THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT

by W. Eugene Hollon ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1966

Then and Now"" is the subtitle, and this author has managed to compress a great deal about both into a single volume. ""Desert"" is a fighting word to Western boosterism, but it is the accurate term for the Mountain West, ""approximately 30% of the conterminous United States."" Beginning with brief but adequate accounts of the climate, flora, and fauna, Mr. Hollon moves on to vivid depictions of the successive waves of settlers, from the Indians through the mountain men, the Mormons, the cattle barons, the sheep ranchers, the grain farmers, and finally the growth of modern cities, irrigation farming, and a burgeoning vacation industry and retirement population. Separately, it has all been told before, if seldom so informatively; but no one else to our knowledge has hung it all together into such a readable account of the past, present, and future of a fascinating region where ""the problems of the rest of the country to say nothing of the rest of the world, are projected on a wide screen.

Pub Date: April 28, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION