What does it mean to claim your space in a world that’s ending? Sarah M. Sala’s Devil’s Lake breaks open the American moment of unchecked gun violence, climate changes, and the growing rift between "us" and "them" with formal daring. Like a prism, this startling debut fractures into shades of possibility and memory, queering science, nature, and form to lay bare the colors of joy despite a world that seems intent on its destruction.

A collection of true ghost tales from the dark and dangerous waters of Devils Lake, North Dakota, where the spirits of Indian and pioneer settlers alike are forever bound to the land they loved. It includes legendary stories of bravery and courage in the face of certain disaster; lost souls, doomed to relive their tragic deaths; vicious outlaws, condemned to repeat their crimes for all eternity; paranormal places, including a mysterious "Stairway to Hell"; and supernatural creatures, like the ethereal Canyo Tina on the south shore.

Thousands of young men embarked on the adventure of a lifetime when they joined the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Service at Wisconsin's popular state park offered notoriety absent at most camp assignments. While most of the CCC work around the country was in remote forests and farmlands, at Devil's Lake tourists could view CCC project activity each day, forging that labor into an essential part of the park experience. Historian Robert J. Moore interviews veterans and mines the archives to preserve this legacy so that the gasps of wonder at nature's marvels remain mixed with respect for the men who helped bring them forth.