Archives & Special Collections

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the border between Texas and Mexico was fluid and hotly contested by citizens on both sides. Border Bandits, Border Raids is an account of the many skirmishes, battles, and conflicts between the Mexicans and Texans during an era before checkpoints were regularized and when the idea of a border was still relatively new. Conflict, thievery, and hostility ran rampant between the two countries. The seventeen tales in this book re-create the border raids that originated from both sides and tell the stories of colorful characters-Mexican and American-who have since secured their place in history.

Celebrate 100 years of Western filmmaking with the most complete collection yet assembled of feature-length Westerns of the sound era. Over 850 films reviewed, over 2,000 listed in all. In addition to reviews of nearly 900 films, many illustrated with original film stills, this definitive guide also features a history of the genre, Black Westerns, Spaghetti Westerns, the real cowboys and Indians who inspired the films, authenticity, acting, directors, and more. Each of nearly 900 reviewed films have: date of release country of origin film studio credit overall star rating (1-5 stars) major star cast list cameo plot plus three additional ratings on authenticity, story, and acting (1-5 stars).

Daniel D. Fernandez received two Purple Heart citations and was awarded the Air Medal for valorous service as a helicopter "Shot Gun Rider" during his first tour of Vietnam in 1965. He returned to Vietnam in January of 1966 and courageously smothered a grenade with his body, saving the lives of four of his comrades. His selfless sacrifice was distinguished by the posthumous award of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.This book by Richard Melzer, Cynthia J. Shetter, and John Taylor superbly documents Daniel's entire life and legacy and will be a standard for people who wish to understand the patriotism and sacrifices of America's military heroes. It should be in people's homes, on library shelves and in classrooms in New Mexico and across the nation.

The UFO landing at Socorro has been wrapped in controversy almost from the moment that police officer Lonnie Zamora watched a craft descend and land. Zamora saw alien beings near the craft and a symbol on its side but was told that he shouldn't mention either. Encounter in the Desert reveals--for the first time--exactly what he saw in that arroyo in 1964 and what an examination of the landing revealed to investigators. Socorro wasn't a stand-alone case. Other sightings, some of them nearly as spectacular as Zamora's, were reported at the time. A study of the Air Force investigation of this case reveals an effort, at first, to learn the truth that mutated into a clever attempt to hide the information from the public. Encounter in the Desert reveals all this and much more, including: The first new, in-depth look at the Zamora UFO landing in more than three decades. Other reports of alien creatures sighted around the country at the same time. An examination of the physical evidence found on the landing site. The revelation that there were other witnesses to the craft and the landing.

 

 

This book on the 1980 Penitentiary of New Mexico riot is by far the most comprehensive, best-researched and most credible publication on this topic. It examines the prison administration, the correctional officers and the inmates in great detail. Clues to the impending riot are documented, and the causes of the riot and contributing factors are discussed. The pre-riot, riot and post-riot stages of the event are covered. In addition to providing chapters on the negotiation about and investigation into the insurrection, the significance and consequences of the riot are assessed. Separate chapters discuss the families of the hostage correctional officers, the inmate families, the media and medical first responders. Tours of the prison are discussed, and paranormal aspects of the riot documented. There are ghosts in the prison! This prison riot differed from most in that no inmates tried to escape. That is because this was not a traditional prison riot but rather one intended to initiate public and media awareness of terrible living conditions and to create public and media dialogue about inmate complaints. In the years immediately prior to the riot ACLU attorneys had submitted two Consent Decrees to federal courts, and the prison administration was forced to promise to address more than 200 inmate grievances. In fact they ignored the decrees and cracked down harder on the inmates. The inevitable result was the death of an unknown but undoubtedly significant number of inmates and countless serious injuries.The research foundation of this book is the most complete of any book about the riot. All published articles and books and blogs and government reports about the riot are included. Most significantly, interviews with correctional officers and family members provide intimate personal insight into the motives, madness and mutilations of this murderous riot.