Abbey's Road  •  Edward Abbey NATURAL HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 198 PAGES Famed as a rascal, misanthrope and cantankerous lover of all things untamed, Abbey's writings reflect the beauty and spirit of wild places. They are also insightful and laugh-out-loud funny. This volume collects his explorations of varied locales around the globe, including the Sierra Madre of Mexico. If you like this book, we also carry Abbey's tribute to the American Southwest, Desert Solitaire. (DES04, $16.00)
Ancient Ruins of the Southwest, An Archaeological Guide  •  David Grant Noble ARCHAEOLOGY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 115 PAGES This third edition of David Grant Noble's indispensable guide to archaeological ruins of the American Southwest includes updated text and thirteen newly opened archaeological sites. From Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument in Texas to the Zuni-Acoma Trail in New Mexico, reader will be provided with old-time favorites and new treasures. In addition to descriptions of each site, Noble provides time-saving tips for the traveler, citing major highways, nearby towns and the facilities they offer, campgrounds, and other helpful information. Filled with photos of ruins, petroglyphs, and artifacts, as well as maps, this is a guide every traveler needs when they are exploring the Southwest. (USW217, $15.95)
Arizona/New Mexico Map  •  AAA Publishing MAP A fold-up road map of Arizona and New Mexico, shown at a scale of 1:1,250,000. It includes insets of Alberquerque and Santa Fe. (USW302, $4.95)
The Atomic West  •  Bruce William Hevly  •  John M. Findlay HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 328 PAGES A series of essays concerning the history and effect of nuclear testing in the American West, as presented at a scholarly conference. (USW291, $19.95)
Bandelier National Monument Map  •  Trails Illustrated MAP A detailed hiker's map of Bandelier National Monument at a scale of 1:29,000, printed on tear-resistant, waterproof paper. (USW142, $9.95)
The Best of Edward Abbey  •  Edward Abbey ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 440 PAGES Abbey compiled this generous collection of his fiction and non-fiction in 1984, including excerpts from The Brave Cowboy, Black Sun, and The Monkey Wrench Gang, along with sections of Desert Solitaire and other essays. (GEN336, $16.95)
Bless Me, Ultima  •  Rudolfo A. Anaya LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 290 PAGES The first-person tale of Antonio, a Chicano boy whose life is changed when a mystical woman named Ultima comes to live with his family. Anaya's first novel, this now-classic book is based, in part, on the author's own experiences as a Chicano growing up in New Mexico. It evokes the folkways and beliefs of traditional villages in the Southwest. Anaya has since written dozens of novels, mysteries, stories, plays, and children's books set in and around Albuquerque. Originally published in 1972. (USW264, $13.95)
The Bride of Lamermoor  •  Sir Walter Scott LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 460 PAGES This interesting novel is the source of Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. (GEN176, $12.95)
A Brief History of New Mexico  •  Myra Jenkins  •  Albert Schroeder HISTORY •  1974 •  PAPER  • 89 PAGES This slim volume packs in more historical information than you could ever imagine in a mere 89 pages. From prehistoric beginnings to the construction of major dams, the nature, politics, geology, industry, exploration and culture of New Mexico is detailed in a highly interesting, readable format. (USW218, $13.95)
Brighter than a Thousand Suns, a Personal History of Atomic Scientists  •  Robert Jungk HISTORY •  1970 •  PAPER An early history of the Atomic Age featuring interviews with U.S. and German physicists, famously including Heisenberg. (HSC20, $14.00)
By Bomb's Early Light, American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age  •  Paul S. Boyer HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 440 PAGES A study of how the atomic bomb changed American society and culture in the 1940s and 50s. Author Paul S. Boyer incorporates numerous sources to illustrate the variety and wealth of public discourse stimulated by the development of the bomb. (HSC16, $27.50)
Cambridge Opera Handbook: Giuseppi Verdi, Falstaff  •  James A. Hepokoski MUSIC •  1984 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A detailed guide to the history and composition of Verdi's Falstaff. It includes a synopsis and an overview of the revisions to the opera since its 1887 premiere in Milan. (ITL263, $37.99)
