Customer Reviews

The Essence of Santa Fe: From a Way of Life to a Style

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The historical information on Santa Fe was very well researched and presented in an entertaining manner. The characters who shaped Santa Fe came alive to the reader. My only frustration was that most of the archived photographs were not dated although most of them came from the museum. It seemed to me to be a serious oversight on the part of the author.

The Essence of Santa Fe: From a Way of Life to a Style is an excellent pictoral history of a beautiful city that has transitioned from its pioneer days, as depicted by Willa Cather in Death Comes to the Archbishop, to one that greets thousands a year who come to listen to opera and visit its 300+ galleries. The book is informative and interesting. After buying our copy, we ordered two more to give to dear friends who are enthusiasts of Santa Fe. This should attest to our opinion of it!

The Hammetts are nice people. This is a good book, one which is not afraid to say that Santa Fe is not what it used to be, is not what it might seem, and how and why. I agree with reviewers who think that in most cases the photographs wherever possible should have been dated.

This is a great coffee table book. The architectural and artistic history of the area give any new or old Santa Fean a recap of why it's great to live there. Some great pictures of old Santa Fe.

As a long time visitor to this city, this is possibly one of the best books on the subject that I have seen. It gives a great overview of the history and importance of the city and the surrounding area to the culture of the United States. Highly recommended.

What a great picture book, full of pretty pictures of what is the perceived essence of Santa Fe. This book is a poor mixture of bad editorial and inacurate historical tongue in cheek comments. Photo's taken by some very prominent photographers have not been credited. Remarks by the author seem to be his and her's personal opinion, however they are attempting to present themselves as authorities. Read this book with a realization that the facts here are mearly a dialougue of one person's opinion, but the historical photo's saved this from just being another coffee table book about pink howling coyotes, or chitzy overpriced homes.

I ordered the book and was charged for it but later got a message that they didn't fill the order because of the book's condition- yet it was advertised as in very good condition. I did get a refund, and have not reordered the book.