Excellent Book on New Mexico, Full of Beautiful Pictures

Description

There are bits of the contiguous United States, usually along the edges —San Francisco, South Florida, New Orleans and the Rio Grande Valley come to mind—that feel like they might be in another country. Except for the fact that the landscape is quintessential Old West (it looks like the background in a John Ford movie), New Mexico might be at the top of that list.
This is an amazing book about New Mexico, telling the story of this extraordinary land and its people, in a very engaging manner. The photographs of the state’s breathtaking natural features and spectacular sights (Shiprock, White Sands, the Rio Grande, Carlsbad Caverns, Taos, Santa Fe, Sky City, Elephant Butte, Sandia Peak) are interspersed with the story of the history and people of this remarkable place (the native population and their ancient culture [marking the first advanced civilizaion in the United States], the Spanish exploration and settlement, the advance of American Manifest Destiny, the development of New Mexico Territory after the Civil War, centered around ranching and mining in the beginning, oriented more towards defense technology and tourism in the present day). It’s a 110-page hardback with a glossy jacket cover, in a landscape/11 x 8 orientation with over 150 photographs that tells the fascinating story of an American state like no other. (From Julie Kirgo/American Geographic Publishing, 1989)