Often times the smaller the man, the harder the punch—this adage was true in the case of diminutive Luke Short, whose brief span of years played out in the Wild West. His adventures began as a teenage cowboy who followed the trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads. He then served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars and, finally, he perfected his skills as a gambler in locations that included Leadville, Tombstone, Dodge City, and Fort Worth. In 1883, in what became known as the "Dodge City War," he banded together with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and others to protect his ownership interests in the Long Branch Saloon—an event commemorated by the famous "Dodge City Peace Commission" photograph.

The irony is that Luke Short is best remembered for being the winning gunfighter in two of the most celebrated showdowns in Old West history: the shootout with Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona, and the showdown against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. He would have hated that. During his lifetime, Luke Short became one of the best known sporting men in the United States, and one of the wealthiest. He had been a partner in the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, as well as the White Elephant in Fort Worth. He became friends with other wealthy sporting men, such as William H. Harris, Jake Johnson, and Bat Masterson, who helped broaden his gaming interests to include thoroughbred horse racing and boxing.

Before he died he would become a familiar figure in Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and Saratoga Springs, where he raced his string of horses. He traveled with other wealthy sporting men in private railroad cars to attend heavyweight championship fights. Luke Short was always a little man dealing in big games. He married the beautiful Hattie Buck, who could turns heads at all the top resorts they visited as man and wife.

Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons have researched deeply into all records to produce the first serious biography of Luke Short, revealing in full the epitome of a sporting man of the Wild West.

Since the opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, the town of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been a rich source of original American design. Santa Fe Style explores the beginnings and current form of this exciting design tradition, from the ancient inspiration of the Canyon de chelly to the innovations of Frank Lloyd Wright and contemporary passive-solar architects. The elements of style for which the area is known--warm adobe brick, simple hand-carved furnishings, rough-hewn beams, Indian potter, Navajo rugs, and colorful folk sculpture--are all beautifully photographed in over 450 illustrations.

A community of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, Santa Fe has had an impact on American culture far greater than its size. The Spanish colonists who founded the town in 1608 adapted their European tradition to the Pueblo Indian building materials and methods, creating an architecture that is unique in the world. The trade routes and the opening of the railroad brought ranchers and farmers from the East; and spectacular surroundings of mountains and high desert drew twentieth-century writers and artists from D.H.Lawrence to Georgia O'Keeffe. Each new wave of settlers added to the Santa Fe legend and the Santa Fe style.

Here is not only the romance of Santa Fe, but the irresistible appeal of its lifestyle--a casual elegance enlivened by a dynamic, ever-changing mixture of the old and the new, the West and the East, the plain and the sophisitcated. In addition to the wide range of design ideas offered by the illustrations is a list of sources directing readers to Santa Fe merchants and services.