Santa Fe: History of an Ancient City [Paperback]

David Grant Noble (Editor) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1989

Few cities in America can claim as long and fascinating a history as Santa Fe, New Mexico. Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans and Anglo-Americans have all left their marks here through time. This new history of Santa Fe is written for a general audience by scholars whose essays focus on the colorful individuals and events that shaped the ancient capital.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For tourist and scholar, this history of Santa Fe is a delight. -- Terrae Incognitae

This is a must for aficionados of Southwestern history and anyone who wants to know what makes Santa Fe different. -- The Santa Fe New Mexican

About the Author

David Grant Noble is an acclaimed photographer and editor of New Light on Chaco Canyon, The Hohokam: Ancient People of the Southwest, and author of Ancient Ruins of the Southwest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: School of American Research Press; Revised edition edition (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933452276
• ISBN-13: 978-0933452275
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,884,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, Expert Authors, August 11, 2008

By 

K. Remington - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Santa Fe, History of an Ancient City: Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback)

The chapter edited by Tara Plewa remains one of the most enlightened discourses on the Santa Fe River that I have ever read. Plewa is a brilliant writer, with a knack for detailing this area and its history is an unparalleled manner... this one is not to be missed, and be on the lookout for anything that Plewa writes!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent illustrated history, September 25, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Santa Fe, History of an Ancient City: Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback)

Santa Fe will be 400 years old next year, and this beautifully illustrated and written book was issued in commemoration of its rich history.

There are eleven chapters, nine dealing with various historical eras in the city's history: high desert living before the formation of the city, the founding, the Pueblo Revolt, the Spanish Restoration, 25 years as a Mexican town, the U.S. occupation, the Santa Fe Trail, the Palace of Governors and a history of histories of the city. Each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the area, and each is illustrated with many black and white images.

Two chapters were particularly interesting to me. "Españols, Castas, y Labradores" by Adrian H. Bustamante is a very careful analysis of the the complex mixing and cross mixing of different ethnic backgrounds. "One's social position was determined by the degree of pureza de sangre española that flowed in one's veins. To have been born in Spain, especially in Castile, gave one the highest classification possible -- penninsular." Pure españoles who had been born in the New World had the marginally lower status of Criollos (Creoles)." The book lists on page 54 (you may be able to retrieve a copy through the Amazon Search this Book function) 22 separate "castas" typical of the 18th century: mestizo, castizo, otrna a español, mulato, morisco, etc.

Tara M. Plewa's "Acequia Agriculture" is a beautifully written, fact laden discussion of water, irrigation and their defining roles in Santa Fe's history. "Long established Spanish irrigation methods translated well to the dry landscape. The practice of irrigation necessitated establishing rules so that benefits were divided equitably among users. As I. G. Clark has written in his insightful book, Water in New Mexico: A History of Its Management and Use, Spaniards had centuries before learned irrigation techniques from the Romans and, later, Islamic water law from the Moors. It was the Prophet Mohammed who had taught about the law of thirst, which grants living things free access to all waters to satisfy their needs. ... These ideas, established more than one thousand years ago, form the foundations of contemporary water laws followed in the western United States today." Plewa illustrated her essay with a number of maps, pictures and charts, perhaps the most interesting two photographs of the Acequia Madre from 1890 and 2007, respectively -- the principles of Mohammed in practice many hundreds of years after his death.

The publisher offers a very generous extract from the book at sarpress.sarweb.org , focusing on the archeological studies of the city.

Two weeks ago I asked the owner of Collected Works, a great bookstore in Santa Fe for the "essential" books needed to understand Santa Fe. Her list: New Mexico: An Interpretive History by Marc Simmons; Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya; The Wind Leaves No Shadow by Ruth Laughlin; The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church; and Santa Fe, History of an Ancient City: Revised and Expanded Edition edited by David Grant Noble.

This wonderful volume is a perfect introduction of this complex, endlessly fascinating city.

Robert C. Ross 2008