Cities of Gold, A Journey Across the American Southwest in Coronado's Footsteps  •  Doug Preston TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES On horseback through the American Southwest. In 1989, Doug Preston attempted to recreate the thousand mile journey of Coronado in his legendary quest to find the Seven Cities of Gold. This entertaining travelogue tells of Preston's discoveries and difficulties, as he negotiated the same landscapes Coronado faced, and spoke with the descendents of the native peoples Coronado encountered -- and subsequently fought. (SWU85, $21.95)
Compass Guide New Mexico  •  Nancy Harbart  •  Michael Freeman GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 323 PAGES A compact, handsomely produced handbook, featuring outstanding color photography, concise maps and in-depth information on the culture, history and attractions of New Mexico. It includes archival photographs, practical travel information, and essays on Georgia O'Keeffe, Indian pueblos and pottery. (USW208, $21.95)
Critical Assembly, A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945  •  Lillian Hoddeson  •  Paul W. Henriksen  •  Roger A. Meade  •  Catherine L. Westfall SCIENCE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 509 PAGES The best technical history of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, covering from 1943-1945. It's a detailed and comprehensive account, rewarding for those who are willing to make the effort. (HSC23, $160.00)
Crossing Paths, Uncommon Encounters with Animals in the Wild  •  Craig Childs EXPLORATION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Adventurer and naturalists Craig Childs vividly describes 23 meetings with the animals of the American desert, from camel to rainbow trout. Each chapter introduces a new animal, and Child offers memorable descriptions of each in this engrossing travelogue. (SWU170, $14.95)
The Day the Sun Rose Twice: The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945  •  Ferenc Morton Szasz SCIENCE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 233 PAGES A concise and vividly written history of the Manhattan Project, focusing on the Trinity Site in New Mexico, where the first nuclear detonation occurred. (HSC18, $19.95)
Death Comes for the Archbishop  •  Willa Cather LITERATURE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 297 PAGES Based in part on the life of Bishop Jean Baptiste L'Amy, this classic novel of missionary life in New Mexico is rich in the texture of Old Santa Fe and New Mexican landscapes. Bishop L'Amy and Father Machebeut struggle to establish their church in the wilderness. (USW79, $11.95)
The Desert Cries, A Season of Flash Floods in a Dry Land  •  Craig Childs NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 140 PAGES Naturalist and adventurer Craig Childs's impressionistic account of five flash floods which killed 22 people in Arizona in 1997. (SWU172, $14.95)
Desert Solitaire  •  Edward Abbey NATURAL HISTORY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 289 PAGES • FAVORITE A beloved classic, read aloud at campfires throughout the Southwest. It's one of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about the Colorado Plateau and his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab Utah, his message is universal. Originally published in 1990. (DES02, $14.95)
Desert Survival Skills  •  David Alloway GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A practical guide to survival in the desert, leavened by Alloway's sense of humor and own experience in the Chihuahuan desert. Topics include finding and conserving water, fire, shelter, weather, plant and animal resources, vehicle repair and first aid. (DES06, $24.95)
Discovering the Desert, Legacy of the Carnegie Desert Botanical Laboratory  •  William McGinnies BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1982 •  PAPER  • 276 PAGES A history of Sonoran desert research, this book is an engaging survey of the geography, ecology and climate of desert life in the American Southwest -- and especially of the pioneering work conducted at the Carnegie Desert Botanical Laboratory. With maps, diagrams and black-and-white photos. (USW103, $11.95)
Edge of Taos Desert, An Escape to Reality  •  Mabel Dodge Luhan BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1987 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES The extravagant New York socialite Mabel Dodge gathered with the likes of Gertrude Stein, John Reed and D.H. Lawrence before she moved to Taos in 1917 to reunite with her husband, the artist Maurice Stearn. First published in 1937, this story reveals the spiritual awakening she experienced through Taos, the Pueblo Indians and Indian Tony Luhan, whom she later married. (USW127, $21.95)
