Synopses & Reviews
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the towns wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
Spanning forty years, The Magic Journey tells the tale of how progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown. At first, it was a magic time for Chamisavillealmost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisavilles people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained. A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in Americas Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of the New Mexico Trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
John Nichols's New Mexico Trilogy, inaugurated in 1974 with the publication of The Milagro Beanfield War, has grown from regional stature to national appeal; the three novels have evolved from literary radicals to cult classics. Beloved for his compassionate, richly comic vision, and widely admired for his insight into the cancer that accompanies unbridled progress, Nichols is the author of nine novels and six works of nonfiction. He lives in northern New Mexico.
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the towns wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
Spanning forty years, The Magic Journey tells the tale of how progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown. At first, it was a magic time for Chamisavillealmost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisavilles people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained. A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in Americas Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of the New Mexico Trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
“Deserves to be both widely read and profusely honored . . . A great, big, wonderful book.”The Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer
“One of the most compelling novels Ive read in a long time . . . As timeless as it is timely.”Chicago Tribune Book World
"John Nichols has all Of Steinbeck's gifts, the same overwhelming compassion for people, plus an even finer sense of humor, and the need to celebrate the cause and dignity of man . . . He has left us with a classic American trilogy for our time."Chicago Tribune
"A storyteller of uncommon wit and inventiveness."The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Nichols is a wise man who writes about human nature with a sense of humor and with delicate feeling."Library Journal
Review
"Forty years of "progress" boil down to greed, power, money, and cultural genocide in this insightful portrait of Sun Belt development." Arthur I. Blaustein, Motehr Jones Magazine
Review
"A storyteller of uncommon wit and inventiveness." (The Boston Plain Dealer)
Review
“Deserves to be both widely read and profusely honored . . . A great, big, wonderful book.”—
The Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer“One of the most compelling novels Ive read in a long time . . . As timeless as it is timely.”—Chicago Tribune Book World
Synopsis
Spanning forty years, The Magic Journey tells the tale of how relentless progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown.
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the town's wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
At first, it was a magic time for Chamisaville--almost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisaville's people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained.
A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in America's Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of the New Mexico Trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
Synopsis
Spanning forty years, the second book in John Nichols's New Mexico trilogy, The Magic Journey, tells the tale of how relentless progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown.
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the town's wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
At first, it was a magic time for Chamisaville--almost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisaville's people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained.
A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in America's Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of John Nichols's New Mexico trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
Synopsis
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the towns wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
Spanning forty years, The Magic Journey tells the tale of how progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown. At first, it was a magic time for Chamisaville—almost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisavilles people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained. A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in Americas Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of the New Mexico Trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
Synopsis
Boom times came to the forgotten little southwestern town of Chamisaville just as the rest of America was in the Great Depression. They came when a rattletrap bus loaded with stolen dynamite blew sky-high, leaving behind a giant gushing hot spring. Within minutes, the town's wheeler-dealers had organized, and within a year, Chamisaville was flooded with tourists and pilgrims, and the wheeler-dealers were rich.
Spanning forty years, The Magic Journey tells the tale of how progress transformed a rural backwater into a boomtown. At first, it was a magic time for Chamisaville--almost as if every day were a holiday. But the euphoria gradually dissipated, and the land-hungry developers, speculators, and interlopers moved in. Finally, the day came when Chamisaville's people found themselves all but displaced, their children no longer heirs to their land or their tradition. With mounting intensity, The Magic Journey reaches a climax that is tragically foreordained. A sensitive, vital, and honest chronicle of life in America's Southwest, it is also an incisive commentary on what America has become on its road to progress.
The Magic Journey is part of the New Mexico Trilogy, which includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Nirvana Blues.
Synopsis
On back cover, strip out bar code and price. On copyright page, reset print line to P1.
About the Author
John Nichols's
New Mexico trilogy, inaugurated in 1974 with the publication of
The Milagro Beanfield War, has grown from regional stature to national appeal, from literary radicals to cult classics. Beloved for his compassionate, richly comic vision and admired for his insight into the cancer that accompanies unbridled progress, Nichols is the author of nine novels and six works of nonfiction. He lives in northern New Mexico.