In this lively yet systematic commentary, a Welshman surveys the American Southwest with the steady, perceptive eye of a stranger who has grown to appreciate it. He finds in its history and topography signs that nature still holds its own against the human hand. "One is aware that such immense landscapes must exist--but until one views them for oneself it is impossible to grasp their impressiveness, or experience their liberating quality."

White is equally fascinated with the people who have moved across this spectacular stage and those who inhabit it now. Trained as an anthropologist and archaeologist, as well as in literature, he traces the Indian history of the region from the Anasazi-Pueblo peoples, to Geronimo, Mangas Colorados, and Cochise, "the horse Indians with their fierce, Faustian view of the world," to today's Navajo silversmiths. Following stage coach lines and railroads, Spanish conquests and cattle drives, he leads us through the domain of gunmen like Billy the Kid and "good guys" like Kit Carson, through the world of Hispanics and Anglos, through the literature that portrays the regional drama. With him, we experience repeatedly and delightedly the "small peculiar thrill" of discovery.

Jon Manchip White is Lindsay Young Professor of the Humanities and professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is the author of more than fifteen books of travel, fiction, poetry, and biography.