Tales from the Journey of the Dead: Ten Thousand Years on an American Desert

by Alan Boye

Readers are taken on a trek through the beauty and violence of the forbidding American desert that exists south of Albuquerque, a region known as the Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of the Dead, capturing the history of the area from the perspective of the travelers and natives who knew it best.

Genres: History

255 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jornada del Muerto is a vertical strip of desert taking up most of south central New Mexico. Under Spanish and Mexican rule, the road through this desert was known as the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Road to the Interior Lands. Alan Boye in Tales from the Journey of the Dead takes a historical look at this desert road, from Clovis and Folsom man some 10,000 years ago, through to the Civil War (the Battle of Valverde was faught here), through the Apaches under Victorio, through Billy the Kid, all the way to the first nuclear teste at the Trinity Site and the governments battles between the ranchers and the government regarding the White Sands Missile Range.

Howe's book is well written and contains detailed notes and an excellent bibliography.

[Sebastian Zax-Gadara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infinitely human and deeply moving.