True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America

Betsey Gaines Quammen cut her teeth writing about the Bundy family (of ranchers-turned-vigilantes-over-grazing-rights fame), and her newest book True West builds on her experience with cults, hyper-individualism, rural-vs-urban attitudes, and other cultural myths and misconceptions that permeate the American West. Step by step, Quammen dives into various communities in the West in a quest to bust some of the biggest Western myths, chatting up creationist museum directors, self-identified radicalized ranchers, the ex-wife of a far-right cult leader, environmentalists, and plain regular folks trying to cut a living in this vast region. Though this book covers topics from Covid to the reintroduction of wolves, a common thread is the myth that the West is a land where rugged individualism is the status quo, instead of a land where a person lives or dies by their community. If you’re someone who lives in the West, particularly in a rural area, this book will ring true in a multitude of ways. If you’re someone just visiting our area or if you’ve ever romanticized the cowboy lifestyle, I would encourage you to crack open this book and get an idea of what’s really going on out here. Above all else, Quammen emphasizes this: talk to your neighbors, because our society depends on it.