CALIENTE AWARD WINNER
JUNE 2011
The World Comes To Albuquerque
is the 4th book to receive ReadingNewMexico.com’s Caliente Award for outstanding books. The award, given only occasionally, goes to a book that the reviewer and editor consider “hot” – a must have for libraries and a must read for the public.
VESELY, Kim, BROWN, Dick, McCONNELL, Tom and RHETTS, Paul, editors
The World Comes to Albuquerque: The Dream Takes Flight Celebrating 40 Years of the
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Buy this book for your library. Buy this book for home. Buy this book for every school in the state.
This is the definitive history of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. From the first flight of 13 balloons at Coronado Mall in 1972 though today’s multi-hundreds of launching balloons, the story is told in a series of essays full of details about how Albuquerque became the balloon capitol of the world.
Then there are the pictures. Hundreds of them, it seems. From Albuquerque’s earliest launch of a balloon (1882) to present day, the pictures tell the story in ways that even the youngest children can understand. This book is guaranteed to make the friends you’ve been trying to get to come for the Fiesta to make it this year. It will make expatriate New Mexicans homesick. It will inspire children to learn more about the sport.
This is an unabashed thumbs up for The World Comes to Albuquerque. It’s filled a gap long needing filling. Well done Rio Grande Books and The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
CALIENTE AWARD WINNER
MARCH 2010
Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
is the third book to recieve the ReadingNewMexico.com
Caliente Award for outstanding book.
HICKMAN, KIRT
Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
Quillrunner Publishing LLC, ISBN 978-0-9796330-1-0
Kirt Hickman’s book, Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness, is refreshingly different from most of the books in the piles of titles about the craft of writing. Those books talk about writing; Kirt Hickman shows how it is actually done.
For an informational self-help book to be good it must have four things – be audience and target specific, be timely, be well written and comprehensive and, be immediately useful. Hickman covered each of these points very well. Revising Fiction is exactly what it is advertised to be - a comprehensive and practical guide to self-editing. The book is broken up into bite sized chunks of easy to read information, each section well laid out taking the reader from the fundamentals of defining your theme and planning your attack, to plot, point of view, formatting and critiques. In between you’ll find advice and direction on creating the proper setting and tone, keeping the voice constant and dealing with the grammatical problems we all grapple with.
Hickman focuses his attention on techniques for effective self-editing, but in the process he also introduces basic principles essential for good fiction writing. He does this through extensive use of textual examples that illustrate problems in areas such as dialog, point of view, storytelling techniques, and character development. He then edits these texts with the reader looking over his shoulder, a process that reveals what exactly is wrong in the examples, how to do it better, and the kind of difference better technique makes. Observing Mr. Hickman at work in this way is an effective way to improve one’s own writing.
In regard to the task of editing, Hickman presents a clear and effective process. Editing can be a frustrating job, consuming days of work that, in the end, fail to address the real problems in a manuscript. Revising Fiction charts an approach that will allow a writer to identify the issues that need correction and address those efficiently. These techniques include breaking the story into scenes and asking specific questions about each scene in order to determine if it is advancing either the plot or character development. Hickman also advocates editing an entire manuscript with attention to one factor at a time. A writer could, for example, move through the text with a focus on its attributives (“he said, she said” etc.) and then re-examine the entire manuscript with attention to the use of specific types of words like adverbs or verbs. Hickman advocates the use of tools like note cards (a sort of after-the-fact storyboarding) to help visualize the relationship between scenes so problems in the area of consistency can be identified and color-coding to highlight word combinations prone to grammatical errors. These techniques are not complicated and will turn the frustration of editing into fruitful work, saving time in the process.
Hickman writes for the fiction author but a non-fiction writer will also find his techniques invaluable. While non-fiction writers do not need to advance a plot, they do advance an argument and the advice he gives for breaking a text into scenes helps the writer to avoid repetition of ideas and facilitates rearrangement of the writer’s arguments. In the same way, while non-fiction writers do not use much dialog, they do introduce quotations and the techniques Hickman teaching to improve the flow of dialog help make the introduction of quoted material more interesting.
In the end good writing is good writing and Kirt Hickman has produced a book that will improve the writing of anyone who reads it and puts its ideas to work. A writer could attend many workshops and buy many books about writing but would find most of what they learned was included in this one comprehensive and practical guide. This is not a book to hide on the shelf but to keep readily available on the writer’s desk.
CALIENTE AWARD WINNER
SEPTEMBER 2009
The Family Caregiver's Journal: A Guide to Facing the Terminal Illness of a Loved One
is the second book to receive ReadingNewMexico.coms Caliente Award for outstanding book.
Bruce, Hank
The Family Caregiver’s Journal: A Guide to Facing the Terminal Illness of a Loved One
Petals and Pages Press ISBN 0-7880-1434-X
The process of helping a loved one die is emotionally and physically exhausting. It can be frightening for both patient and caregiver. Mr. Bruce has written a multi-purpose guide that not only describes the more common steps in the dying process, but also the emotional and psychological effects associated with “the body going out of business.” Knowing what the step is, what it might look like, what additional medical, social and emotional resources need to be marshaled to meet it, helps reduce anxieties for all concerned.
