Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest

Rating:
Summary: In Coronado's footsteps
Review: Douglas Preston and his friend Walter Nelson are apparently a pair of adventurers. Preston, a writer for various magazines, got the idea to ride across the Southwest and follow in the footsteps of Coronado, the conquistador who passed through those lands in the 1540s. The two men bought horses, saddles and gear, hired a wrangler they thought knew something about horses, and set off on a journey of close to a thousand miles across the American desert.

The path they took wanders somewhat, and they learned some interesting things. In some spots, the route that Coronado took, as far as the history books are concerned, is completely impossible. They met Indians from various tribes, cowboys, and other interesting inhabitants of the countryside, and had numerous difficulties, all recounted with Preston's self-deprecating wit. The wrangler left them a third of the way through the journey, they had repeated problems with their horses (on one occasion they lost them all, no laughing matter in the middle of the desert), and had to deal with every sort of problem from lack of water to getting across the city of Albequerque with a pair of horses.

Preston's a reasonably skilled writer. The narrative wanders a bit, as did the course of the author's journey. At times, the digressions seem a bit forced and annoying, or alternatively you want to hear more about this or that tribe or family of cowboys or ghost town or whatever. This back and forth effect can be somewhat disconcerting. Even so, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Good story and history, writing got in the way
Review: I debated between a 3 and 4 on this. So, it's probably a 3.8 overall, with some parts being 4.5. The story of the Preston's journey coupled with the many historic reflections is excellent. Preston has whetted my appetite for more history of the American Southwest. I struggled with the writing. Some expressions used by Preston were trite and distracting. For instance, throughout the book, when Preston meets people along his journey, he inevitably writes, "We shook hands all around." I was left wondering what the significance of that phrase was. In many spots the dialog seemed "canned" and I was wondering if the people interviewed really said those things. There were other writing distractions, but, I always found myself deeply engrossed in the discussions of historical events. Thus, more for the history than the writing, I kept reading, and I'm glad I did.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for those traveling in Arizona and New Mexico
Review: I found the mix of history and interviews with current residents quite rivoting. Traveling the southwest after reading this book made the trip particularly exciting.

Rating:
Summary: Good story and history, writing got in the way
Review: Reading a book twice is a rarity for me. But this book was worth both the investment (I bought one for myself, one for a friend) and the time. Having lived in and explored most of Arizona through backpacking, hiking, and horse trekking, I found Douglas Preston's recounting of his adventure to be both a delight and a thoughtful read.

Anyone who has experienced the difficulties and beauty of nature first hand, will benefit from this book. All horse lovers will find themselves and their fleet-footed friends well depicted in Preston's travails. And those who simply want to learn more about the Southwest, its original inhabitants, the Spanish conquest and the impact of civilization on this fragile landscape and doomed people will want to explore Preston's sensitive, well-documented exposition. His final observations on our future are prescient and a warning: we, too, may go the way of the Zuni, Navajo, conquistadores and ranchers.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Gold
Review: Reading a book twice is a rarity for me. But this book was worth both the investment (I bought one for myself, one for a friend) and the time. Having lived in and explored most of Arizona through backpacking, hiking, and horse trekking, I found Douglas Preston's recounting of his adventure to be both a delight and a thoughtful read.

Anyone who has experienced the difficulties and beauty of nature first hand, will benefit from this book. All horse lovers will find themselves and their fleet-footed friends well depicted in Preston's travails. And those who simply want to learn more about the Southwest, its original inhabitants, the Spanish conquest and the impact of civilization on this fragile landscape and doomed people will want to explore Preston's sensitive, well-documented exposition. His final observations on our future are prescient and a warning: we, too, may go the way of the Zuni, Navajo, conquistadores and ranchers.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a TREASURE!
Review: This book is SO much more than a travel log. The journey that the author and a friend took through the desert on horseback, by all rights, should have produced on dead author and one dead friend, but, instead, produced and extremely rich book. Its not often that an author can bring to bear such a breadth of knowledge and skill: historical knowledge, great research, wise understanding of political/ecological issues, thoughtful good judgment in observing cultures, gutsy explorer-courage, and great writing skills - each like extra icing within a tasty adventure-story layer cake.

The book is high quality information gathered in one spot covering so many areas: Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Pueblo, and Apache history; early Spanish/Mexican culture; the Spanish/Mexican invasion under Coronado; Anglo history in the southwest; southwest ecology, geography, climate, flora, fauna, and horse psychology 101. Best of all, the words are written by a person of heart who feels and shares the magic of meeting people of other cultures, both present day and ancestral (via those tantalizing archeological sites, through native oral tradition, and from the European perspective). I've read my old hard copy edition of this book twice, and loan it out often - whenever I spot someone showing early signs of becoming fascinated with the Southwest.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a TREASURE!
Review: This book is SO much more than a travel log. The journey that the author and a friend took through the desert on horseback, by all rights, should have produced on dead author and one dead friend, but, instead, produced and extremely rich book. Its not often that an author can bring to bear such a breadth of knowledge and skill: historical knowledge, great research, wise understanding of political/ecological issues, thoughtful good judgment in observing cultures, gutsy explorer-courage, and great writing skills - each like extra icing within a tasty adventure-story layer cake.

The book is high quality information gathered in one spot covering so many areas: Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Pueblo, and Apache history; early Spanish/Mexican culture; the Spanish/Mexican invasion under Coronado; Anglo history in the southwest; southwest ecology, geography, climate, flora, fauna, and horse psychology 101. Best of all, the words are written by a person of heart who feels and shares the magic of meeting people of other cultures, both present day and ancestral (via those tantalizing archeological sites, through native oral tradition, and from the European perspective). I've read my old hard copy edition of this book twice, and loan it out often - whenever I spot someone showing early signs of becoming fascinated with the Southwest.

Rating:
Summary: The book is the true gold of the Seven Cities of Cibola!
Review: This is one of the most well written, expansive stories about the settling of America I have ever read. It takes you back to the time of Cortez and before, but the author's adventures are current and often funny. It is filled with courage; of the writer, the various Pueblo Indian tribes, the Spanish and some Americans. The Zuni philosophy and understanding of the competative needs of the white man are truely enlightening. This is a book I will read again and again. Preston's books about the southwest are both educational and exciting. Sometimes you can hear the wind and taste the dust.

Rating:
Summary: Cities of Gold: A journey Across the American Southwest
Review: This is one of the most well written, expansive stories about the settling of America I have ever read. It takes you back to the time of Cortez and before, but the author's adventures are current and often funny. It is filled with courage; of the writer, the various Pueblo Indian tribes, the Spanish and some Americans. The Zuni philosophy and understanding of the competative needs of the white man are truely enlightening. This is a book I will read again and again. Preston's books about the southwest are both educational and exciting. Sometimes you can hear the wind and taste the dust.

Rating:
Summary: The book is the true gold of the Seven Cities of Cibola!
Review: What a wonderful read! From the first page I was gripped with not only the snippets of history of the region, but also the adventure of the author and his companions, riding horseback from Arizona's Mexican border to Santa Fe, retracing Coronado's sesarch for the Seven Cities of Cibola.

The tale is a wonderful one, as the author rides through present day Arizona and finds that the Old West is not dead after all. At considerable risk to life and limb, the adventurers ride the trail which they, and scholars, believe was Coronado's own, and in doing so meet ranchers and cowboys who relate their own histories and adventures in this wild but exciting land.

An incredible travel tale, and a must-read for those who enjoy history mixed with a good adventure.