Enchantment and Exploitation, The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range  •  William Eno DeBuys CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1985 •  PAPER  • 394 PAGES Pueblo Indian, Anglo, and Hispano intersect over the same mountain range in New Mexico. In this scholarly portrait of the region, DeBuys mixes sources drawn from history, ethnography, geology, and anthropology, with striking personal narrative. (USW215, $23.95)
Eyewitness Guide Arizona & the Grand Canyon  •  Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 175 PAGES A comprehensive guide to Arizona, complete with over 500 photographs, illustrations and maps, as well as plenty of travel information on where to go, stay and eat. (SWU173, $20.00)
Falstaff, in Full Score  •  Giuseppe Verdi  •  Arrigo Boito MUSIC •  1995 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES A reprint of the original, and complete, score of Giuseppe Verdi's "Falstaff." (ITL264, $26.95)
A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians  •  Robert Stebbins FIELD GUIDE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 533 PAGES This field guide covers reptiles and amphibians found from Northern Mexico to Alberta. With the variety of chuckwallas, whiptails and other localized lizards and snakes in Baja California, it is an indispensable guide to that region. Baja endemics are featured on four of the book's 56 plates. P.S. It's true that Santa Catalina Island has a rattleless rattlesnake -- although it's retiring and hard to see. With color photographs, newly revised range maps and very good descriptive information. (FG08, $22.00)
Fodor's Escape to the American Desert  •  Catherine Karnow  •  David Lansing GUIDEBOOK •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 96 PAGES A brief, illustrated guide to the Southwest, with 150 handsome photographs, It features enticing vacation ideas, including horseback riding, Native American rodeo, cruising on Route 66, and visiting the studios of Georgia O'Keefe and Frank Lloyd Wright. (USW262, $20.00)
Gathering the Desert  •  Gary Paul Nabhan NATURAL HISTORY •  1985 •  PAPER  • 209 PAGES An ecologist with a particular interest in the origins of foodstuffs, Nabhan interweaves ethnography, biochemistry, natural history and journalism to document traditional uses of 12 Sonoran desert plants: the creosote bush, palm, mescal, sandfood, organpipe cactus, amaranth, tepary bean, chile, devil's claw, panicgrass, and wild gourds. (USW120, $19.95)
Getting Over the Color Green  •  Scott Slovic ANTHOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES This anthology and tribute to the American desert features the writing of Charles Bowden, Ann Zwinger and Barbara Kingsolver. Highlighting the work of these and other renowned Southwestern authors, the collection includes more than 50 pieces, ranging from fiction and poetry to essays and field notes. While the pieces differ in style and tone, they all share a passion for the desert. (SWU62, $19.95)
The Great Taos Bank Robbery, And Other Indian Country Affairs  •  Tony Hillerman LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES Nine fast-reading short stories based on daily life in contemporary New Mexico, written by the author of best-selling mysteries set in the Southwest. (USW132, $13.00)
The House at Otowi Bridge, The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos  •  Peggy Pond Church BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1979 •  PAPER  • 149 PAGES The well told story of Edith Warner, who lived beside the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico and hobnobbed with the nuclear scientists of Los Alamos at her bridge-side house. (SWU17, $15.95)
If Mountains Die, A New Mexico Memoir  •  John Treadwell Nichols  •  William Davis CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1994 •  PAPER A visual survey of Taos old from the perspective of a 30-year Taos resident, who's still as in love with the land now as he was when the book was first published in 1979. (USW216, $19.95)
In the Shadow of the Bomb  •  Silvan S. Schweber HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A tale of how Hans Bethe and Robert Oppenheimer, both instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb, struggled with the consequences of their creation, and their role in influencing scientific policy as the cold war heated up. With biographies of both men, and analysis of the role of nuclear weapons in the cold war. Schweber sees Bethe as the hero. (HSC15, $57.50)
