Bringing the desert fruit to California created a Middle Eastern mirage.
Books
Posted inArticles
Myth and mending in the true West
People in the region are willing to take time for self-reflection, support and tolerance of differences.
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
Slowing down the pace of childhood
How can you teach kids to appreciate slowness in a speeded-up world?
Posted inArticles
The West’s overlooked rainforests can address climate change
A new book advances the idea that protecting old-growth forests is better for the climate than planting new trees.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2023: Food Justice
Wildlife and the inescapable impact of road noise
The ‘blab of the pave’ disrupts animals’ lives everywhere, even in national parks.
Posted inArticles
Grief, girls and the gross in Vauhini Vara’s new collection
‘This Is Salvaged’ considers what unites, including death and survival.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Let’s talk about Indian romance novels
If you’ve ever gawked in disbelief at a hunky white man in redface, this one’s for you.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
Gambling’s hidden price
Meet Me Tonight In Atlantic City details the cost of gambling addiction for one Asian American family.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
When fire goes feral
A conversation with John Vaillant, author of ‘Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.’
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence
The many ways to see a story
Acclaimed Indigenous author Debra Magpie Earling returns with a new novel.
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence
Tenacious specimens of the Grand Canyon
In the 1930s, two women risked their lives to record a scientific survey of the region’s plants.
Posted inArticles
Immigration, self-discovery and navigating the spaces between
Author Gemma Whelan expands her idea of home.
Posted inArticles
Displaced by the climate crisis
Jake Bittle’s new book foregrounds the experience of those already affected by a worsening climate.
Posted inArticles
The wolf in its own clothing
A new book, ‘Wolfish,’ attempts to shed light on how the species is a stand in for fear.
Posted inArticles
Books to see us through
The written word can provide shelter for whatever is coming.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
Can capitalism be overcome?
A history of environmental exploitation fails to imagine an alternative.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
A Los Angeles exhibit reverse-engineers Joan Didion’s writing
‘What She Means’ attempts to re-create the Western writer’s world.
Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation
What can conservation learn from science fiction?
New works by Western authors explore the brighter futures of our swiftly tilting planet.
Posted inArticles
The new West and the nature of apocalypse
A conversation with Alan Heathcock about his latest novel ‘40.’
Posted inArticles
The untold story of the Pacific Northwest’s nuclear past
‘Atomic Days’ offers a compelling, fact-packed introduction to the most toxic place in the nation.