The Family Caregiver’s Journal is a comprehensive guide to death and dying; comprehensive in two senses. First, it deals with the issues that arise in connection with facing death or caring for a dying person. The book poses all the right questions including many important issues readers might not think to ask about unless they had been through the death of a loved one already. These questions are not only answered but are accompanied with how-to instructions that are exactly on-point. But there is another sense in which this book is comprehensive. The good advice is accompanied by well told stories related to the issues under consideration. These touching stories connect to the emotional and spiritual experiences that are so much a part of the dying and care giving process. The result is a book that offers both spiritual sustenance and practical wisdom, a rare gift indeed.
Rather than merely describe, Mr. Bruce’s book is a journal, meant to be a collaborative effort between author and reader/caregiver. As a journal, this book goes one step further. There is space here for readers to write their own responses to the challenges and opportunities discussed in the text.
Every death is unique, and Family Caregiver’s Journal provides ample space for reader participation and reflection. Written from a non-denominational Christian point of view, Family Caregiver’s Journal is equally helpful to families of all faiths, those of mixed religious background or none at all. Chapters provide practical advice about how to divide up the care giving workload, methods to access social services in one’s community, how to talk to doctors and get them to listen, what the role of hospice is and when to turn to its services.
Chapters include check lists for caregivers to keep track of increasingly complex medical arrangements as the dying process progresses. Specific sections deal with complications in Alzheimer cases or the opposite problem of what to do when the body dies before the mind is ready. Family Caregiver’s Journal provides lists of physical symptoms, their causes and some aids to relieve discomfort. The book also provides hints on how to help the dying verbalize their concerns and fears and reduce feelings of vulnerability.
The book reminds us that death is a problem we can’t solve or as the authors say, “there is no cure for death.” This needs to be emphasized because if we approach the gradual decline of a loved one with the attitude that we will somehow drive death away forever our unrealistic expectations will only generate depression and anger that may cause us to disengage emotionally and physically from the person who needs our help. But there is a second fundamental truth that also inspires this book. While there is no cure for death, there is, as the authors say, “much that we can do” and knowing what we can do makes a big difference. If we know that there are effective responses to problems involved in the dying process we will not be afraid. We will deal with the issues and find the resources we need when we need them. Our confidence in ourselves as caregivers will grow daily and we will not draw back from the person who needs our care.
The Family Caregiver’s Journal largely speaks of death in the context of hospice services. The work of hospice, a special kind of care offered patients diagnosed with a terminal condition that focuses on comfort rather than curing, is explained and contrasted with standard medical models. Patients and families who read this book will be able to coordinate with hospice staff in an effective way. This is important because hospice is centered around teamwork with the team including many kinds of professionals ranging from doctors to musicians, but the center of the care team is always the patient and the family. Hospice workers who read this book will gain from its stories a fresh understanding of how their discipline makes a difference in the lives of those they serve.
Reading Family Caregiver’s Journal at the beginning of the dying process helps remove some of the fear of the unknown caregivers will face. It helps us organize ourselves physically, financially (care giving is costly in so many ways), emotionally and spiritually. All parties involved will be better able to experience the mystery of death with as much dignity and grace as possible.
This book has great value even for those who are not now facing death or the loss of a loved one. Our culture shields us from death with the result that it usually comes as a shock even when it has been anticipated for a long time. But this need not be the case. Death need not be approached as a crisis or emergency.
We need to take the next step and adopt a new attitude toward death. The key to such a change will again be education. The Family Caregiver’s Journal is a great place for that process to begin. We live in a world in which death is a natural and daily part of life. With that in mind we would invite everyone to find this book and read it. When the mystery and terror that surrounds death is replaced by information and planning it becomes easier to embrace living and fill our days with joy.
9/09 Reviewed by Victoria Earhart and Rev. Jim Thompson, reviews combined by Sabra Steinsiek
CALIENTE AWARD WINNER
MARCH 2009
The Whole Damned World
was the first book to receive ReadingNewMexico.com’s Caliente Award for outstanding books.
Andrews, Martha Shipman, editor
The Whole Damned World:
New Mexico Aggies at War: 1941 -1945, World War II Correspondence of Dean Daniel B. Jett
I am not a World War II buff. I’m aware of history, but unlikely to pick up a non-fiction book on the subject. When The Whole Damned World was submitted for review, I intended to read a few pages here and there and take a look at the pictures before putting it on the reviewer’s selection list. That was the plan.
Instead, I read the introductory poem by Jim Carson originally published in the Rio Grande Writer in 1944, a lament at what was left behind. The final stanza gives title to the book-
“The whole damned world. I’ve seen it now.
And still the past is all that’s clear;
The present like a shadow. How –
I wonder how the branding goes this year.”
