For the first time, there is now a textbook that addresses state standards for the teaching of New Mexico history at the high school level. In this thoughtful work, the authors delineate New Mexico's role in the shaping of the United States by carefully analyzing how the rich histories of the many cultures of the region affected and in turn were affected by influxes of newcomers seeking health benefits, minerals, farms, relaxation, and new beginnings.
Supplementing this richly illustrated and accessible textbook is the optional Teacher Guide Book on CD for use with A History of New Mexico Since Statehood, which will help in structuring lessons, tests, and student activities. The Teacher Guide Book is included free with the purchase of twenty-five classroom copies.

A History of New Mexico Since Statehood

Children's Books

Richard Melzer

Robert J. Torrez

Sandra Mathews Professor of History

History

University of New Mexico Press

Ernie Pyle ranks with Richard Harding Davis, John Reed and Edward R. Murrow as one of the greatest war correspondents in American history. But he was different from all the correspondents who went before him or followed him in the combat zones of the world. While the others reported on the big picture of troop movements and massive battles, Pyle wrote about the fighting soldier and his plight on the front lines. It was said that Pyle's daily columns gave nothing more and nothing less than a worm's eye view of World War II. Richard Melzer does for Ernie Pyle what Ernie Pyle did for thousands of average G.I.s overseas: he describes Pyle's joys and struggles from Ernie's perspective, in candid, straightforward terms. The result is a focused biography, rich in detail and broad in appeal, just as Ernie would have liked it.

Ernie Pyle in the American Southwest

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Sunstone Press

The enormous effort called the Manhattan Project that produced the world's first atomic bomb was supposed to be the best kept secret of World War II. And the Project's Los Alamos, New Mexico site where the bomb was perfected was supposed to have the tightest security of the project's other 37 installations across the United States. Even the vice president, Harry S. Truman, was kept in the dark initially until fate propelled him into the fray. But this was an illusion. Evidence from Soviet and American sources have proven that at least three-and as many as six-Communist spies penetrated the security system at Los Alamos and shared the secret of the atomic bomb with the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union before the end of World War II. Historian Richard Melzer now sheds new light on how security at Los Alamos broke down, not by examining this isolated site in New Mexico from the outside as many other authors have, but from within Los Alamos itself. Using interviews, memoirs, and formerly confidential files Melzer shows that spies quite easily obtained security clearances, gained access to top secret information, and carried this information to their Soviet contacts without a hitch. What Melzer tells us about the flaws of security in the past might well help those in charge of security today as the United States grapples with these problems in the aftermath of the Chinese espionage scandal that rocked Los Alamos and the American intelligence.

Breakdown : How the Secret of the Atomic Bomb Was Stolen

Americas

Historians have considered the contributions of many groups--from outlaws and lawmen to Harvey Girls and railroaders--in the making of the modern American Southwest. But few writers have considered the unique role of children or the powerful impact this vast region of the United States has had on these youngsters through value-forming adventures as they make their transitions to adulthood. Richard Melzer has taken a large step in filling this void with a major examination of the diverse experiences of children growing up in different regions, in different cultures, and in different periods. Using New Mexico as a focus, and drawing on memoirs, oral histories, diaries, and autobiographies, Melzer has compiled the most thorough, captivating, and compelling set of true stories about childhood ever to appear in print. His collection, ranging from Billy the Kid to Douglas MacArthur, is destined to become a classic in American Southwest historical literature.

When We Were Young in the West: True Histories of Childhood

Religion & Spirituality

New Mexico history is filled with noteworthy men, women, and children, usually deserving of high praise and admiration. Sadly, few of these famous New Mexicans are honored with monuments to remind us of their achievements in every field, from art and literature to military service and rocket science. Historian Richard Melzer attempts to rectify this neglect with an impressive new book about famous New Mexico gravesites, usually the only monuments left to honor the human treasures who helped shape so much of our state, national, and often international history. The gravesites belong to both famous and infamous characters, from Billy the Kid to Kit Carson, Elfego Baca, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and Geronimo (buried in exile in Oklahoma). The result of Melzer's coast-to-coast quest for the gravesites of deserving New Mexicans is a book filled with vivid photographs, compelling stories, humorous epitaphs, and valuable information. With so much data about so many New Mexicans, this book is destined to serve as a major reference work for historians, genealogists, students, and librarians for years to come. With so much good history and a concluding chapter of truly unusual gravesites found in New Mexico, casual readers will be engaged and entertained as well.

Buried Treasures

Historical

The New Mexico Journey 2e

Gibbs Smith Education

Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past has one main goal: to reveal the sharp contrasts in New Mexico history. As with all states, New Mexico has had its share of admirable as well as deplorable moments, neither of which should be ignored or exaggerated at the other's expense. New Mexico's true character can only be understood and appreciated by acknowledging its varied history, blemishes and all. The first of three volumes, Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past: The Spanish Colonial and Mexican Periods represents the New Mexico Historical Society's humble gift to New Mexico as the state celebrates its centennial year of statehood in 2012. I am excited to see this Historical Society of New Mexico publication. Most of us understand that there is much good research and historical writing that never gets published, especially in book form. This lack is especially true of New Mexico, where there will never be a lack of history to uncover and share. For over three decades the Historical Society of New Mexico through its La Crónica de Nuevo México has provided a key outlet of well-researched historical articles. The result is a treasure- trove of information that is important, intriguing, entertaining, and well worth preserving in this permanent form. Without question, HSNM's centennial gift to the state is both welcome and appropriate. -- Dr. Thomas E. Chávez

Sunshine & Shadows in New Mexico's Past

Rio Grande Books

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Books by Richard Melzer