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Another Country: Encounters With the Red Rock Desert
Another Country Encounters With the Red Rock Desert Author:John A. Murray America?s red rock desert is a place unlike any other?such a marvelous fusion of form and color?and "Another Country" is a correspondingly unique song of praise. Pairing fifteen essays with fifteen short stories, acclaimed writer John A. Murray takes you deep into this wonderland, one of the most remarkable regions on Earth. The territory Murray... more » celebrates is a vast triangle in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, a region embracing slickrock canyons, blue mesas, snow-capped peaks and the world?s greatest concentration of national parks and monuments. The red rock desert is a favorite place for Murray, one that he returns to year after year?a vast undeveloped country in which even the faintest summer stars hang like lanterns. A person can still stand on a cliff and survey a thousand square miles of uncorrupted rock or stand at the bottom of a canyon and touch rocks 1.7 billion years old?one-third the age of the solar system. John Murray also tells us that humans can get into trouble in this demanding landscape, where a wrong turn can lead to disaster. He tells stories of gold prospectors, some who leave bitterly disappointed, others, perhaps with worse luck, discover that finding gold can evoke a fatal greed. John Murray writes with the sure touch and easy grace of a master at the top of his form, and his stories and essays are sure to delight and surprise readers. For him, the desert is a continual place of happy returning, a vibrant landscape of welcome solace, a pure realm of inspiration for the restless spirit. And he invites everyone to join him on his travels.« less