Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece That Changed the World, Dutton, 2002

"Picasso's' War is a fetching and well-crafted account of Pablo Picasso's huge and astounding painting Guernica, that has come to symbolize the elemental barbarism of the recently deceased 20th century. . . . Martin deftly weaves the story of the painting into the background of the rise of Fascism and the course of the Spanish war. . . His book is beguiling . . . even in tone, illuminating, deft, indeed a painterly little book.

Los Angeles Times

"Imaginative cultural historian Martin crafts a well-integrated and fascinating account of Picasso's famous painting and the horrible events that inspired it. The author's signature approach to seemingly offbeat subjects is careful research filtered through a novelistic sensibility to grasp the inherent story, which he unfolds in the engaging, almost offhand manner of a fictional amateur sleuth. Martin is, first and foremost, a consummate storyteller who deftly weaves such multiple disciplines as politics, history, art, science, and even current events into a narrative forming a coherent whole. . . . An engrossing story of a landmark work of art and the struggle 'to fashion meaning out of unimaginable evil, once more to offer hope.'"

Kirkus Reviews

"Martin meticulously describes the painting's creation and context [and] focuses on the controversies that haunted the canvas for decades. . . . Within this larger narrative, he weaves a memoir of his own trek to visit Guernica, which finally arrived in Spain in the 1980s. The culmination of this thread, when Martin coincidentally views the painting on September 11, 2001, brings the narrative into the contemporary world and highlights Guernica's brutal relevance today."

Publishers Weekly

"Martin's poignant portrayal of Picasso and gripping history of a painting that galvanized a world assaulted by new extremes of systematic violence illuminates the complex and always provocative nexus of art, politics, and social conscience."

Booklist

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Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved, Broadway Books, 2000

"A wonderfully gripping and readable narrative . . . a fascinating story, full of mysteries solved and as yet unsolved."

BBC Music Magazine
"A terrific story--odd, suspenseful, controversial and ultimately revealing."

Denver Post

"An engrossing tale of an odd subject.  First-class history, and a fascinating exposition of forensic science."

Toronto Globe and Mail

"An intriguing and well-told story, a story actually of the path Western cultural life has taken over the past two centuries. It reminds us that the spirit of idealism in Beethoven's music . . . can spark to life in unaccountable ways and in undreamed-of circumstances."

Kirkus Reviews

"Russell Martin's lively account of the investigations into strands of Beethoven's hair makes for absorbing reading. . . a lucid narrative that takes on the characteristics of a tightly constructed whodunit."

Sydney Morning Herald

"A wonderful contemplation of how relics can become bridges between people separated by time, culture and death... an inspiring look at passion in several forms."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

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Out of Silence: An Autistic Boy's Journey Into Language and Communication
Penguin, 1996

"A deeply moving rendering of human beings in adversity... Other accounts of the suffering of autism have been published, but few can vie with this one for thoughtfulness, scholarship, and personal accent."

New York Times Book Review

"A wholly remarkable book ... Martin leaves us with a deeper understanding of language itself, a richer appreciation of its promise, and a realization that the ability to communicate is a kind of grace."

The Los Angeles Times

"From time to time a special book is written that changes one's way of perceiving the self and the world, and that challenges one to rethink what being human really means. Russell Martin has written such a book. ... It is a book that should become a classic."

Bloomsbury Review

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A Story That Stands Like A Dam
University of Utah Press,  2000

"Russell Martin's extraordinary tale of what may prove to be the last big American dam ever built is narrative history as good as it gets. But it is more than that, for in his thoughtful, relentlessly fair analysis of the character of the struggle between the conservation community and the dam-builders, Martin reveals some of the unmeasured costs that accrue when the dream of human progress is left in the hands of the engineers and the poetry of the landscape is taken from us."

T. H. Watkins

"Martin brings to life the mixed bag of players who, in the fight over Glen Canyon, wrote the very rulebook for the cat-and-mouse game that now incessantly pits the forces of development against the defenders of an ever-shrinking trickle of what used to be America's mightiest river. ... He has done a masterful job."

Chicago Tribune

"This is a crime novel with a body (Glen Canyon), a weapon (the dam), but no simple killer. ... Read Martin's fine new book.  We have needed such a record of the war between our appetites and our dreams, and now we've got it."  

Los Angeles Times

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Beautiful Islands
Linden Press, Simon & Schuster, 1988

"What a rare good thing Russell Martin has given us. Beautiful Islands is a story about decent people involved in matters of consequence, a good read and a fine pleasure."

William Kittredge

"Russell Martin knows well the landscape of Colorado and the landscape of the heart.  He explores both with graceful precision in this finely crafted novel.  Beautiful Islands is tough and strong, intelligent and moving, and always rings true."

Robert Mayer

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The Color Orange: A Super Bowl Season With the Denver Broncos
Henry Holt, 1987

"Martin's observant eye and analytical mind enable him to discuss the team in it socio-cultural context, specifically how and why the Broncos' performance affects not only the direct participants but also the community at large.  It's an intelligent look into modern sports by an experienced, objective observer."

Booklist

"The Color Orange will keep many Broncos junkies happy for many a winter night.  Russell Martin not only captures the Broncos phenomenon, he gives us a wonderful witty slice of Americana as well."

Leon Uris

"The Color Orange is not only a sports book but a story of people, a city, hope, disappointment and, indeed, reality.  On top of that, it is beautifully written."

Roger Kahn

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Matters Gray and White: A Neurologist, His Patients & the Mysteries of the Brain
Henry Holt, 1986

"A book of fascinating insights into modern medical practices and heartening accounts of individual courage. ... Martin records with uncommon sensitivity and understanding the clinical work and thoughts or a first-rate physician. ... It is excellent."

New York Times Book Review

"An honest and moving book that covers a wide swatch and leaves us full of awe."

Washington Post Book World

"Compelling... Martin doesn't merely isolate cases, he weaves them together with the skill of a novelist."

Denver Post

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New Writers of the Purple Sage: An Anthology of Contemporary Western Writing
Penguin, 1992

Writers of the Purple Sage: An Anthology of Recent Western Writing
Penguin, 1984

Both edited by Russell Martin

"An anthology of some of the best Western writing of recent years.  The book makes it clear that the West abandoned by Hollywood has been taken over by fiction writers of the first rank."
Outside
"A powerful compilation of contemporary short stories by writers who live in the American West. There isn't a misfire in the whole bunch, but my favorites were Ivan Doig's 'Flip' and editor Martin's evocative narrative, 'Cliff Dwellers.'"

Saturday Review

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Entering Space: An Astronaut's Odyssey
Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1984
(written with Joseph P. Allen)

"Entering Space is a knowing and scrupulously detailed account of the most ambitious American adventure aloft.  It gives a sense of he prosaic minutiae and the dumb-struck wonder of traveling through space."

Time

"The prose is solid and informative, with some standard touches of NASA gee-whiz awe and just enough conviction that we will remain outward bound."

Discover

"Without exception, it is the finest book yet written on the experience of space travel."

KCBS Universe Magazine

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Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the Wild West
Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1983

"Martin's text is informative, yet lively, even poetic at times, with just the right touch of sentimentality.  It's a huge sprawl of a book, one worth dipping into again and again."

Houston Post

"Colorado-born Martin has created a monumental, synoptic portrait of the cowboy, tracing the amazing evolution of this mythic figure through the early dime novels, on to Wild West shows and rodeos, movies, television, country music and advertising. ... This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen."

San Antonio Express

"The book has it all, from the dime-novel heroes to the rhinestone cowboys.  It's masterful."
Denver Post
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