Then the preface from Morgan Nelson, Class of ’41, describing Dean Jett, piqued my interest. “Dean Jett was not a handsome man but he was a beautiful person…Everyone felt they were his family and appreciated and responded to his sincerity.” As a Master Mason, Jett was “Dad” the Demolay and Rainbow Assembly and the name carried on to his work as Dean of Engineering on the campus of the then New Mexico A&M College (now New Mexico State University.) Nelson says “During World War II, writing to Dad Jett was a freedom where we could express our triumphs and out trials with someone who truly understood us. It was a freedom that some could not even share with their parents, sometimes to protect them and sometimes to brag a bit to someone who really wanted to know.”
By the time I turned that page, I was hooked. From beginning to end, I remained hooked, putting off chores to read and read and read the words of these brave young people at the beginning of their lives, lives that were cruelly interrupted, often permanently.
The letters are expertly divided into chapters, Aggies Go to War, The Flyboys, Engineers, Coeds at War, Overseas Duty, Civilian War Work, among others, leading to a final Homecoming chapter. This division allows the reader to see the arc of the war and emotions the letter writers went through. Each chapter is heavily and thoroughly end-noted.
Optimistic at first, the letters are cheerful. “Army life is certainly different from College, but I do like it,” wrote Francis W. Cade, “45. “…promotions come slow in this regiment,” wrote William F. Strand,’43, “…I’m proud to just be a member of this country’s armed forces, whatever my rank may be.” The letters often include greetings to professors and other classmates.
When reality begins to set in as these armed forces are sent overseas, the letters become more somber, but there’s still a strong spirit of getting the job done. It was truly amazing to me how often these former students of A&M ran into each other no matter where they were stationed. They were quick to relay the information to Dean Jett for the newsletter he sent to every former A&M student for whom he could find an address. Jack G. Horne, ’42 wrote from a censored location in the Philippines, “I just received your December 5 letter and was very happy to get it except it brought the sad news that my buddy ‘Copper’ Harris [William W. Harris ‘42] was killed.”
Eventually, it gets too hard to stay upbeat and discouragement begins to show through in the letters Dean Jett received.
“I’ve had one two-day pass to Paris in the fifteen months I’ve been over here.”
“Such good news as the carrier strikes against the Jap home land makes one feel that perhaps the war out here might end by early 1946 I only wish that the war in Europe would come to an end so that the killing out here could be finished.”
“How I would like to be making an eight o’clock class instead of a four ‘o’clock in the morning general quarters.”
“Chow – all dehydrated stuff and some canned food – is as good can be expected. For Christmas we got a good feed. Too bad Christmas only comes once a year.”
Jett wrote encouraging letters back although only a few of them are included in the book. The focus is on the military and those real people inside the uniforms.
Inevitably, the losses begin to creep in. “I have sad news to tell you. My brother, Alan, was killed…”. Bernard C. Kaplan, ’42 wrote in November or 1944, “The names of those deceased and injured were just names until I came to the names of those that I knew intimately like ‘Copper’ Harris. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was sitting in the classes with him or walking across the campus or gabbing in the dorm. It’s hard to believe. It isn’t right. Then I read about the rest of the class that graduated with me being wounded or missing. It is hard to realize that I won’t see them again.” Reports of those in prisoner of war camps appear often. These are the hardest parts of the book to read as those young people are lost. I read this book with a box of tissues nearby because I needed them.
Those serving stateside weren’t exempt from the discouragement and questions. Ettie M. Jones, ’39, wrote in June of 1945, “War is Hell, Prof – that’s just the only term that fits it. Even though I’ve fought on this side, I’ve been in a position to see and know a lot that goes on. And I realize I don’t know the half of it when some of these fellows start talking.” The Cost of War chapter will reach even the hardest of hearts.
Finally, as the end nears, the optimism returns. Students write to the Dean asking about returning to school, asking for recommendations, preparing to resume a life interrupted. The arc returns to optimism, but it’s an open-eyed optimism that has replaced the rose-colored glasses they wore when it all began.
Robert Zulin, ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) says in the final letter of the book “It’s great to be home – everyone is so good to me.”
As a narrative, The Whole Damned World is compelling with a variety of characters and plot twists guaranteed to keep the reader engrossed. As a history, it’s fully footnoted with several appendices including a timeline and a full listing of all those from A&M who served, including their fates. It also includes a comprehensive index. As a photo album, it makes the people and events come alive.
So why did ReadingNewMexico.com award this book the Caliente Award? Because it makes history compelling, real, and readable. It gives faces to those who served and captures a history that fewer and fewer remember as time goes on. In my opinion, this book should be required reading in history classes at every high school and college, not just in New Mexico, but across the world. And every library – especially every New Mexico library – should have it as part of their collection so that we never forget.
Kudos to Martha Shipman Andrews and New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, for recognizing the treasure they held in their hands. And kudos to Rio Grande Books for giving Dean Jett’s story and impact the setting it deserved.
Reviewed by Sabra Brown Steinsiek, owner/editor ReadingNewMexico.com
