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I hope some day to see a real history of the United States; a history not written in a closet, from one-sided affairs, but based on a knowledge of the breadth of our history,..not limited to a narrow strip on the Atlantic seaboard, but that it began in the great Southwest...I hope to see such a history, which will do justice to perhaps the most wonderful pioneers the world has ever produced...When that history is written you will find thrilling matter in the story of New Mexico..."Charles Fletcher Lummis |
 AT LAST a concise history of New Mexico. This is a must read for all teachers, high school students, New Mexico residents, and anyone interested in getting a foundation in New Mexico’s history. The respected author and historian Rubén Sálaz Márquez uses seven episodes in New Mexico’s Amerindian and Spanish colonial periods to show how, our history has been massacred by some historians, and how the Hispanic perspective has been hidden. Mr. Sálaz has distilled many years of research into one evening of reading that will hopefully start your New Mexico journey on the Camino Real. Orae Dominguez |
"NOT TO BE MISSED" “MONUMENTAL” ENCYCLOPEDIC IN SCOPE”
(Book review by Mark Simmons, PRIME TIME, April, 2001, p. 27)
A friend of mine who socially circulates told me the other day that some of the most avid readers of books on New Mexico history and culture are newcomers, those who have moved here within the last two years. One moment's thought convinced me her assessment was probably true. Old-timers often tend to take our history for granted, while recent arrivals, captivated by it, may plunge into a heavy reading program.
My own library of books on the subject was begun more than 50 years ago and I continue to add it to it. At minimum every literate New Mexican ought to own a handful of basic volumes on the state. I'm thinking of ready reference works that the average person will return to again and again. A good candidate for this basic list, one which I can heartily recommended, is Rubén Sálaz Márquez recent release New Mexico: A Brief Multi-History, self published by the author under the imprint of Cosmic House.
This is truly an amazing book, "monumental" one reviewer described it. I would classify it as "encyclopedic in scope," containing a wealth of New Mexico history. Essentially, the 675-page volume is a chronological outline of events, graced with numerous biographical profiles and heavily illustrated. It also includes a running timeline that ties in happenings outside a New Mexico. Sálaz Márquez tells me that after his retirement from 33 years of public-school teaching he decided to "learn the computer" at the urging of his sons. As an exercise in learning he assembled his
MULTI-HISTORY. "The actual writing took five years," he says, "but without the computer I probably would have needed another five.” Anyone who has a particle of interest in our state's past will find his book a pleasure to browse through and difficult to put down. On almost every page I discovered some revelation that was new to me. Do you know who the Gorras Blancas (White Caps) were? What secret role did merchant James Magoffin play in the 1846 conquest of New Mexico? How did land grant fraud redirect the course of our history? What is a punche?
Behind the answers to such questions lie fascinating stories. The superb index allows readers to locate almost any topic or proper name connected to local history. Whether a lifelong resident or a recent arrival, thoughtful New Mexicans ought to consider adding this engaging and valuable book to their bedside tables. It is available in many area bookstores.
