Forgotten Tales of New Mexico

Well...in the case of New Mexican history, truth is typically stranger than fiction. My uncle, who lived in and loved Albuquerque for roughly a decade, mailed this to me shortly after my arrival. Dornan has a knack for telling fascinating historical vignettes, so this is an easy and pleasant book to read in bits. It covers all the bases of NM's unique confluence of cultures (e.g., Native, Hispanic, and Anglo) with political intrigue, Catholic imperialism, cowboys, and accusations of witchcraft. Perhaps best summed up by this quote from one of the people unfortunate enough to try to govern an area of the worldwhere people of all backgrounds believe firmly in their own independence:

“Poor New Mexico! So far from heaven, so close to Texas!”
–Manuel Armijo, Mexican governor of the territory of Nuevo México, 1841