Non-Fiction Books

For the first time in paperback with a new foreword by the author, On the Mesa is an autobiographical celebration of life in a fragile and marginal place. On the deserted sagebrush plain just west of his home in Taos, New Mexico, John Nichols finds a healing serenity and an astonishing variety of life and mood that casual observers rarely notice. With On the Mesa, Nichols takes his place with the great nature writers of the West.

Several years ago, when John Nichols felt his life was out of control, he decided to forge a less complex, and far healthier existence. As part of this process, he used a camera to help himself "stop and smell the flowers." In this way, he soon developed a new sense of proportion which led to a much more balanced lifestyle. Beginning with a Thoreauvian exhortation to simplify, and ending with a series of photographs which comprise a hosanna to the tranquil life, this book is a gentle yet persuasive call to arms for a better environment. About the photographs themselves, Nichols writes: "... the unassuming pictures I made during this time jibed perfectly with my mood. They joined the healing process, reflecting the goals I was striving to achieve. Anthill pebbles or lichens on a gravestone may seem like prosaic fare, yet by paying attention to these matter-of-fact wonders, I sure quieted my soul." In both words and pictures, Nichols details how the struggle to regain his own health led to a much wider understanding of how we all can lead an environmentally compassionate life.

In My Heart Belongs to Nature , Nichols records his forty-five-year connection to the Taos valley and its mountains, where he still lives.