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Nichols, John (Author/Photographer) & Redford, Robert (Contributor) : A Fragile Beauty: John Nichols' Milagro Country Text And Photographs From His Life And Work

Gibbs Smith Publishers, Salt Lake City, UT, 1997

ISBN 0879052821

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 146 pages. Landmark collection of photographs with accompanying text on subject. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with the Reissued Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Gibbs Smith Publishers: Oversize-volume format. Cloth boards with titles on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs and text by John Nichols. Foreword by Robert Redford. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents John Nichols' "A Fragile Beauty". His masterpiece revisited. Nichols called his now-classic 1974 novel, "The Milagro Beanfield War", "an albatross around my neck" because he felt that after it had been made into a 1988 movie by Robert Redford, it eclipsed much of his other work. Like the novel, "A Fragile Beauty" deals with life and the love of the land in his beloved New Mexico. Part companion volume to the novel, part introduction to Nichols's world, the author chronicles his neighbors' extraordinary spirit and powers of subsistence and the unique natural charms of the state which bears the name "The Land of Enchantment". Nichols talks about the years of his political formation, his arrival and early experience in New Mexico, particularly his work as a reporter and editor, and his support of the fight for a fair and responsible water distribution system. But mostly, "A Fragile Beauty" is a celebration of life on the mesa, of the humbling majesty of its mountains, skies, seasons, storms, sun, snow, sagebrush, flowers, cottonwoods, pinons, forests, golden asters, aspens, rivulets, gullies, gorges, lakes, ponds, trout, lizards, dragonflies, coyotes, wolves, birds, horses, cattle, and sheep. "These mountains and their attendant valleys belong to the spirits of the dead and the cultures that have followed in their footsteps. They belong to the tourist only in passing and in pictures. John Nichols understands this, himself much like the land he treasures and stays pledged to keep. His may be a windmill fight. But it is a noble one, and I salute it" (Robert Redford). "Whenever we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it connected to everything else in the universe. I have always kept that in mind while writing about the land, people, heartaches of northern New Mexico. To extol the fragile beauty of the Taos Valley in words, photographs or in a film is to sing the praises of and to demand consideration for the entire earth. We are touched by magic wands. For just a fraction of our day, life is perfect, we are absolutely happy and in harmony with the earth. The feeling passes much too quickly. But the memory, and the anticipation of other miracles, sustains us in the battle indefinitely" (John Nichols). These lines cannot be improved upon. An absolute "must-have" title for John Nichols collectors. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and despite its imperfection (slight fading on DJ spine, endemic to copies of the book) is still in fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. One of the finest American writer/artists of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 0879052821.

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