1540-1980 Volume II
by Don Bullis
2009 LANSING B. BLOOM HISTORY AWARD, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW MEXICO
2008 WINNER, NEW MEXICO BOOK AWARDS
Selected as 24th Most Popular Biography/New Mexico and 36th Most Popular Biography/Reference on Amazon.com (11/10/08)
BOOK REVIEWS
N.M. from 1540-1980, but not in that order. "New Mexico — A Biographical Dictionary 1540-1980 Vol. II" by Don Bullis
Rio Grande Books, $19.95, 391 pp.
With the publication of this second volume of a biographical dictionary of New Mexicans, Don Bullis of Rio Rancho adds to our understanding of the people who helped make our history. As with the 600-plus entries in first volume, the entries here are also listed alphabetically. That's a drawback for readers who want to place these biographies chronologically, to see who might have known whom. There is a separate timeline near the back of the book, but it is unrelated to the 400-plus biographical sketches in the front. The timeline, strangely, begins in 9500 B.C. and winds up forward of 1980 — on Feb. 23, 2008. That date is noteworthy to Bullis because it was the last day the Albuquerque Tribune published. Even without a less-than-helpful timeline, readers will have to scamper through the pages to connect the lives of historical figures. Frankly, readers should probably take the book for what it is and drop in to learn about the lives of individuals who strike their fancy. There are probably many biographies of interest, people who at least marginally made names for themselves at some point over the centuries. Volume II's opening sketch is of noted author/environmentalist Ed Abbey. He wrote the cult novel "The Monkey Wrench Gang" (1975), which had the reputation for providing the philosophical underpinnings for those taking to the extreme their support of the environment. Abbey's earlier book "The Brave Cowboy" was turned into the film "Lonely Are the Brave," which was shot in New Mexico. The last entry is of John K. Zollinger, who bought the Gallup Independent newspaper and expanded its coverage to various neighboring Indian reservations. In between you'll find actors (Angie Torres), architects (Isaac Rapp), athletes (Nancy Lopez), business people (Millie Santillanes), activists (Alice Faye Kent Hoppes), crime victims (Cricket Coogler), criminals and outlaws (Bonnie and Clyde), educators (Frank Angel), governors (Tom Bolack), first ladies (Clara Melendrez Apodaca) and politicians (Emilio Naranjo). Bullis throws a wide net in his attempt to be all-inclusive. -- David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal, January 25, 2009
Although I am not familiar with Volume I of Bullis’ work, this is no hindrance to appreciating the contents of Volume II. It is laid out in a simple way, the entries are alphabetical, and the photo portraits add much to the biographical sketches of the subjects. Reading about the lives of people who made New Mexico their home, and in many cases personal project, is quite the most interesting way to learn about New Mexico history and culture.
Having lived here some 30-plus years now, the occasional entry weaves into my own life. I heard Linda Cotton’s fabulous singing voice more than once, and what an untimely death at age 55. I didn’t know my divorce attorney, Patsy Reinard of Socorro had died, or that she was the first woman lawyer to open a practice there.
Some of the juxtapositions of the entries are quite interesting: witness reclusive novelist Cormac McCarthy (still living) next to poor little Charley McComas, victim of the Apache Wars of the late 1870’s. The mysterious Lozen, sister of the great Apache chief Victorio, is two entries from Nancy Lopez, professional golfer, and adjacent to Abad Leroy Lucero, award-winning woodworker.
Rancher and former New Mexico Governor Bruce King, rancher and oilman Robert O. Anderson, and rancher, World War II veteran, and State Senator Floyd W. Lee are examples of those who made New Mexico their lifelong project. Anderson endowed the University of New Mexico Schools of Management, and was said to be one of the largest individual landowners in the U.S., with holdings of about one million acres in the southeast part of the state. His photo shows him in a fishing vest, I believe, and joking with the photographer. Handsome rascal. Wish I had met him, and I just missed, because he died in December of 2007. Floyd W. Lee, born in Albuquerque, returned from the World War II European theater to run a ranch near Mt. Taylor, and served as State Senator for 12 years. Bruce King we are all familiar with, and I assume his biography is in Volume I because I don’t see him in Volume II, although I do see his wife, Alice Martin King.
Everyone needed to make up the full complement of talents in a great and diverse state, is here: lawyers, judges, artists, scientists, World War II veterans, woodworkers, playwrights, ranchers, educators; New Mexico natives, others who arrived from elsewhere, and let’s not forget the occasional Hollywood star. Dan Blocker taught school in Carlsbad, New Mexico in the 1950’s before his success on television’s Bonanza playing "Hoss" Cartwright.
It is impossible for me to read these entries without imagining these people’s lives against the backdrop of the vast and wonderful land of New Mexico. The geography of this land, being of the special – enchanted – kind, makes it possible for the subjects of these biographies (and ourselves) to live life as art. Just as the artists and photographers came under the spell of the landscape, so did the woodcarvers express the land of their birth; and so did Floyd Lee take the land as his template when he returned from the war and took up sheep ranching, which necessarily soon morphed into cattle ranching, and his 12 years as State Senator.
The Timeline in the back is a natural complement to the thumbnail biographies, and the publisher thoughtfully provides a map identifying New Mexico’s counties, often referred to in the entries. The 14-page bibliography would keep any reader busy for a long time.
Covering everything from art to politics, this book has something different and interesting on every page; I can see why Volume I has garnered so many awards. It is a treasure of reference books, accessible, reader friendly, full of fascinating information. Indeed, I don’t see why it wouldn’t make good summer reading (winter, too, for that matter), especially for geeks like me who don’t care for trashy novels. -- www.readingnewmexico.com
280 photographs – 300 pages
$17.95/PB (978-1-890689-17-9)
$32.95/HB (978-1-890689-22-3)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Don Bullis is the author of five non-fiction books and two novels. The editor and publisher of the New Mexico Historical Notebook and on the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of New Mexico, he is a member of the Westerners International, Western Writers of America, Western History Association, National Association of Outlaw & Lawman History, Albuquerque Historical Society, Sandoval County Historical Society, and Southwest Writers.
Bullis won three awards in the 2007 New Mexico Book Awards — Finalist Award in Mystery Novel for Bullseye, Finalist in New Mexico History for New Mexico: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I, and Winner in New Mexico book for New Mexico: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I.