High Country News - Current Issue
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Bury it standing
When his old canoe shows signs of aging, Alan Kesselheim decides to bury it upright in his yard, a contemporary totem pole.
by Alan Kesselheim, Nov 12, 2007 -
The power of music, the power of obsession
Sarah Bird’s well-written novel The Flamenco Academy weaves the history of this dramatic dance form into a obsessed young woman’s search for identity.
by Margaret Foley, Nov 12, 2007 -
How a restaurant changed the world
A famous French natural-foods restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., is the subject of Thomas McNamee’s book, Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution.
by Alexander Lane, Nov 12, 2007 -
The Sunflower State says a historic no to coal
Allen Best applauds Kansas for denying permits to two proposed coal-fired power plants because of concerns about greenhouse gases.
by Allen Best, Nov 12, 2007 -
Sniffin’ out scat for conservation
Wicket – a wildly energetic dog discovered in an animal shelter – serves scientists by looking for grizzly poop in the Montana wilds.
by Kathryn Socie, Nov 12, 2007 -
Safe crossing
Traffic engineers work with biologists to protect both wildlife and motorists on hazardous highways.
by Peter Aleshire, Nov 12, 2007 -
Two weeks in the West
A look at the recent California wildfires details how much they’ve cost so far and how many acres were burned, especially in the expanding wildland-urban interface.
by Christine Hoekinga, Nov 12, 2007 -
L.A. Bets on the Farm
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the West’s most powerful water agency – uses a shrewd blend of Wall Street tactics and rural diplomacy to keep the water flowing to L.A. and its environs.
by Matt Jenkins, Nov 12, 2007 -
Even four-footed employees deserve to retire
Susan Ives tells the story of Edith Ann, a faithful horse that narrowly escaped euthanasia when the Park Service decided she was too old and gimpy to be of further use.
by Susan Ives, Nov 12, 2007 -
Six Good Places
David Oates ranges from the Sierra Nevada to Aix-en-Provence as he considers the particular qualities that make a place worth living in.
by David Oates, Oct 29, 2007 -
Bloodied but unbowed
The Western novel is not entirely dead; it has simply changed a great deal since the glory days of Zane Grey.
by Michelle Nijhuis, Oct 29, 2007 -
Wet words
Brian Doyle recommends the best reads about the Pacific Northwest, with particular emphasis on his home state, Oregon.
by Brian Doyle, Oct 29, 2007 -
In Large and Sunlit Land
Peter Chilson ponders the parallel fates of two lovely and ravaged lands: The Southwest desert in America and the West Coast of Africa.
by Peter Chilson, Oct 29, 2007 -
‘Men standing in the shadows began to weep’
Writers John N. Maclean and Mark Matthews look closely at two famous – and deadly – Western wildfires in their new books, The Thirtymile Fire and A Great Day to Fight Fire.
by Ray Ring, Oct 29, 2007 -
Another near-death experience for environmentalism
Environmental contrarians Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger jump back into the fray with a new book, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility.
by Brian Kevin, Oct 29, 2007 -
Looking forward, looking back
William Kittredge brings together new and selected essays about life in the West in The Next Rodeo.
by Claire Dederer, Oct 29, 2007 -
Mystery in Montana
Deirdre McNamer’s new novel, Red Rover, beautifully captures the unromantic realism of Montana’s small towns.
by Bruce Barcott, Oct 29, 2007 -
Borders and saints
Latino writer Luis Alberto Urrea talks about the border and remembers the women in his family who inspired him.
by Jennie Lay, Oct 29, 2007 -
No frigate like a book
This special issue focuses on books and essays that help us understand the complex, chaotic West.
by Jodi Peterson, Oct 29, 2007 -
RV Nation
On a Western road trip, Evelyn Spence ponders the peculiar names – and increasing numbers – of gigantic RVs.
by Evelyn Spence, Oct 15, 2007
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