The following books are available at the Portales Public Library:

Vanishing Borderlands: the Fragile Landscape of the U.S.-Mexico Border by John Annerino. The author went in search of the natural wonders that were landmarks for the early surveyors whose task it was to draw a straight line through a “geography of chaos” that shaped the United States-Mexico borderlands.
Annerino canoed the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte, walked treacherous immigrant trails,  explored the borderlands’ jaguar country on foot, and came to know the resilient people who live, work and cling to traditions on both sides of the border.
Many of the reserves, national parks, monuments, wilderness areas and wildlife refuges Annerino visited are the last refuge for threatened and endangered species that inhabit the area.  But the fragile ecosystems  have fallen prey to the deadly mix of armed smugglers, human traffickers, border bandits, Border Patrol, migrants and a steel border wall that threatens to be the death knell for the natural landscape, wildlife, multilingual people and culture of the borderlands’ common ground.
 
Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Once Stood For by James P. Owen. Americans are known for being optimists. But it doesn’t take a cynic to see that our country is seriously off-track. We’re upset by greedy corporate executives who line their own pockets at others’ expense. We find ourselves disgusted by gutless politicians who pander to special interest groups and appalled by a culture that glorifies materialism and self-gratification. No wonder so many of us feel a deep yearning for a simpler time when civility was the norm and a handshake could seal any deal.
We can’t turn back the clock or legislate our way out of society’s malaise. We may never agree on the issues that are currently stirring up our country’s citizens, but surely we can agree that “our word should be our bond” and on the need to get back to basic ideals and beliefs.
“Cowboy Values” gives us a place to start through its provision of beautiful photographs, eloquent words and essays.
 
City of the Great King: Jerusalem from David to the Present, edited by Nitza Rosovsky. This volume brings to life the great and ancient drama of the world’s holiest. From its glory under the House of David to its emergence 1,000 years later as the birthplace of Christianity, from its destruction by the Romans to its conquest by the forces of Islam and its Crusader and Ottoman periods, Jerusalem has been endlessly revered and warred over, passionately celebrated and desecrated.
Mining the rich evidence of this history, the authors  conjure the Holy City as it has appeared in antique Hebrew texts; in the testimony of Jewish and Christian pilgrims and in art; in medieval Islamic literature and in Western 19th-century accounts; in maps and mosaics and architecture through the ages.
This book brings together many reflections to create a living picture of Jerusalem not only in history but also in the hearts of those who call it home and those who revere it as a Holy City.