How to Cuss in Western: And Other Missives from the High Desert [Paperback]

Where nature writing meets humor--a racuous and hilarious look at life in the high desert of Nevada, from the author ofRaising WildandRants from the Hill.

Edward Abbey encouraged his readers to “be loyal to what you love, be true to the Earth, and fight your enemies with passion and laughter.” Here is Michael Branch’s response. Full of clear-eyed explorations of the natural world, witty cultural observations, and heart-warming family connections,How to Cuss in Westernis a cranky and hilarious love letter of sorts to the western Great Basin Desert of Nevada.“It’s not easy to live in the high desert of the American West—it requires an eye for the sparest sort of natural beauty, a robust sense of humor that can help one weather the inevitable indignities and hardships that accompany life in such a landscape, and, yes, even a special class of regionally-inflected swear words. InHow to Cuss in Western, Michael P. Branch once again offers his readers a companionable journey into the remote places he loves so we might share in the unique joy and humor he finds there.”—S. M. Hulse, author ofBlack River 

Not long ago Mike Branch was a respected academic, one of the founders of ecocriticism, before he shed that old skin and emerged anew as a kind of Thoreau in Groucho glasses. That emergence has been a delight for readers, who find both laughter and wisdom in the words of this western ranter, perched high in his desert home in Nevada, up on Ranting Hill, where he worships a divine troika of family, humor, and place.  In his always-engaging essays, we encounter sage and pronghorns, juniper and sandstone, but also garden gnomes, the art of wheel waving, casual strolls to California, Muppets, and a deep meditation on flatulence.  A book that could proudly sit on any western shelf next to Austin’s or Abbey’s. —David Gessner, author ofAll thel1