New West reader : essays on an ever-evolving frontier / edited and introduced by Philip Connors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Connors, Philip.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

West (U.S.)--Literary collections.

West (U.S.).

Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.).

Frontier and pioneer life.

Genre:

Literature.

Physical Description:

xx, 355 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Nation Books, 2005.

Summary:

America's West-the Wild West, the Last Frontier-is haunted by a mismatch between legend and reality. Whether in dime novels or on the silver screen, the West has long fed an appetite for soothing fantasy in the American mind-a fantasy that bears little relation to the difficult work of building community in a land of finite resources and vast distances.

These essays, culled from forty years of nonfiction about the modern West, offer a necessary corrective to the myths. There are no taciturn gunslingers or righteous pioneers here-just westerners assessing their experience with humor, irony, and a bracing lack of sentimentality. From Larry McMurtry's elegy for the cowboy through Dagoberto Gilb's meditation on growing a lawn in the desert, each essay brings a personal vision to bear on issues of importance to all who live in and care about the region. Jimmy Santiago Baca looks south across the border for the inspiration and joy of Mexican music, while at the far reaches of Idaho, Denis Johnson ponders the implications of radical individualism and antigovernment activism. There are also thoughtful explorations of the ethics of hunting and fishing, haunting meditations on the impact of mining and nuclear testing, and a hilariously candid assessment of the inner lives of rednecks.

Taken together, these essays bring us much nearer to the complex truths of life in the New West. Never condescending, always intelligent, they provide a vivid map to the terrain of an ever-evolving frontier.

Contents:

Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction / Larry McMurtry 1

Industrial Tourism and the National Parks / Edward Abbey 35

Redneck Secrets / William Kittredge 62

The Heart of the Game / Thomas McGuane 74

The Solace of Open Spaces / Gretel Ehrlich 90

Variations on a Theme by Crevecoeur / Wallace Stegner 105

Illegal Aliens / Sharman Apt Russell 125

The Clan of One-Breasted Women / Terry Tempest Williams 139

All but the Waltz / Mary Clearman Blew 150

La Vida Loca / Jimmy Santiago Baca 170

Dust, or Erasing the Future: The Nevada Test Site / Rebecca Solnit 175

The Maze and Aura / Jack Turner 207

Fifth World: The Return of Ma ah shra true ee, the Giant Serpent / Leslie Marmon Silko 230

Believing in the American West / Patricia Nelson Limerick 242

The Unauthorized Autobiography of Me / Sherman Alexie 265

The Militia in Me / Denis Johnson 280

Creeks of Galiuro / Craig Childs 300

Spirit-Fried No-Name River Brown Trout: A Recipe / David James Duncan 321

Brides of Place / Ellen Meloy 335

My Landlady's Yard / Dagoberto Gilb 344.

ISBN:

1560256486 :

OCLC:

62231541