Synopses & Reviews
One hundred miles south of Albuquerque, two parallel chains of mountains isolate a 120-mile jumble of black rock, dry lake beds, flesh-colored sand, and desolation. This is the
Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of the Dead.
So named because of a particular death centuries ago, this desert has witnessed many tales of loss and destruction. Alan Boye takes us on a trek through the beauty and violence of this forbidding land. Traveling the wasteland by foot, Boye visits battle sites from the Mexican-American War, to the Civil War, from the lonely canyon where the Apaches fought to keep their homeland, to the isolated site of the worldand#8217;s first atomic explosion. In the sand and dust and the ruins of war, Boye discovers stories of sadistic killers, directionless rebels, and gun-toting gauchosand#8212;but also tales of poets and dreamers, of ordinary men and women who lived their lives and continue to live under this wide and ruthless desert sky. He introduces us to many travelers who have tested the desert: mysterious ancient people who built cliff-top fortresses, Spanish conquistadors, Mexican farmers, old time cowboys yodeling classical poetry to their cattle, and modern range managers tracking livestock by satellite. This is the story of an American desert told through the eyes of those who knew it best and brought to life through Boyeand#8217;s own travels across the Journey of the Dead.
Review
and#8220;Not only is this book beautifully written, with wisdom and humor, it also offers a practical guide for and#8216;sustainableand#8217; home builders of any age. Boye writes with an impressive intelligence, immediately drawing readers in not only to the story but to the mind and heart of the author.and#8221;and#8212;Reeve Lindbergh, author of Under a Wing: A Memoir
Review
and#8220;Alan Boyeand#8217;s humor and generosity run through this book, as does his gentle compassion for the people and places he loves.and#8221;and#8212;Miriam Karmel, author of Being Esther
Review
"In clear and straightforward terms, Couch demystifies the science and takes an equitable and even-handed approach to the politics involved in energy production. The result is an accessible primer and essential guide to crucial issues surrounding critical challenges."—Carol Haggas,
Booklist starred review
Review
"In a book that is part travelogue and part news report, Couch lucidly confronts the specter of what she calls the 'new energy crisis.' . . . Couch does not offer any opinions on which fuels are ultimately best for an energy-hungry America. Instead, she presents information clearly and objectively to help readers better discern 'the difference between numbers meant to impress, stories meant to persuade, and facts that prompt action.' Fair, thoughtful and balanced."—Kirkus
Review
"This lucid guide gently encourages readers to think about what goes into creating the electric grid."—Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics
Review
“In this smart, highly engaging energy travelogue, Julianne Couch offers readers a clear, inside look at the many ways electrical power is produced across the United States. Traveling the Power Line is an indispensable guide to both current practices in energy technology and future possibilities for renewable resources.”—Ann McCutchan, author of River Music: An Atchafalaya Story
Review
“Julianne Couch has a knack for disarming the wonkiest engineers and discovering the intrigue in cooling rods and ‘geothermal brine. Her travels along the power line are entertaining, but her book is more than that. From here we can start making smarter, kinder, more realistic and responsible decisions about our energy future.”—Bill Bishop and Julie Ardery, coeditors of The Daily Yonder
Review
“If youre looking for a complete analysis of the worlds energy problems, look elsewhere (but expect a mind-numbing, 1,000-page, multivolume set). But if you want a crisp, engaging, and insightful tour of the world of energy production, this is your book.”—Jeffrey A. Lockwood, coauthor of Philosophical Foundations for the Practices of Ecology
Review
"This unique book doubles as the first impressionistic 'naturalistic' overview, and, at least in part, the first history of the region. The Jornada del Muerto is an awesome piece of land that cries out for lyrical description and Boye's writing is well worthy of the region that it describes."and#8212;Ferenc Morton Szasz, author of Larger Than Life: New Mexico in the Twentieth Century
Review
"This collection of oral histories and archival studies is a refreshing examination of the role that New Mexico has played, and continues to play, in the history of the United States as a multiethnic quest for happiness, opportunity, and at times, greed. The Jornada del Muerto as a place holds a unique image in the mythic vision of New Mexicans and Tales from the Journey of the Dead shows the complexities of the place."and#8212;Ricardo L. Garcand#237;a, author of Brother Billand#8217;s Bait Bites Back and Other Tales from the Raton
Review
and#8220;Firsthand accounts are aptly balanced by personal histories and thorough research. . . . With wonderfully accessible and consistently engaging writing, Boye adds a long-overlooked and essential piece to the puzzle of American history.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist
Review
and#8220;Each of the nineteen chronologically arranged chapters comprising
Tales from the Journey of the Dead is a stand-alone narrative, but read one after the other as Boye arranged them and they proffer a well-rounded and yet particular picture of the Jornada and some of the many people who have passed through its water-poor, sun-scorched expanse, settled there, or died trying (hence the name). . . . Boye effectively conveys the histories and stories of the desert and of the people he intended to reveal. The book is especially recommended for people planning their own trip to the Jornada del Muerto or who want to know about the region.and#8221;and#8212;H-Environment
Review
and#8220;An entertainingly descriptive read. Boyeand#8217;s interviews with locals who live, work, and play on the Jornada are particularly strong. Their experiences capture the central story of humans dealing with a harsh environment. . . .
Tales from the Journey of the Dead can effectively capture the readerand#8217;s imagination with its impressionistic and descriptive approach to humans eking out an existence on a desert over ten millennia. In other words, when Boye describes life under the burning desert sun, the reader can feel the heat.and#8221;and#8212;
New Mexico Historical ReviewReview
and#8220;If you want to stop and smell the goldenrod in Nebraska, turn to Alan Boye: He should be able to tell you where it grows, why it is there and who planted it. . . . [The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska is] a mile-by-mile guide to the sights, history and oddities to be found or learned about along almost every road in Nebraska.and#8221;and#8212;Gerald Wade, Omaha World-Herald
Review
and#8220;If thereand#8217;s a book that captures the quirky spirit of the original Federal Writers Project guide, this is it. . . . Throughout the book, the authorand#8217;s opinions and reflections add charm to the entries. . . . Stories, trivia, opinions, back road directions and#8211; Boye is an engaging travel companion. Heand#8217;ll charm you into looking closer at Nebraska.and#8221;and#8212;Nebraska Life
Synopsis
Living simply isnand#8217;t always simple. When Alan Boye first lived in sustainable housing, he was young, idealistic, and not much susceptible to compromiseand#8212;until rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, and loneliness drove him out of the utilities-free yurt heand#8217;d built in New Mexico. Thirty-five years later, he decided to try again. This time, with an idealism tempered by experience and practical considerations, Boye and his wife constructed an off-the-grid, energy-efficient, straw bale house in Vermont.
and#160;
Sustainable Compromises chronicles these two remarkable attempts to live simply in two disparate American eras. Writing with hard-won authority and humor, Boye takes up the and#8220;how-toand#8221; practicalities of and#8220;building green,and#8221; from finances to nuts and bolts to strains on friends and family. With Walden as a historical and philosophical touchstone and his own experience as a practical guide, he also explores the ethical and environmental concerns that have framed such undertakings from Thoreauand#8217;s day to our own. A firsthand account of the pleasures and pitfalls of living simply, his book is a deeply informed and engaging reflection on what sustainability really meansand#8212;in personal, communal, ethical, and environmental terms.
Synopsis
In our power-hungry world, all the talk about energy—whats safe and whats risky, whats clean and whats dirty, whats cheap and whats easy—tends to generate more heat than light. What, Julianne Couch wanted to know, is the real story on power production in this country? Approaching the question as a curious consumer, Couch takes us along as she visits nine sites where electrical power is developed from different fuel sources. From a geothermal plant in the Mojave Desert to a nuclear plant in Nebraska, from a Wyoming coal-fired power plant to a Maine tidal-power project, Couch gives us an insiders look at how power is generated, how it affects neighboring landscapes and the people who live and work there, and how each source comes with its own unique complications.
The result is an informed, evenhanded discussion of energy production and consumption on the global, national, regional, local, and—most important—personal level. Knowledge is the real power this book imparts, allowing each of us to think beyond the flip of a switch to the real consequences of our energy use.
Synopsis
The second edition of The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska represents a major enlargement and revision of the first edition, making this the most comprehensive guide to the state ever written. The book covers over twelve thousand miles in all ninety-three counties of the and#8220;state where the West begins.and#8221; Here readers can become acquainted with numerous folklore tales and discover the locations of thousands of historical sites, burials, pioneer roads, museums, and other wonders of the Cornhusker State.
About the Author
Alan Boye is a Nebraska native with an affinity for back roads and offbeat historic moments. He is a professor of English at Lyndon State College in Vermont and the author of Tales from the Journey of the Dead: Ten Thousand Years on an American Desert (Nebraska 2006) and Holding Stone Hands: On the Trail of the Cheyenne Exodus, available in a Bison Books edition. Ron Hansen, a Nebraska native, is the author of Isn't It Romantic? and Hitler's Niece. Wright Morris was a native Nebraskan and the author of Field of Vision and Plains Song, both winners of the National Book Award.