New Mexico Past And Present

Combines more than two hundred photographs and a concise history to create an engaging, panoramic view of New Mexico's fascinating past.

Originally published in 1993 and now available for the first time in paperback, this book remains one of the few authoritative vegetation compilations for a western state. It is the first comprehensive study of the biological history and evolution of New Mexico's vegetation and includes a detailed account of the distribution of plant communities in the state today. Discussed are the following major types of vegetation: tundra and coniferous forest, woodland and savanna, grassland, scrubland, riparian, and wetlands. For each type, information is provided on the principal plant species. In addition, for each vegetation type special attention is given to describing how plants sharing a common location interact and, in particular, how human activity impacts on each type. Much of New Mexico's vegetation is in some stage of succession as a result of human-initiated disturbances such as fire, logging, and livestock grazing. The book ends with a detailed description of species of special concern and what is being done to preserve examples of vegetation types within the state. A map of the state's vegetation, including types not found on existing maps, accompanies the book. The classifications of vegetation employed here are easily recognizable in the field, which makes them of greater use to the public as well as to resource managers, researchers, and students.

A textbook tracing the history of New Mexico's land and people from the Ice Age to the present.

Detailed information on every aspect of New Mexico's past.

Twentieth century New Mexico history for high school courses.

"Compelling and complex . . . Strange and wonderful." —The New York Times Book Review, in praise of McIlvoy's previous fiction I am going to write about the state of New Mexico and put in some maps and stuff from the encyclopedia. My theme is the Don Juan Onate trail and the Jornada Del Muerto. But I might write some other important things which as it turns out my stepmother got angry about and said she wouldn't type this until my Dad said "Dammit now it is history" and told her maybe there weren't commas in those days. "The Complete History of New Mexico" is no ordinary research paper, and this is no ordinary collection of short stories. Eleven-year-old Chum's "history" unfolds over three distinctive and increasingly disturbing sections. He writes that "Coronado explored around and found Santa Fe in 1610"; that "William Becknell was tracking wagons over everyplace in 1821"; and that every day his best friend, Daniel, is afraid to go home. Kevin McIlvoy intersperses the title novella with equally distinctive stories set in New Mexico. Laura, a plain, overweight nurse, encounters a terrified young man on his way to the Vietnam War and takes matters into her own hands. Zach spends time with his "white-trash" relatives and finds love's terrible and true face. The Complete History of New Mexico is a stunningly original collection that will further McIlvoy's growing reputation.

Since the earliest days of Spanish exploration and settlement, New Mexico has been known for lying off the beaten track. But this new history reminds readers that the world has been beating paths to New Mexico for hundreds of years, via the Camino Real, the Santa Fe Trail, several railroads, Route 66, the interstate highway system, and now the Internet. This first complete history of New Mexico in more than thirty years begins with the prehistoric cultures of the earliest inhabitants. The authors then trace the state’s growth from the arrival of Spanish explorers and colonizers in the sixteenth century to the centennial of statehood in 2012. Most historians have made the territory’s admission to the Union in 1912 as the starting point for the state’s modernization. As this book shows, however, the transformation from frontier province to modern state began with World War II. The technological advancements of the Atomic Era, spawned during wartime, propelled New Mexico to the forefront of scientific research and pointed it toward the twenty-first century. The authors discuss the state’s historical and cultural geography, the economics of mining and ranching, irrigation’s crucial role in agriculture, and the impact of Native political activism and tribe-owned gambling casinos. New Mexico: A History will be a vital source for anyone seeking to understand the complex interactions of the indigenous inhabitants, Spanish settlers, immigrants, and their descendants who have created New Mexico and who shape its future.