writers add their unique perspectives to this collection, including Michael Ollie Clayton, saddi khali, Cassandra Bailey, Nadir Bomani, Barnes, Evans, Joshua, Perkins, Salaam, Smith, Spears and Mawiyah Bomani. The African-American literary scene is a steadily evolving and expanding landscape, and "Kente Cloth" turns the spotlight around to shine on the South. Mardis wanted this collection to represent the joy of the oral tradition, "The elders may be gone in body, but their lessons linger in the living and sharing of these stories, poems and plays. Listen for the voices...the oral dance of tongue to teeth and song to heart." "Kente Cloth" is a visual tribute to the legions of unscripted griots and a worthy addition to any shelf that holds African-American literature.

The introduction of this book is almost as good as the fiction and poetry inside. Mardis talks about how these writers are connected even though they live in the five state southwest area. He is right. They are writing about their lives and about how we are more connected by experience than other writing will have us believe. If these are the new black writers of the southwest, boy the New York publishers have really missed the boat!