TALES OF MY SOUTHWEST

A strength of these books is their emphasis on how much of the Old West, insofar as southeastern Arizona was concerned, was carried forward into the early decades of the 20th century. Regardless of Frederick Jackson Turner’s argument that the Old West pretty much drew to a close by 1890, Williams’ stories explore significant continuities between the 19th and 20th centuries. A lot of the Old West was still around.

The stories convey the ups and downs of life along the ranching and mining frontiers, of the flexible movement by Americans and Mexicans across the international border, of the place of time-honored traditions – from special foods to gifts – in the warp and woof of daily life. If there is a nostalgic cast to the book, it is because much of Williams’ presentation evokes a different time when most westerners were closer to the land, and, perhaps, to each other.

Frederick Schoemehl
Editor, Tombstone Epitaph

 

 

MORE TALES OF MY SOUTHWEST

A charming collection of vignettes.  The writing is clear and accessible, and Ben’s passion for his subjects comes through clearly.  The photographs are well-chosen to underscore the subject of each story.

 

PANCHO VILLA: A LIFETIME OF VENGEANCE

Ben’s new book is Pancho Villa: A Lifetime of Vengeance.  In the book, the infamous revolutionary weaves his evil heart in and out of an American family tapestry. The author spins tales of his own boyhood years growing up in the southeastern corner of Arizona and Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico. Through fact and memorable reality from his parents and lifelong friends, Williams’ stories follow the crazed Pancho Villa from his earliest days of life, war, and survival along the borderlands.  Williams includes horrific tales of Villa’s famous battles, and his growing eccentric and violent behavior, as personal cruelty and murders increase.  This well-researched book culminates with little-known truths about the disappearance of Pancho Villa’s skull . . . from his grave in Parral, Mexico.

In his third book, Ben discloses a wealth of information about what it was like for a boy and his family to ranch, mine, and survive during Mexican revolutionary times. Against this background, he not only tackles stories about Pancho Villa’s battles and the man accused of stealing Villa’s skull from his grave in Parral, Mexico, but he baits the reader with the most curious story of all:

Who was the accused thief of the skull, Emil Holmdahl? 

And what was his connection to Ben F. Williams, Sr.–Ben’s father?