Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series)

Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series) Review

From pine forest to desert scrub, from alpine meadow to riparian wetland, Albuquerque and its surrounding area in New Mexico offer an appealing variety of wildlife habitat. Birders are likely to see more than two hundred species during a typical year of bird-watching. Now, two experienced birders, Judith Liddell and Barbara Hussey, share their intimate knowledge of the best places to find birds in and around this important region.

Covering the Rio Grande corridor, the Sandia and Manzano Mountains, Petroglyph National Monument, and the preserved areas and wetlands south of Albuquerque (including crane and waterfowl haven Bosque del Apache), Birding Hotspots of Central New Mexico offers twenty-nine geographically organized site descriptions, including maps and photographs, trail diagrams, and images of some of the birds and scenery birders will enjoy. Along with a general description of each area, the authors list target birds; explain where and when to look for them; give driving directions; provide information about public transportation, parking, fees, restrooms, food, and lodging; and give tips on availability of water and picnic facilities and on the presence of hazards such as rattlesnakes, bears, and poison ivy.

The book includes a “helpful information” section that discusses weather, altitude, safety, transportation, and other local birding resources. The American Birding Association’s code of birding ethics appears in the back of the book, along with an annotated checklist of 222 bird species seen with some regularity in and around Albuquerque.

For more information, please visit http://birdinghotspotscentralnm.com/
 

(20110303)

SO-CAL Speed Shop: The Fast Tale of the California Racers Who Made Hot Rod History

SO-CAL Speed Shop: The Fast Tale of the California Racers Who Made Hot Rod History Review

The ability of U.S. car enthusiasts to satisfy their need for speed changed dramatically in the late 1940s as car-crazy veterans returned home from World War II with formal mechanical training, courtesy of Uncle Sam. This is the story of how one such veteran, an ex–B-17 airman named Alex Xydias, established the SO-CAL Speed Shop and helped transform hot rodding from a scruffy, underground, outlaw sport into a defining part of postwar American culture.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History Review

The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the iconic band's audacious look back at their thirty-year odyssey—in their own words and accompanied by more than 300 spectacular photos and ephemera. Intimate, breathtaking, and outrageous, this is the essence of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"I am struck with the moments of these photos, the feelings of the times they were taken, and where we were at on our beautiful and happy-sad journey. It's pretty fucking heavy, actually, like thinking how much we have changed over the years, and all the different dynamics of our lives that shaped us, and also realizing so clearly that nothing has changed at all—we're all still just trying to get it on, make something great.

"It is all here, nothing can hide: all the honesty, the pretense, the courage and one-of-a-kind-ness, the unbridled joy, the melancholy, and the shields we put up to shelter our scared, vulnerable little selves."

—Flea