Journey to the High Southwest  •  Robert Casey GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 578 PAGES An outstanding guide, featuring first-hand observations and step-by-step narrative accounts of travel by auto, raft, or foot throughout the Four Corners, including the Lowry Pueblo Ruins, Canyonlands, Monument Valley and Taos. With an extensive overview of the history and culture of native cultures. Eighth edition. (USW08, $19.95)
The Last Cheater's Waltz, Beauty and Violence in the Desert Southwest  •  Ellen Meloy TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A naturalist's travels through the desert Southwest of her youth, reflecting on native peoples, landscape and ecology. Meloy explores Los Alamos, Trinity National Historic Landmark, and White Sands Missile Range -- including the impact of the laboratory and bomb testing on the environment. (USW292, $16.95)
The Laughing Boy  •  Oliver La Farge LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 193 PAGES This Pulitzer Prize-winning 1929 novel sets the love story between Laughing Boy, a proper Navajo youth, and Slim Girl, raised at an Indian school, against the setting of a fast disappearing way of life in the American Southwest. An ethnographer and archaeologist, La Farge captures the flavor of the landscapes and ways of life in Northern Arizona in the early 20th century in this evocative short novel. (USW240, $10.95)
The Los Alamos Primer, the First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb  •  Robert Serber  •  Richard Rhodes SCIENCE •  1992 •  HARD COVER  • 98 PAGES A collection of original lecture notes concerning the construction of the atomic bomb from Robert Serber, one of the primary physicists involved in the Manhattan Project. Presented with commentary by Serber himself, written nearly half a century later, this volume may be heavy on the physics, but it is an important document in the history of science and warfare. (HSC17, $39.95)
Los Alamos, A Novel  •  Joseph Kanon MYSTERY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 517 PAGES A thriller set in Los Alamos in the 1940s, telling the story of an Army Intelligence agent who comes to investigate a murder. Real and fictional figures are woven into this page-turning yarn. (USW293, $7.99)
Lucia di Lamermoor, Libretto in Italian & English  •  Gaetano Donizetti  •  Salvatore Cammarano MUSIC •  1993 •  PAPER  • 36 PAGES The libretto for Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lamermoor, presented in Italian and English. (ITL266, $4.95)
Made in the Southwest: A Shopper's Guide to the Region's Best Native American, Hispanic and Western Craft Traditions  •  Laura Morelli GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A shopper's guide to all that is handmade and beautiful in the Southwest's Hispanic, Native American and Western traditions, by writer and art historian Laura Morelli. With a state-by-state guide to artisans and stores and 80 color illustrations. (SWU209, $24.95)
The Magic of Opera  •  J. Merrill Knapp MUSIC •  1985 •  PAPER  • 371 PAGES A comprehensive introduction to the history, structure and forms of opera, written for the general reader. (GEN139, $18.95)
Majestic Journey, Corondo's Inland Empire  •  Stewart L. Udall  •  Jerry D. Jacka HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES Former Congressman Stewart Udall and renowned photographer Jerry Jacka retrace the journey of Coronado in this photographic tribute to the Southwest. Udall provides a revisionist slant to the historical text, in which he revalues the impact of Coronado's quest for the Seven Cities of Gold. (SWU86, $19.95)
The Making of the Atomic Bomb  •  Richard Rhodes HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 886 PAGES From the discovery of the nucleus to the making of atomic bomb, this Pulitzer Prize winning book tackles the people, discoveries and places of the Atomic Age in spellbinding detail. Rhodes tells the story of nuclear physics in the first half of the 20th century, wartime work on the bomb, and how the world -- and especially science -- has grappled with the horrific consequences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A major arc of the book is how a remarkable group of physicists, German and American, were thrust out of the ivory tower and into wartime efforts -- and onto the stage of world history. A remarkable accomplishment. (USW231, $20.00)
