Of Chiles, Cacti, and Fighting Cocks: Notes on the American West
Frederick Turner
297 pages, softcover $16.95
Fulcrum Press, 2004

First published in 1990, this book of deft essays is back in print and as engaging as ever; it even includes some new work. Whether he’s describing cock fights, the artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s solitary ways in New Mexico or cowboys morphing into serfs, Turner knows his turf and writes like a dream.