The concept of the American West is an essential part of our national psyche. Identifying the West, however, is a difficult matter. From pinpointing the region's ambiguous boundaries, to defining its significance to each American, scholars from a multitude of disciplines have disagreed about the geography, history, and meaning of the West since we first advanced on the frontier. In Western Places, American Myths: How We Think About the West, geographer Gary J. Hausladen brings together leading scholars to consider how popular perceptions about the West contribute to our understanding of the region's geography. Topics include ranching, gambling, cinema, the National Park System, and the roles of minorities in Western expansion. The essays are divided into three sections. "Continuity and Change" addresses themes that are relevant to the entire region including the relationship between the American West and the academic field of historical geography. In part two, "Enduring Regional Voices," the essays depart from predominantly white Euro-American male interpretations to study other perspectives, namely those of women, Mormons, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. "The West as Visionary Place" investigates the culture of the region. Drawing from diverse media, contributors explore various images and their contributions to our understanding about the American West. In the final chapter, key western movies are used to examine the issues of settlement and utopianism, as well as empire and territorial expansion. As a collection, these twelve essays reflect the eclectic nature of Western scholarship, examining diverse topics--some historical, some contemporary--from sometimes conflicting perspectives, with widely divergent scope and voices. Western Places, American Myths brings together geography, history, popular culture, and a comprehensive view of the region, bridging the humanities and social sciences.

This remarkable book introduces us to four unforgettable Apache people, each of whom offers a different take on the significance of places in their culture. Apache conceptions of wisdom, manners and morals, and of their own history are inextricably intertwined with place, and by allowing us to overhear his conversations with Apaches on these subjects Basso expands our awareness of what place can mean to people. Most of us use the term sense of place often and rather carelessly when we think of nature or home or literature. Our senses of place, however, come not only from our individual experiences but also from our cultures. Wisdom Sits in Places, the first sustained study of places and place-names by an anthropologist, explores place, places, and what they mean to a particular group of people, the Western Apache in Arizona. For more than thirty years, Keith Basso has been doing fieldwork among the Western Apache, and now he shares with us what he has learned of Apache place-names--where they come from and what they mean to Apaches. "This is indeed a brilliant exposition of landscape and language in the world of the Western Apache. But it is more than that. Keith Basso gives us to understand something about the sacred and indivisible nature of words and place. And this is a universal equation, a balance in the universe. Place may be the first of all concepts; it may be the oldest of all words."--N. Scott Momaday "In Wisdom Sits in Places Keith Basso lifts a veil on the most elemental poetry of human experience, which is the naming of the world. In so doing he invests his scholarship with that rarest of scholarly qualities: a sense of spiritual exploration. Through his clear eyes we glimpse the spirit of a remarkable people and their land, and when we look away, we see our own world afresh."--William deBuys "A very exciting book--authoritative, fully informed, extremely thoughtful, and also engagingly written and a joy to read. Guiding us vividly among the landscapes and related story-tellings of the Western Apache, Basso explores in a highly readable way the role of language in the complex but compelling theme of a people's attachment to place. An important book by an eminent scholar."--Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.

The early history of photography in America coincided with the Euro-American settlement of the West. This thoughtful book argues that the rich history of western photography cannot be understood by focusing solely on the handful of well-known photographers whose work has come to define the era. Art historian Rachel Sailor points out that most photographers in the West were engaged in producing images for their local communities. These pictures didn’t just entertain the settlers but gave them a way to understand their new home. Photographs could help the settlers adjust to their new circumstances by recording the development of a place—revealing domestication, alteration, and improvement. The book explores the cultural complexity of regional landscape photography, western places, and local sociopolitical concerns. Photographic imagery, like western paintings from the same era, enabled Euro-Americans to see the new landscape through their own cultural lenses, shaping the idea of the frontier for the people who lived there.

This 500,000 word reference work provides the most comprehensive general treatment available of the peoples and places of the regions commonly referred to as the ancient Near and Middle East – extending from the Aegean coast of Turkey in the west to the Indus river in the east. It contains some 1,500 entries on the kingdoms, countries, cities, and population groups of Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Iran and parts of Central Asia, from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Persian empire. Five distinguished international scholars have collaborated with the author on the project. Detailed accounts are provided of the Near/Middle Eastern peoples and places known to us from historical records. Each of these entries includes specific references to translated passages from the relevant ancient texts. Numerous entries on archaeological sites contain accounts of their history of excavation, as well as more detailed descriptions of their chief features and their significance within the commercial, cultural, and political contexts of the regions to which they belonged. The book contains a range of illustrations, including twenty maps. It serves as a major, indeed a unique, reference source for students as well as established scholars, both of the ancient Near Eastern as well as the Classical civilizations. It also appeals to more general readers wishing to pursue in depth their interests in these civilizations. There is nothing comparable to it on the market today.

Discover secret and scenic day hikes within a day’s drive of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Secret Places of Western New York: 25 Scenic Hikes is more than a trail guide. Hidden in these pages, you’ll uncover what makes these hikes special enough to be a Secret Place. Both lifetime locals and visitors to the region will be guided to the best paths and trails throughout the Niagara, Buffalo, Rochester, and Southern Tier regions. Hike to grottos where the only sound is the trickle of water, crawl through hidden caves, commune with nature in ancient forests, stumble upon tucked away treasures like lonely graves, splash on secluded beaches and creeks, admire towering waterfalls, and if you dare, step under the cascade yourself. Find historical carvings on rocks and trees that many walk past but never see, and be awestruck when ice volcanoes erupt on the shores of Lake Erie. These outdoor adventures appeal to a range of abilities, with most hikes accessible for the whole family. Co-authors Jennifer Hillman and William McKeever have teamed up with Bruce Kershner’s literary estate to encourage the next generation of explorers to discover 25 compelling secret and not-so-secret scenic day hikes within Western New York. Go take a hike!

A sweet and swoony contemporary Young Adult novel about a cross-country family road trip that puts one girl and her childhood best friend on an unexpected road to romance! Norah Simons’s summer road trip is going to be absolutely perfect. She’s leaving California for the first time in her life. She’s interviewing at her dream college (the place for future video game animators). And she’s reconnecting with her childhood friend, Skyler Hutton—the boy who taught her to draw, the boy she’s never forgotten about after all these years. What could go wrong? Cue the RV filled with three siblings, two moms, one bathroom, and years of memories, and suddenly this trip isn’t quite the vacation Norah was hoping for—especially when Skyler makes it clear he would rather be anywhere but here. But Norah isn’t one to give up without a fight. And as the families travel from desert heat to mountain vista, sparks begin to fly between these two ex–best friends—after all, friendship doesn’t just fade away. Does it? Kasie West delivers another romantic and heartfelt story of family, first love, and how expanding your horizons can take you places you’ve never dreamed of.