Of Rock and Rivers

Of Rock and Rivers PDF

Author: Ellen Wohl

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2009-06-08

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0520257030

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This deeply personal collection of essays paints a progressive view of the American West as seen by a geologist. The author traces her twenty years of living and conducting research in the natural landscapes of the West as she investigates the conflict between environmental history and widely held romanticized views of the region.

Philosophy in the American West

Philosophy in the American West PDF

Author: Josh Hayes

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-06-10

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1000092410

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Philosophy in the American West explores the physical, ecological, cultural, and narrative environments associated with the western United States, reflecting on the relationship between people and the places that sustain them. The American West has long been recognized as having significance. From Crèvecoeur’s early observations in Letters from an American Farmer (1782), to Thoreau’s reflections in Walden (1854), to twentieth-century thoughts on the legacy of a vanishing frontier, "the West" has played a pivotal role in the American narrative and in the American sense of self. But while the nature of "westernness" has been touched on by historians, sociologists, and, especially, novelists and poets, this collection represents the first attempt to think philosophically about the nature of "the West" and its influence on us. The contributors take up thinkers that have been associated with Continental Philosophy and pair them with writers, poets, and artists of "the West". And while this collection seeks to loosen the cords that tie philosophy to Europe, the traditions of "continental" philosophy—phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and others—offer deep resources for thinking through the particularity of place. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Philosophy, as well as those working in Ecocriticism and the Environmental Humanities more broadly.

New Geographies of the American West

New Geographies of the American West PDF

Author: William Riebsame Travis

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2007-05-11

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1597266140

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Reconciling explosive growth with often majestic landscape defines New Geographies of the American West. Geographer William Travis examines contemporary land use changes and development patterns from the Mississippi to the Pacific, and assesses the ecological and social outcomes of Western development. Unlike previous "boom" periods dependent on oil or gold, the modern population explosion in the West reflects a sustained passion for living in this specific landscape. But the encroaching exurbs, ranchettes, and ski resorts are slicing away at the very environment that Westerners cherish. Efforts to manage growth in the West are usually stymied at the state and local levels. Is it possible to improve development patterns within the West's traditional anti-planning, pro-growth milieu, or is a new model needed? Can the region develop sustainably, protecting and managing its defining wildness, while benefiting from it, too? Travis takes up the challenge , suggesting that functional and attractive settlement can be embedded in preserved lands, working landscapes, and healthy ecologies.

Mary Austin and the American West

Mary Austin and the American West PDF

Author: Susan Goodman

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0520246357

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"Finally, a book that does Mary Austin justice in all her complexity and takes her seriously as a challenging and varied writer."—Melody Graulich, coeditor of Exploring Lost Borders "A wonderful wide-angle view of an era in the American West and its literary, artistic, and anthropological figures."—Robert D. Richardson Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind

A Sense of the American West

A Sense of the American West PDF

Author: James Earl Sherow

Publisher: UNM Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780826319135

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An anthology of diverse approaches and issues in the environmental history of the American West.

Winning the Wild West

Winning the Wild West PDF

Author: Page Stegner

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13:

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Chronicles the history of the American frontier from 1800 to 1899, discussing how the expansion into the lands west of the Mississippi influenced the nation's formation.

Wild Horses of the West

Wild Horses of the West PDF

Author: J. Edward de Steiguer

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2021-11-30

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0816547408

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When the Spanish explorers brought horses to North America, the horses were, in a sense, returning home. Beginning with their origins fifty million years ago, the wild horse has been traced from North America through Asia to the plains of Spain’s Andalusia and then back across the Atlantic to the ranges of the American West. When given the chance, these horses simply took up residence in the landscape that their ancestors had roamed so long ago. In Wild Horses of the West, J. Edward de Steiguer provides an entertaining and well-researched look at one of the most controversial animal welfare issues of our time—the protection of free-roaming horses on the West’s public lands. This is the first book in decades to include the entire story of these magnificent animals, from their evolution and biology to their historical integration into conquistador, Native American, and cowboy cultures. And the story isn’t over. De Steiguer goes on to address the modern issues— ecology, conservation, and land management—surrounding wild horses in the West today. Featuring stunning color photographs of wild horses, this extremely thorough and engaging blend of history, science, and politics will appeal to students of the American West, conservation activists, and anyone interested in the beauty and power of these striking animals.

Mary Austin and the American West

Mary Austin and the American West PDF

Author: Susan Goodman

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2009-01-07

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0520942264

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Mary Austin (1868-1934)—eccentric, independent, and unstoppable—was twenty years old when her mother moved the family west. Austin's first look at her new home, glimpsed from California's Tejon Pass, reset the course of her life, "changed her horizons and marked the beginning of her understanding, not only about who she was, but where she needed to be." At a time when Frederick Jackson Turner had announced the closing of the frontier, Mary Austin became the voice of the American West. In 1903, she published her first book, The Land of Little Rain, a wholly original look at the West's desert and its ethnically diverse peoples. Defined in a sense by the places she lived, Austin also defined the places themselves, whether Bishop, in the Sierra Nevada, Carmel, with its itinerant community of western writers, or Santa Fe, where she lived the last ten years of her life. By the time of her death in 1934, Austin had published over thirty books and counted as friends the leading literary and artistic lights of her day. In this rich new biography, Susan Goodman and Carl Dawson explore Austin's life and achievement with unprecedented resonance, depth, and understanding. By focusing on one extraordinary woman's life, Mary Austin and the American West tells the larger story of the emerging importance of California and the Southwest to the American consciousness.

Cowgirls

Cowgirls PDF

Author: Teresa Jordan

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1992-01-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780803275751

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American lore has slighted the cowgirl, although at least one can still be found in nearly every ranching community. Like her male counterpart, she rides and ropes, understands land and stock, and confronts the elements. The writer and photographer Teresa Jordan traveled sixty thousand miles in the American West, talking with more than a hundred authentic cowgirls running ranches and performing in rodeos. The result is a fascinating book that also situates the cowgirl in history and literature. A new preface and updated bibliography have been added to this Bison Book edition.