Over the last decade the West has undergone a political and demographic upheaval comparable only to the opening of the frontier. Now, in "Desert America," a work of powerful reportage and memoir, Rubén Martínez, acclaimed author of "Crossing Over," evokes a new world of extremes: outrageous wealth and devastating poverty, sublime beauty and ecological ruin.

"Examines the history of Navajo economic and cultural development through the testimonies of traders, government agents, tribal leaders, and accomplished weavers"--

For Jews around the world the defining moments of World War Ii and its aftermath were the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel. These seminal events led to an increasingly connected and complex world for Jews, even in once-remote places such as New Mexico. The rapid expansion of organized Jewish activity in New Mexico during the postwar years brought about a heightened sense of consciousness, and the state's small Jewish population witnessed...