The Man Who Killed the Deer  •  Frank Waters LITERATURE •  1942 •  PAPER  • 266 PAGES A heartfelt tale of a Pueblo Indian in New Mexico by Frank Waters, who wrote two dozen books of fiction and non-fiction set in the Southwest. Waters captures the difficult position of his protagonist Martiniano, straddled between his tribe and white society. It's an award-winning exploration of cultural conflicts and the human condition, rich in details of daily life. (USW265, $11.95)
Masked Gods, Navaho and Pueblo Ceremonialism  •  Frank Waters HISTORY •  1984 •  PAPER  • 433 PAGES Originally published in 1950, this is an expansive survey of the history, ceremony and religion of Pueblo life by an important writer of the American Southwest. (USW220, $18.95)
The Merry Wives of Windsor  •  William Shakespeare LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 242 PAGES This late Shakespearean comedy, supposedly written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, provides the basic plot for Verdi's final masterpice, Falstaff. (GEN177, $10.95)
The Milagro Beanfield War  •  John Treadwell Nichols  •  Rini Templeton LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 456 PAGES This charming novel went from a local favorite to a cult classic to a major motion picture (directed by Robert Redford) largely by word-of-mouth, no small feat for a book about water irrigation. Nichols has an eye for detail that makes his characters real and his themes resonate. For those who haven't seen the movie, the book chronicles the struggle between a stubborn hustler, some eccentric local farmers, and the Anglo water barons (who are in cahoots with government officials) over the watering of a small beanfield in the American southwest. (USW222, $17.00)
National Geographic Field Guide to Birds, Arizona & New Mexico  •  Jonatha Alderfer FIELD GUIDE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A pocket guide to the birds of Arizona and New Mexico, featuring a two-page spread for each species with a clear color photograph, a range map and excellent descriptions of field marks, behavior, habitat and viewing sites. (SWU213, $14.95)
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America  •  National Geographic FIELD GUIDE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 502 PAGES From Alaska to Baja California, this field guide published by the National Geographic Society, now in its fifth edition (with tabs!), is the one to carry. Practical to use in the field, it has maps, illustrations and descriptions of the birds on facing pages. The scale of the maps changes with the range of the bird, which means you get a more detailed regional map for those birds with a restricted range. This fully revised fifth edition features nearly 700 color range maps, bigger and better than ever. (FG09, $24.00)
A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country  •  David Williams  •  Gloria Brown FIELD GUIDE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 188 PAGES A compact field guide to the wildlife of the high desert of the Colorado Plateau and the nine national parks of the region, including Arches and Canyonlands, featuring handsome watercolor illustrations by Gloria Brown. A former ranger based in Moab, Williams includes an overview of the history, geology and ecology of the high desert in addition to basic information that you'll need to identify common plants and animals. Published in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association. (USW289, $22.95)
The New Encyclopedia of the American West  •  Howard R. Lamar REFERENCE •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 1320 PAGES A massive -- and entertaining -- reference to the West, featuring more than 2,400 entries and 600 illustrations. From prehistory to today, it includes historical and geographical overviews, trivial tidbits, biographical sketches of major figures, and commentary on art and literature. Compiled by Yale professor Howard R. Lamar, it's the most comprehensive single volume of its type. (USW416, $80.00)
New Mexico, An Interpretive History  •  Marc Simmons HISTORY •  1988 •  PAPER  • 207 PAGES A history of the state, mixing broad-ranging historical knowledge and personal insight. (USW219, $15.95)
North Central New Mexico Map  •  High Highroad Maps MAP A map of North Central New Mexico at a scale of 1:500,000, covering Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque, Ghost Ranch, Bandelier, Las Vegas and Chimayo. (USW125, $3.95)
