No comments about Borderman: Memoirs of Federico Jose Maria Ronstadt.

1 comments about Antigua California: Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768 (University of Arizona Southwest Center Book).

1. When missionaries came to colonize California, it was to Baja California "Antigua California" that they came. This is the story of the Jesuits who persevered in a barren, waterless, resource poor place. But the really great thing about the book is that it is the whole story of the pioneer mission period: it is also the story of the aboriginal peoples who were the targets of the Jesuits, and of the people (mostly Mexican) whom the Jesuits hired and brought along to handle and create daily life-soldiers, sailors, artisans, laborers. For once, a comprehensive history truly is. Using original eighteenth century materials (church records, diaries, letters, reports) the author has tracked down the movement of individuals, their genealogies, their careers, their contributions. More than most, it is a book of portraits of real people, pieced together sympathetically from scattered and scanty records. For a scholar, the book is eminently useful: full of maps, chronological tables of people and places, explanations of systems and bureaucracies. For the history buff, it is a dream of readability and detail. Highly recommended.

No comments about Experience Jerome: The Moguls, Miners, and Mistresses of Cleopatra Hill.

No comments about Hispanic Arizona, 1536-1856.

No comments about Chimalpahin and the Kingdoms of Chalco.

1 comments about Treasure Tales Of Rockies.

1. I ordered this book for my dad, and it was exactly what he wanted. A++++

1 comments about A Journey Through Northern Arizona.

1. Victoria Clark has shared her extensive vintage postcard collection of northern Arizona, helping us visualize the beautiful scenery of this part of the country, and to get a glimpse into the lives of the native peoples who have and still live there. As I examined the vintage illustrations, I felt as though I was looking through sepia-colored glasses to Arizona's past.
   A beautiful book.

3 comments about Scottish Highlanders, Indian Peoples: Thirty Generations of a Montana Family.

1. Dr. James Hunter, one of Scotland's most respected younger historians, recounts here the story of the MacDonalds of Western Montana -- a family whose roots run deep on two continents and among two seemingly disparate peoples: the Nez Perce of Oregon and Idaho's great inland plateau and one of the most legendary clans of the Scottish highlands. On one level, this is a first-class genealogical detective story, with plenty of local color. But it is much more than that, for what brings these two far-removed pasts together is not only the mingled blood of today's Montana MacDonalds, but the striking and, in many respects, tragic parallels in their people's histories. Just as every schoolchild in Scotland knows the dark tale of the MacDonalds' massacre at Glencoe, and their struggle to survive and maintain their identity and dignity in the aftermath, so Americans are haunted by the uprooting and dispossession of the Nez Perce and their legendary leader Chief Joseph. Those par! ! allels strike us as we readers see the MacDonalds' saga unfold, and they raise for us fundamental questions about human nature and the forces that shape history. Jim Hunter's work in both print and broadcasting, which is well-known in Britain, achieves that rare balance between sound scholarship and great popular appeal. He is a meticulous researcher, yet his interests are first and foremost human ones, and the stories he tells best are always those of common folk. The fact that this book has been a best-seller in Scotland while also earning critical acclaim shows how well he succeeds at this delicate balancing act. For North Americans with an interest in genuine flesh-and-blood Scottish history, not the bogus romanticized article that features prominently in so many clan gatherings and Scottish games [after all, how many Scots-Americans' ancestors were REALLY lairds and ladies living grandly in castles???], this book will prove very satisfying indeed. We can be thankful that ! ! the Montana State Historical Society has now made it availa! ble to North American readers. Aye, it's a fine work, and at a bargain price to boot!



