Rating: 
Summary: Traditional Chicano Culture vs. Anglo Development Barons
Review: Humour is the #1 attraction of this now somewhat dated novel from the '70's , but it is also famous for history,ecology,political radicalism, the evocation of the American West and its characters,its guns.The #2 attraction is "people power" or how in a democracy people can come together and,at least for a short time, control their own destinies. The humour is on nearly every page; the Smokey the Bear santos riot stands out,but it is only one event among many. Nichols becomes somewhat serious when he writes about fly fishing for trout(though even this is a tall tale) ,river gorges, or pristine mountain lakes, but the rest is a hilarious romp through traditional Chicano vs. modern Anglo predatory culture in northern New Mexico. At times Nichols seems to be making fun of the idiosyncrasies of the traditional culture. Nichols casts traditional farmer and protagonist Joe Mondragon, who makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to illegally irrigate his beanfield, in a reluctant leadership role, but there are others who are more truly leaders. The novel is also a Noah's Ark of animals,birds,reptiles, insects and fish and Nichols seems to be telling us that these creatures share the world with us, a point that might be somewhat lost in the sequel "Nirvana Blues". There is a real conflict of cultures at the heart of "Milagro" and a serious political issue between the rich developers and their allies and the poor farmers regarding water rights in the parched Southwest. The same scenario has been played out in different ways all over America. In New Mexico, all the water rights have been diverted for 30 years to the rich farmers in the south. Although they have not won yet, it is suggested that the developers will win, and this novel is just an early round won by the traditional farmers. The reader should applaud this outcome. Both this novel and its sequel have probably deservedly assumed the rank of cult classics, but in the sequel the land developors have won making this a basically tragic novel, though it too seeks humour and occasionally finds it. It is also somewhat reminiscent of the Eagles' '70's classic "The Last Resort."
Rating: 
Summary: Overkill on the sarcastic innuendo. Diarrhea of the pen
Review: "New Mexican town rallies behind a farmer who unintentionally irrigates his land with the water supply of a rich entrepreneur."
Said entrepreneur has been taking over the area for years and years yet the local people either don't care enough to do anything about it, or are helpless against such a foe. It's actually a sad story about the haves and the have-nots. Greed over land/water in an arid land. Radical development vs non or slow. Old native Hispanic culture vs new white. The story idea had potential but in the hands of John Nichols it was overbearing. I didn't read anything "wildly comic and
lovingly tender". Instead I found it dull and exasperating. Mr. Nichols liked to beat everything into the ground and on and on
and on to where it was no longer funny, cute or whatever he intended. By page 100 nobody still knew what to make of Joe
Mondragon's water "theft", let alone what to do about it, if anything. It was wait and see for 100 pages. I gave up. It reminded me of that cartoon character who's always saying "DUH, Which way did they go?, which way did they go?"
Rating:
Summary: Northern New Mexico, after all these years
Review: Have you ever wanted to know what the culture of New Mexico is really like? This is it, captured in a style that keeps you reading on until the end. It is almost a historical, and hysterical, documentation of the reality that exists, still, in the culture of New Mexico. Nothing much has changed here in 50 years, and the very characters depicted in this novel are, or could be, real living individuals today, all with the same values and morals, and great tradition of what makes New Mexico a great treasure to those of us who live here.
Rating:
Summary: Characters that are so unbelievable they become real
Review: I enjoyed this book very much, laughing at the antics of the many crazy and interesting characters. The actual plot was secondary - who cares which side won the "war"? What we do care about is the daily life of some of fictions most endearing characters ever created.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny, extremely accurate take on Northern NM cultures
Review: I had been living in Northern NM for about a year when I read The Milagro Beanfield War. I took it with me on a backpacking trip through the Pecos Wilderness. I had been completely bewildered by the wide variety of cultures surrounding me in my all-too-brief sojourn in the Santa Fe area. The Milagro Beanfield War, with its warm wit and characterisations, made all the little puzzle pieces I had been fumbling with come together--from the Taos real estate broker who told me at a party in White Rock that he didn't like to sell land to "those people" because "they just pull in a trailer and start raising chickens and pigs right there in their front yard--ruins the neighborhood" (he could have been a character in the book) to the reverence of my neighbors for the centuries-old practice of community care of the acequia. The magical internal lives of the local characters and the convoluted way in which the story is told are really part of the rich texture of the place -- nothing is ever straightforward or simple. That's the beauty of it. Read the book. The movie captures very beautifully what a movie can -- but there's so much more in the book! In particular, the female characters are even stronger, better and more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: really fun
Review: I had this on my reading list for quite sometime and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is fun and very irreverent writing. I thought I would look for his next book and read the New Mexico trilogy, BUT this edition had a statement by the author. After reading his whining comments, I will pass on further books. Do buy and enjoy the book, just skip what the author has to say when you finish. He definitely took some of the pleasure from his novel.
Rating:
Summary: Great book. A read it years ago and continue to read it.
Review: I have lived in northern New Mexico for a long number of years and this book captures what it is like to live here, both the good and the bad. But definately the flavor.
Rating:
Summary: I did'nt want this book to end
Review: I loved this book. Like some of the other reviewers, I found often found myself laughing out loud while reading many of the passages. I have read the entire trilogy and I wish ther were ten more volumes. Nichols has such compassion for people that even the bad folks in this book are portrayed as nothing more than human, with minor character flaws. Each page could almost stand alone as a short story. I just Hope Mr. Nichols is holed up somewhere in some broken down adobe hut in Northern New Mexico, working on the next trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute magic
Review: I was sent a copy of this book aloong with "The Monkey Wrench Gang". Gang looked like it would be more fun so I read it first and thought it was great. Then I read "Beanfield". This book knocked my socks off. It was so funny and yet so poigniant I couldn't put it down. Much like Dickens, Nichols characters come to life right on the page. Only one other book hit me as hard and that was "Coockoos Nest". I went one step farther and wrote Nichols a letter and he responded with a hunt and pecked letter in response that is still one of my personnel treasures. Robert Redford thought it was a good story and so I must also thank him for making an unforgetable movie with fantastic music. Many Thanks to both of you for your vision and your genious. Mal Heffernan
Rating:
Summary: Absolute magic
Review: I was sent a copy of this book aloong with "The Monkey Wrench Gang". Gang looked like it would be more fun so I read it first and thought it was great. Then I read "Beanfield". This book knocked my socks off. It was so funny and yet so poigniant I couldn't put it down. Much like Dickens, Nichols characters come to life right on the page. Only one other book hit me as hard and that was "Coockoos Nest". I went one step farther and wrote Nichols a letter and he responded with a hunt and pecked letter in response that is still one of my personnel treasures. Robert Redford thought it was a good story and so I must also thank him for making an unforgetable movie with fantastic music. Many Thanks to both of you for your vision and your genious. Mal Heffernan
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