Now It Can Be Told, The Story of the Manhattan Project  •  Leslie R. Groves  •  Edward Teller HISTORY •  1983 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES A history of the Manhattan Project as told by irascible General Leslie R. Groves, the military head of operations at Los Alamos. It's an engaging, personal account of the construction of the atom bomb by one of the major forces behind the scenes. (HSC21, $17.50)
Patterns of Culture  •  Ruth Benedict  •  Margaret Mead CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2006 •  PAPER  • 290 PAGES Essential reading for any anthropologist, this pioneering book compares and contrasts three cultures: the Kwakiutl (Pacific Northwest), Zuni (American Southwest) and the Dobu Island culture (Papua New Guinea). With a preface by Margaret Mead. (PNG10, $15.00)
Paul Strand Southwest  •  Paul Strand  •  Rebecca Busselle  •  Trudy Wilner Stack ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 112 PAGES With 50 black-and-white photographs, this book showcases Strand's work during the summers of 1926 and 1930-1932, when Taos, New Mexico served as the inspiration for his stark, elegant style. Working from two homemade darkrooms, one in a hotel basement and another above a local movie theater, Strand captured the depth and beauty of the Southwest. Through personal letters and snapshots, this book chronicles a dynamic period in Strand's life, both artistically and socially; his relationship with his wife Rebecca and his mentor Alfred Stieglitz were struggling, and he crossed paths with the likes of D.H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe. (USW442, $50.00)
Portrait of an Artist, A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe  •  Laura Lisle BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  PAPER  • 496 PAGES A comprehensive and insightful biography of Georgia O'Keeffe. Lisle shows how O'Keeffe was both changed and inspired by her Southwestern surroundings. (USW221, $32.95)
Pueblo Indians of North America  •  Edward P. Dozier CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1983 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES Having spent his life among the Pueblos in Hopi towns in Arizona and Taos settlements in New Mexico, Dozier writes the story of their adaptation to a changing physical and political environment in this scholarly profile. (USW234, $19.95)
Pueblo Profiles, Cultural Identity Through Centuries of Change  •  Joe S. Sando  •  Regis Pecos HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE A history of the origin and development of the 19 Pueblo Nations, which are scattered across northern New Mexico from Gallup and Taos to Albuquerque. Sando includes profiles of key pueblo leaders, maps and many black-and-white photographs. (USW238, $14.95)
Recreational Map of New Mexico  •  GTR Mapping 2000 •  MAP A very good fold-out map of New Mexico at a scale of 1:800,000 showing topography, parks and wilderness areas, cities, towns and roads. With mileage chart, index and points of interest. (USW209, $3.95)
Santa Fe & Taos Book: Great Destinations, A Complete Guide  •  Sharon Niederman GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES An authoritative, bestselling practical guide to the food, culture and attractions of the region. (SWU206, $18.95)
Scats and Tracks of the Desert Southwest  •  James Halfpenny  •  Todd Telander FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES An essential pocket guide to tracks, scats and signs of not just the mammals of the region but also the reptiles, amphibians and birds. Each of the species gets a double-page spread with line drawings of the animal, scat and track, range map, and description. With shaded pencil drawings by Todd Telander. (SWU61, $9.95)
The Secret Knowledge of Water  •  Craig Childs TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES Longtime desert-dweller Craig Childs's reverence for water is displayed clearly in the pages of this travelogue, an adventuring ecologist's journey through Arizona, Utah, the Grand Canyon and Northern Mexico. Subtitled "Discovering the Essence of the American Desert," this lyrical narrative paints the desert as a place of mystery and infintie potential. (SWU169, $14.99)
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America  •  David Sibley FIELD GUIDE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 474 PAGES A compact, geographically-specific version of the Sibley Guide with all-new range maps, the same glorious illustrations and expanded, extremely valuable descriptions of each bird with status, habitat, range, voice and identifying marks. The book covers 703 species of birds occurring west of the Rockies, including Alaska, the western Canadian provinces, Baja California and portions of northern Mexico. Maps show the range throughout North America. For birders living east of the Rockies, you'll want to use Sibley's "Birds of Eastern North America" (USE262). (USW418, $19.95)