2. Scottish Highlanders, Indian Peoples is a loving undertaking to document and treasure the dual heritage of a familial group of people descended from Angus McDonald (who was Scottish) and Catherine McDonald, who was half Nez Perce and part Mohawk. The author describes his revised purpose in writing this book as follows: "This book was begun in the naive conviction that it would have an unrelievedly happy ending. Its comparisons between the modern Scottish Highlands and the modern Flathead Reservation, it was anticipated, would be such as to allow the book's closing paragraphs to contend that Highlanders and Indians, two otherwise disparate peoples linked by the McDonald family, are today overcoming the legacies of their respective pasts in ways which will allow both Highlanders and Indians to reinvigorate their cultures, their languages and much else besides. That may still happen. But to spend even a few days on the Flathead Reservation is quickly to discover that the task of linguistic renewal - to take a single example of the many such distinctions which have clearly to be made - is enormously more daunting here than in the Scottish Highlands...(p. 194)." The reality of the poverty of the inhabitants of the Flathead Reservation hits the author and the reader hard indeed. Nevertheless, after reading the history, which includes many moments of less than glorious deeds of the ancestors, one can only concur with the Salish speaker quoted by the author:"We have a saying...that as long as our songs are sung our people will remain here. And our songs are being sung today more than they have been sung for many years (p. 194)." Though the prose style of Mr. Hunter is sometimes tedious to untangle, his text is worth reading. Scottish Highlanders, Indian Peoples will appeal to special interest adult audiences both amateur and academic.

   Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer




3. Good resource for anyone interested in history, particularly the connection between earl Scottish settlers and their interaction with Native Americans. The book appears well documented and thorough, although a bit slow to read.

No comments about Home Places: Contemporary Native American Writing from Sun Tracks (Sun Tracks, Vol 31).

5 comments about History of the Lincoln County War.

1. Living in New Mexico for a few years, I was always interesting in the Lincoln County War and the true story of Billy the Kid. This book starts from the beginning and does a great job of explain why things happen. It paints a overall picture of Billy the Kid. It is very objective and fact based. I would high recommend it to anyone interested in reading about how the old west really was-not some John Wayne Western.



2. As someone who has long been interested in Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, I purchased this book as a means of learning the details and history behind as well as the causes and effects of this notorious chapter of history in the American West. I was not disappointed. Through the use of original letters and first-hand accounts, Fulton is meticulous in his details and does an outstanding job of revealing the connections between each historical figure involved as well as elaborating on the personal motivations and interests of same. My only gripe would be that the book is a bit dense in some spots; however, what accurately researched comprehensive chronicle of history isn't?
   
   If you are looking solely for a light read on the travails and exploits of Billy the Kid, this is not for you. If you are genuinely interested in the history surrounding the Kid's world (he was but one figure on a much larger stage) and the political corruption, violence, and relationships that shaped it, then Fulton's book is a true gem.



3. For those of you who are interested in a detailed (almost to a fault) and historic account of New Mexico's Lincoln County War (LCW), this book belongs in your library. It is one of the more accurate accounts of the events before, during, and after the LCW. Fulton clearly did his homework before attempting to provide a historical record. The author is fairly unbiased in his approach, although he distinguishes criminal activity at both the blue collar and white collar levels, siding mostly with the underdog, i.e., the have nots which are generally Mexicans. As with most wars, no one side is completely without guilt.
   
   The extent to which the individual participants have been researched and presented is indeed impressive. The author has shown how minor characters such as cow hands, cattle rustlers, and store clerks played into the intricate design and manipulation of the major characters who capitalized on their political position and social status. The war was not so much a series of gun battles as it was an effort to win the hearts and minds of the New Mexico populace. It could also be viewed from a perspective of Mexican-American rights on the early frontier.
   
   The book has a couple of shortcomings, however. Foremost is that the subtitle is "A Classic Account of Billy the Kid", but don't believe it. In this book, Billy the Kid is seldom mentioned in the great scheme of the War except toward the very end. This subtitle appears to be an attempt by the publisher to grab your attention and sell copies. Second, the author died before the book was finished and there are places where one can distinguish a loss of continuity in the final writing.
   
   Nevertheless, the book has its merits and should be read by anyone interested in New Mexico history, the struggles of cattlemen and Mexican-Americans, the influence of the military in the Southwest, or white collar crime and corruption and the quagmire encountered by those who attempt to enter the legal and political arena in order to do something about it.
   
   K.J. Schroeder



4. This book was a great read from start to finish! Its fascinating account of the Lincoln county war is amazing and it does give all the facts on Billy the kid! There is enough on Billy the kid in this book to satisfy your inquiries into the Kid! Most of the focus is on the war though and all it's participants. You will not be disappointed!



5. Although I have not read this book yet, knowing that is among the older versions and therefore not full of politically correct garbage, I am sure it will be much more revealing of the facts. We need more real history books.