Tag Archives: American Southwest

The Spanish Frontier in North America

Posted on July 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Spanish Frontier in North America© 1992 David J. Weber602 pages Although American history books will generally mention the early exploration of North America by figures like de Soto,  little attention on the whole is given to the Spanish colonial … Continue reading →

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The Journey Home

Posted on July 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Journey Home: Some Words in Defense of the American West© 1977 Edward Abbey242 pages The desert is no place for decent men, which is why Edward Abbey likes it so much. Born on the eastern seaboard,  on a farm … Continue reading →

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Our America

Posted on July 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States© 2014  Felipe Fernández-Armesto416 pages Spain disappears from American history books following the Spanish-American war, in which the tired old empire was given a sound thrashing and retreated from the hemisphere, but Spanish … Continue reading →

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Death Comes for the Archbishop

Posted on July 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

Death Comes for the Archbishop © 1927 Willa Cather 297 pages Poor New Mexico — so far from God, so close to the United States. The Pope can’t help the tide of American — and very Protestant — settlement that … Continue reading →

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The Monkey Wrench Gang

Posted on July 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Monkey Wrench Gang© 1975 Edward Abbey352 pages “Three things my daddy tried to learn me. ‘Son’, he always said, ‘remember these three precepts and you can’t go wrong. One, never eat at a place called Mom’s. Two, never play … Continue reading →

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Harvest of Empire

Posted on June 27, 2016 by smellincoffee

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America©  2000 Juan Gonzalez416 pages Harvest of Empire is a tale of two civilizations, Anglo and Spanish. In general terms, it recounts the history or rather the plight of Latin America, of people … Continue reading →

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Three for One: Robbing Banks and Being Robbed by the Banks

Posted on June 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

I stumbled upon The Great Taos Bank Robbery at some point last year. What road led me to it I can’t say, but it is a most interesting little book — a combination of folk history, humorous stories, and archaeology.  The … Continue reading →

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