Smithsonian Handbooks Birds of North America, Western Region  •  Fred J. Alsop, III FIELD GUIDE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 752 PAGES An illustrated handbook and field guide to birds found west of the Mississippi. Describing 700 birds in all, this book dedicates a page to each species, with digitally enhanced photographs and silhouette drawings, range maps, and concise descriptions of behavior, habitat and conservation. Introductory chapters provide helpful background on basic terminology and bird-watching techniques. (USW415, $25.00)
A Song of Love and Death, The Meaning of Opera  •  Peter Conrad BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 381 PAGES With a chapter entitled "The Ecstasy and Agony of Song," this classic book is anything but an objective report on the state of opera or a historical survey. It is, instead, a personal, vivid rant on the pleasures and significance of opera covering singers, great stages, conductors, composers and, of course, the music. Originally published in 1987. (GEN25, $16.00)
Soul of Nowhere  •  Craig Childs TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES Naturalist and adventurer Craig Childs's account of travels in the American desert. (SWU171, $22.95)
The Spell of New Mexico  •  Tony Hillerman ANTHOLOGY •  1984 •  PAPER  • 105 PAGES A selection of 12 thoughtful essays on the New Mexico state of mind by great writers, including C.G. Jung, Mary Austin, D.H. Lawrence and Lawrence Clark Powell. Hillerman succeeds in communicating the lure of the desert Southwest in this wonderful, literate introduction to the state. (USW134, $14.95)
Summer People, Winter People: A Guide to Pueblos in the Santa Fe Area  •  Sandra Edelman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1986 •  PAPER  • 31 PAGES A pamphlet with short descriptions of Pueblo communities between Albuquerque and Taos. With a list of feast days, dances and celebrations, and brief overview of the Pueblos of Northern New Mexico. (USW214, $4.95)
Talking With the Clay, The Art of Pueblo Pottery  •  Stephen Trimble  •  Tom Ireland ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 116 PAGES A portrait of the Pueblo people as revealed through pottery traditions. With 75 photographs and insightful text. (USW235, $17.95)
Their Day in the Sun, Women of the Manhattan Project  •  Caroline L. Herzenberg  •  Ruth H. Howes  •  Ellen C. Weaver HISTORY •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 280 PAGES Through interviews, written records, and photographs of the women, this book recounts the stories of the involvement of physicists, chemists, mathematicians, biologists, and lab technicians in the Manhattan Project. It addresses discrimination, recruitment for the war effort, as well as the attitudes they now hold about their contributions to the project. (USW290, $45.50)
Verdi and his Operas  •  Stanley Sadie  •  Roger Parker MUSIC •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A book in the 'New Grove Composers Series', this is essentially a compilation of relevant material from the "New Grove Dictionary of Opera." The meat of the book is a collection of material on each Verdi opera, but it also includes a brief biography. (ITL203, $24.95)
Verdi With a Vengeance, An Energetic Guide to the Life and Complete Works of the King of Opera  •  William Berger MUSIC •  2000 •  PAPER  • 497 PAGES Recommended for its breezy, opinionated overview of Verdi's life and work, Berger sketches Verdi's life and provided a scene-by-scene analysis of his major operas. Less scholarly than the classic Verdi biographies, it's a useful introduction to opera. By the author of "Wagner Without Fear." (GEN170, $16.00)
Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province, Exploring Ancient and Enduring Uses  •  William Dunmire  •  Gail Tierney FIELD GUIDE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A plant ecologist and an anthropologist teamed up to write this accessible guide to the diverse plant communities of the Pueblo people, a rich source of information on the plants and human ecology of the high deserts and mountains of New Mexico and surrounding regions. With a laminated paper cover and sturdy spine, this book is meant to be taken in the field. With color landscape photos and individual drawings of 60 important plants. (USW09, $22.50)