The Sound of Mountain Water

wallace stegner

A book of timeless importance about the American West, our "native home of hope."

The essays, memoirs, letters, and speeches in this volume were written over a period of twenty-five years, a time in which the West witnessed rapid changes to its cultural and natural heritage, and Wallace Stegner emerged as an important conservationist and novelist. This collection is divided into two sections: the first features the eloquent sketches of the West's history and environment, directing our imagination to the sublime beauty of such places as San Juan and Glen Canyon; the concluding section examines the state of Western literature, of the mythical past versus the diminished present, and analyzes the difficulties facing any contemporary Western writer. The Sound of Mountain Water is at once a hymn to the Western landscape, an affirmation of the hope embodied therein, and a careful investigation to the West's complex legacy.

Genres nonfictionessaysnaturehistorywesternsenvironmentamerican historynatural historyoutdoorswriting

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1969

This edition

Format: 288 pages, Paperback
Published: November 1, 1997 by Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780140266740
ASIN: 0140266747
Language: English

About the author

wallace stegner

Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist. Some call him "The Dean of Western Writers." He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977.