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This list will be updated as new events are confirmed.
So much for the temporary lull in presentations and book-signings for Crosses of Iron.
Here is what’s coming up:
April 25-27: New Mexico History Conference, Historical Society of New Mexico, Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque, 1000 Woodward Place NE, Albuquerque, NM. I will be speaking Friday morning with two others in a session titled “Life and Death in New Mexico Mining Towns.” t
June 5-9: Mining History Association annual conference, Yarrow Resort by DoubleTree, 1800 Park Ave., Park City, Utah. I am scheduled to speak Saturday morning with two others in a session titled “Mining in the Southwest.”
July 13: Tucumcari Railroad Museum, 100 Railroad Ave, Tucumcari, NM. The presentation and book signing is scheduled for 2 p.m. I’m particularly excited about this one because Frank Turner, the founder of the museum who was interviewed for the book, is expected to attend.
Sept. 1: Dawson New Mexico Association reunion, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., old townsite, Dawson, NM. I will be available all day to sell and sign books; I’ve also been asked to say a few words at the event. The book was still in progress when I attended my first reunion in 2022, so I’m looking forward to returning to thank folks in person for their participation and support.
Blog Archive
This list will be updated as new events are confirmed. So much for the temporary lull in presentations and book-signings for Crosses of Iron. Here is what’s coming up: April 25-27: New Mexico History Conference, Historical Society of New Mexico, Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque, 1000 Woodward Place NE, Albuquerque, NM. I will be speaking Friday…
Read MoreTwo years ago, while making revisions to my manuscript, I remember receiving a marketing questionnaire from a University of New Mexico Press publicist, seeking my input on marketing my upcoming book, Crosses of Iron. Among the questions: “Do you know of any awards for which your book qualifies that should be considered for submission? Please…
Read MoreEven in today’s uncertain times, there are certain things you can count on: The sun will rise in the East. Thanksgiving will fall on a Thursday. And, if it’s an even year, Dawson folks will come together for another reunion. So it came as no surprise to learn last week that the Dawson New Mexico…
Read MoreA funny thing happened a few weeks ago when I attended a book-signing event for a former Albuquerque Journal colleague. I was invited to do one of my own. On Feb. 17, I drove to the Martha Liebert Public Library in Bernalillo, New Mexico, to show my support for Rosalie Rayburn, whom I met during…
Read MoreDavid Caffey is no stranger to Dawson, New Mexico, having worked for a time as a chief ranger for the Philmont Scout Ranch in nearby Cimarron. That’s why I’m particularly grateful for his review of Crosses of Iron that appeared last month in High Country, the bimonthly magazine of the Philmont Staff Association. Coincidentally, I mentioned…
Read MoreTwo days after Christmas, I received an email from Jim Frost, editor of the New Mexico Genealogist, notifying me that his review of Crosses of Iron was published in the December issue of the New Mexico Genealogical Society’s quarterly journal. I got to know Jim as a colleague during my time at the Albuquerque Journal. He…
Read MoreDawson Cemetery visitors will notice something different as they approach the historic burial ground this year. The mailbox that used to contain a notebook for visitors to record their impressions has been replaced by a more decorative memorial box designed and constructed by two New Mexico men with Denver roots. Philip Cavos Jr., a welder…
Read MoreI’d like to express my appreciation to Deborah Kalb for featuring my interview about Crosses of Iron on her book blog last week. Kalb, a former Washington journalist and author in her own right, has published “Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb” since 2012. My Q&A can be found here.
Read MoreI’d like to thank host Russell Contreras and the staff at New Mexico PBS station KNME-TV for inviting me to talk about my new book, Crosses of Iron: The Tragic History of Dawson, New Mexico, and Its Twin Mining Disasters. The interview aired Dec. 8 on the station’s New Mexico in Focus program. Both the…
Read MoreWhen I started work on Crosses of Iron four years ago, one of my biggest fears was that one or more of the people I would come to know might not be with us by the time the book came out. That wasn’t me being paranoid. It was a realization that many of the people I…
Read MoreThe Dawson Elk Valley Ranch is back in the news. Under the headline “Aging Billionaire Cowboys Are Now Selling Their Iconic American Ranches,” Forbes magazine published a story in September that listed the nation’s nine largest ranches currently on the market. The old Dawson townsite made the list at No. 5 by size (50,000 acres)…
Read MoreI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m always amazed at the number of people I meet at speaking engagements who have a direct or indirect link to Dawson. That was true before Crosses of Iron was released, and it’s certainly true now that the book is available online and at New Mexico bookstores. Cases…
Read MoreOn Oct. 3, two days after the official release of Crosses of Iron: The Tragic Story of Dawson, New Mexico, and Its Twin Mining Disasters by the University of New Mexico Press, SouthWest Writers published a Q&A interview with me about the book on its website. SouthWest Writers, which was founded in the early 1980s,…
Read MoreFor a first-time author, you can’t ask for more than to open your local Sunday newspaper and find a review of your new book — and a good one at that. Especially on the exact day of the book’s official release. But that’s what happened on Oct. 1 when I opened to the books section…
Read MoreIn early September, I received an email from Sharon Niederman asking if I would be willing to meet with her to talk about the upcoming release of my book, Crosses of Iron: The Tragic Story of Dawson, New Mexico, and Its Twin Mining Disasters. Naturally, I said “yes,” and we met a few days later…
Read MoreNow that we’re within a few weeks of the Oct. 1 release of Crosses of Iron, I want to call your attention to a few words that appear in the Acknowledgments section at the back of the book. There you will find an expression of my heartfelt gratitude to the Dawson community for its encouragement…
Read MoreOn Tuesday afternoon, Italians will gather at a church in the Province of Modena to observe the National Day of the Sacrifice of the Italian Workers in the World. And when they do, the Dawson mine disasters of 1913 and 1923 will be a key part of it. That’s because Manlio Badiali, a Pompeano resident…
Read More“Over One Million Tons of Coal Produced From Dawson Mines During the Year 1923” “Dawson Boy Scouts Build New Club House” “Dawson Schools Rank with Best in the State” These were among the headlines that appeared in a pictorial supplement issued in the spring of 1924 by The Dawson News, the town’s weekly newspaper. While more company-run house…
Read MoreWhen I began to work on Crosses of Iron, I knew there would be some aspects of the story that would require a lot of time to piece together. The peak population of Dawson wasn’t one of them.Not only was I mistaken, but even now, with the book only months from its October release, I…
Read MoreDawson Cemetery wasn’t the only setting in February to remember the 120 men killed in the mine disaster of 1923. Across the Atlantic, some 5,500 miles away, the 100-year anniversary of the deadly explosion was marked by stories and photographs in Italian newspapers, including a major daily serving the province of Modena in northern Italy. The…
Read MoreCrosses of Iron
by Nick Pappas
Now available to order from:
University of New Mexico Press
… and other booksellers.
Audiobook version available to order from …
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