From its wry politics to its astonishing history, to the hypnotic rhythms of daily life, here is the New Mexico you've never seen but will come to love.

In this extraordinary collection, Tony Hillerman presents the Southwest as only he can, choosing remarkable true tales from his personal archives of local lore. As you read these stories, you will be amazed, astounded, and oftentimes confounded by the power of ingenuity, serendipity, and the strange, comical coincidence of life and how it proves, once again, that truth is ultimately stranger than fiction. From the amusing title story of the holdup that didn't happen, to the riveting account of scientists tracking Black Death through the arroyos, to the ironic account of how a black cowboy's commonsense intelligence destroyed the dogma of the Smithsonian Institution, master storyteller Tony Hillerman reveals the present and timeless past of one of America's most beautiful and haunting regions.

This classic collection of nonfiction essays about life in New Mexico by the great Tony Hillerman remains a must read for anyone looking to understand the state's unique charm. The vivid pieces in The Great Taos Bank Robbery paint an indelible portrait of life--with all its magnificent quirks and foibles--in the Land of Enchantment. Celebrating fifty years since its original 1973 release, this anniversary edition offers a new introduction by noted Hillerman biographer James McGrath Morris and a foreword by Anne Hillerman, introducing a new generation of readers to the magic of Tony Hillerman and New Mexico.

For the very first time in mass market paperback, here is a unique compilation about life in New Mexico by one of the nation's finest writers. Tony Hillerman, who knows the Southwest like no other contemporary writer; presents nine extraordinary, true tales that capture the history and rhythms of daily life in New Mexico. From the comical title story of the holdup that didn't happen, to the riveting account of scientist tracking the Black Death through the arroyos in "We All Fall Down," to the ironic account of how a Black cowboy's commonsense intelligence destroyed the dogma of the Smithsonian Institution in "Othello in Union County," master storytellerTony Hillerman reveals the present and the timeless past of one of America's most beautiful and haunting regions. Tony Hillerman is professor emeritus of journalism at the University of New Mexico and an Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Hillerman is surely one of the finest and most original craftsman at work...today." --Boston Globe Book Review

In this extraordinary collection, Tony Hillerman presents the Southwest as only he can, choosing remarkable true tales from his personal archives of local lore.

Go Southwest, Old Man,, a sort of personal remake of 'Go West, Young Man', the founding episteme of the American nineteenth century, conciliates these two souls (well, not to be pretentious, let's simply say two sides) that have actually always lived in harmony. This is a book generated by a quarter of a century spent wandering around the canyons and deserts of Arizona, Colorado, Utah and, above all New Mexico, with a view to penetrating the by now universal legend of the West, approaching the cultures (English, Hispanic and native American), and mastering the literature. The slant is composite: melding the scholarly with the informative and the travel journal, and the writing is composite too, because the book speaks English and Italian. It talks about cinema (lots of John Ford) and about detective stories, the most popular genre here, about visual arts and Latino folklore, about the legend of the West, the so-called 'Soul of the Southwest', and the kitsch style of Santa Fe. And it talks about (and with) some of the greatest writers that the Southwest has spawned: Rudolfo Anaya, Stanley Crawford, John Nichols and Hillerman. So what we have is a first-hand experience of the Southwest; where the ego is not entrenched within a precise disciplinary role but opens up - and exposes itself - to the thrilling risk of the discovery that can renew it.

Four American mystery writers have contributed new dimensions to the mystery form. Tony Hillerman's Navajos and their customs, Amanda Cross's (Carolyn Heilbrun's) academics and their feminist credentials (or lack thereof), James Lee Burke's Southern Louisiana Cajuns and his own fiercely moral take on Southern gothic fiction, and Walter Mosley's urban blacks and their culture have challenged the conventional mystery's focus. Using feminist and black critical theory, mythic and historical patterns, and literary genre theory, Samuel Coale examines these writers' works and investigates the compromises that each is forced to make when working within a recognizably popular literary form.