NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Regional ties make these volumes ones to pick up for Christmas

Here is a selection of books that would make for nifty holiday gifts. Each has a connection to New Mexico.

■“Albuquerque Museum Photo Archives Collection — Images in Silver,” compiled by Glenn Fye. Look closely at the image on the front cover of this book. It’s a studio photograph of an unidentified young Isleta Pueblo woman taken in 1890 in Albuquerque. She possesses an enchantingly innocent face under a head covering. She’s wearing an array of silver jewelry — necklace, rings and bracelets, a frilled blouse and thick leggings.

In a way, the young woman welcomes readers to look at the 180 photos inside, images from six collections that offer a taste of what life in Albuquerque was like (the people, the fashions, the cars, the businesses) from the last decade of the 19th century to the mid-20th century.

The black-and-white photos, donated to the museum, invite you to imagine the stories behind the subjects. The images are from three photographic studios and three amateur photographers, said Glenn Fye, who recently retired as the museum’s photo archivist.

Many images reveal the interior of local businesses. For example, staff and customers at the Coney Island Café and at Zamora’s Saddlery, the sales staff at Mrs. Ella Taylor’s candy store (“Pop Corn Balls — So Good!”) the butchers at Smiling Food Market. One section of William Steele Dean photos shows train passengers who stopped to visit the Alvarado Hotel and the Fred Harvey Indian Village. Some are silent-film stars, sports figures and writers; the Crown Prince of Denmark was here, too.

Dean himself is a story. Fye says he took the photos on his break as an organist for silent films screened at the KiMo Theatre a few blocks from the tracks.

Also featured are photos of planes and pilots. (Look, Charles Lindbergh!) There’s a memorable 1910 shot of two cowboys holding the reins of their horses in the middle of West Gold Avenue. Siblings, parents and children, and Albuquerque Indian School’s 1927 football team wear serious faces in in-studio stares.

The book, one of a series of guidebooks to the museum’s collection, celebrates the Albuquerque Museum’s 50th anniversary this year.

Twenty-three images from the book — and one other — are on exhibit in the museum’s atrium hallway through spring 2018.

“Stewart L. Udall — Steward of the Land” by Thomas G. Smith. This is the first biography of Udall, who was secretary of the interior for eight years in the 1960s. Besides his tireless, well-publicized efforts to preserve wilderness areas, he also battled racial injustice and pushed for limits on producing and testing nuclear weapons. Udall died in Santa Fe in 2010. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is his son.

“Solidarity Through Pride — 40 Years of GLBT Pride in Albuquerque 1976-2016” by Dr. P.J. Sedillo. The author knows whereof he speaks on this sweeping subject. He was president and co-president of Albuquerque Pride from 1989 to 2010. He writes that he and Tony Ross were the first same-sex couple in America to receive spousal benefits. Sedillo worked for Albuquerque Public Schools for 21 years and is now an assistant professor at New Mexico Highlands University.

“Eco-Travel New Mexico — 86 Natural Destinations, Green Hotels and Sustainable Adventures” by Ashley M. Biggers. Tag along with the author as she takes the reader to such eco-friendly destinations as Ghost Ranch and Vermejo Park Ranch, “natural areas” such as Albuquerque Open Space and the Valles Caldera National Preserve, plus cultural areas, lodgings, farm-to-table restaurants and outfitters that fall under the “eco” heading. Biggers lives in Albuquerque.

“Tamed by a Bear: Coming Home to Nature-Spirit-Self” by Priscilla Stuckey. Many seek deeper self-understanding and want to live sustainably with nature. Through dialogue, the author’s new-found spirit helper, named Bear, has been guiding her toward a nature-based spirituality. Perhaps Stuckey has also found the right spirit place for herself in the physical world: She lives at the base of the Sandias near Albuquerque.