Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Father Anton Docher are names closely associated with the early colonial days in New Mexico. All of these characters appear in this narrative of Isleta Pueblo which tells the story of Father Docher's life in the Indian pueblo from the day when he first arrived along the road that was bad, but the sunset beautiful in 1891 until the time of the death of his two great friends, Bandelier and Lummis, and his own death several months later in 1928. Father Docher's job was not an easy one, but his great patience and understanding helped him through many difficulties. The story goes into many of these and into much of the legend and superstition of Isleta Pueblo which the Padre encountered during his long life there. He was particularly interested in the story of Father Padilla, the Franciscan friar who came with Coronado's band, whose body was buried in the church at Isleta but which refused to stay underground. Julia Keleher was a member and Professor in the English Department of the University of New Mexico from 1931 to her retirement in 1959. She was also a professional writer and edited each of her brother, William A. Keleher's books, all of which have been published by Sunstone Press in its Southwest Heritage Series. Her collaboration with Elsie Ruth Chant resulted in this fascinating collection of incidents for all readers interested in the American Southwest. She was married to Lloyd Chant and raised two children, George Ashley Chant and Julia Jane Chant.

Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Father Anton Docher are names closely associated with the early colonial days in New Mexico. All of these characters appear in this narrative of Isleta Pueblo which tells the story of Father Docher’s life in the Indian pueblo from the day when he first arrived along the road that was bad, but the sunset beautiful in 1891 until the time of the death of his two great friends, Bandelier and Lummis, and his own death several months later in 1928. Father Docher’s job was not an easy one, but his great patience and understanding helped him through many difficulties. The story goes into many of these and into much of the legend and superstition of Isleta Pueblo which the Padre encountered during his long life there. He was particularly interested in the story of Father Padilla, the Franciscan friar who came with Coronado’s band, whose body was buried in the church at Isleta but which refused to stay underground. JULIA KELEHER was a member and Professor in the English Department of the University of New Mexico from 1931 to her retirement in 1959. She was also a professional writer and edited each of her brother, William A. Keleher’s books, all of which have been published by Sunstone Press in its Southwest Heritage Series. Her collaboration with Elsie Ruth Chant resulted in this fascinating collection of incidents for all readers interested in the American Southwest. She was married to Lloyd Chant and raised two children, George Ashley Chant and Julia Jane Chant.

A towering work of twentieth-century American literature, Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop tells the story of the French Catholic priest Jean Marie Latour, the first bishop of the diocese of New Mexico, which was created after the Mexican-American War. With his friend and vicar Joseph Vaillant, Latour makes the long journey to the newly annexed territory of New Mexico. Once "the cradle of the Faith in the New World," now old mission churches have fallen into ruin and a reduced priesthood lacks guidance and discipline. Latour and Vaillant encounter a strange and unfamiliar brand of Catholicism, but in time the two priests learn to adjust to the ways of New World Catholics and open their eyes to Native American religious ideas so seemingly distant from their own beliefs. This new annotated edition of Cather's New Mexico masterpiece includes an introductory essay and notes by historian and critic Richard W. Etulain.

Historians have long admired Ralph Emerson Twitchell's "The Leading Facts of New Mexican History," considered the first major history of the state. Put succinctly by former State Historian Robert J. Torrez, Twitchell's work (of which this is one of the first two volumes Sunstone Press is reprinting in its Southwest Heritage Series) has "become the standard by which all subsequent books on New Mexico history are measured." As Twitchell wrote in the preface of his first volume, his goal in writing "The Leading Facts" was to respond to the "pressing need" for a history of New Mexico with a commitment to "accuracy of statement, simplicity of style, and impartiality of treatment." Ralph Emerson Twitchell was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 29, 1859. Arriving in New Mexico when he was twenty-three, he immediately became involved in political and civic activities. In 1885 he helped organize a new territorial militia in Santa Fe and saw active duty in western New Mexico. Later appointed judge advocate of the Territorial Militia, he attained the rank of colonel, a title he was proud to use for the rest of his life. By 1893 he was elected the mayor of Santa Fe and, thereafter, district attorney of Santa Fe County. Twitchell probably promoted New Mexico as much as any single New Mexican of his generation. An avid supporter of New Mexico statehood, he argued the territory's case for elevated political status, celebrated its final victory in 1912, and even designed New Mexico's first state flag in 1915. Just as Twitchell's first edition in 1911 helped celebrate New Mexico's entry into statehood in 1912, the newest edition of the text and illustrations, including the "Subscriber's Edition" page of Number 1,156 of 1,500, serves as a tribute to the state's centennial celebration of 2012. In the apt words of an editorial in the "Santa Fe New Mexican" at the time of Twitchell's death in 1925: "As press agent for the best things of New Mexico, her traditions, history, beauty, glamour, scenery, archaeology, and material resources, he was indefatigable and efficient.""

Churches have played a major role in New Mexico's culture and history since the earliest days of its colonization. Lavishly illustrated with more than 100 photographs by Daniel Nadelbach, Historic New Mexico Churches tells the story of New Mexico through its churches: their history and legends, and the people who built them. From the massive mission churches built by the Franciscan friars during the days of the conquistadors through the smaller adobe chapels lovingly created by Spanish settlers to the grand Gothic and Romanesque edifices erected by New Mexico's first bishop, the book leads readers on a journey through war and famine, growth and expansion, rebellion and reconciliation.