One of my favorite collections of essays is a treasure trove of literary gems.

Each essay within it offers a unique perspective, delving deep into various themes and ideas.

The writers' words flow like a gentle stream, captivating my attention from the very first sentence.

Some essays make me laugh out loud with their witty humor and clever observations, while others tug at my heartstrings, evoking a range of emotions.

The collection covers a wide spectrum of topics, from personal experiences and reflections to social issues and cultural critiques.

It is a truly diverse and engaging read that never fails to inspire and enlighten me.

Whether I'm in the mood for a light-hearted escape or a thought-provoking exploration, this collection of essays always has something to offer.

It has become a constant companion on my bookshelf, a source of comfort and inspiration whenever I need it.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the power of the written word and the joy of discovery.

The American West has always been a source of inspiration for countless writers. One such celebrated Western writer has left an indelible mark with his essays that vividly描绘 the unique charm and allure of this vast region.

His works not only transport readers to the dusty plains, rugged mountains, and wide-open spaces of the West but also offer profound insights into the people, cultures, and history that have shaped it.

With his masterful pen, he brings to life the cowboys, ranchers, miners, and settlers who braved the harsh elements and built new lives in this untamed land.

His essays are a testament to the beauty, brutality, and resilience of the American West, and a must-read for anyone interested in this fascinating chapter of American history.

Whether you're a history buff, a literature lover, or simply someone who dreams of exploring the great outdoors, the essays of this celebrated Western writer are sure to captivate and inspire you.

I didn't manage to complete this collection of essays, but I did read a significant portion of this book during a 9-week road trip through the American west in 2017.

As we journeyed, I delved into a collection of essays by Wallace Stegner, a highly regarded and distinguished western writer, historian, and novelist of the 20th century. I have been thoroughly relishing his non-fiction works that explore the themes of wilderness, aridity (which is a defining characteristic of the American west), and western history.

His profound insights have provided me with some language and context to better understand my personal experiences of migration, which have been the impetus behind my questions regarding home and a sense of belonging. Moreover, at some level, they also assist in explaining the root causes of some of the homelessness that I have witnessed in California. It's truly fascinating how his words can offer such valuable perspectives and connections to my own observations and experiences during this remarkable road trip.

The book, subtitled "Living and Writing in the West", offers an accurate portrayal.

It is divided into three parts. The first part details Stegner's personal life in the West. The second part is a gentle critique of Western mythologies. Stegner, a long-time favorite for his straightforward speech and clear vision, doesn't disappoint here. He provides some excellent analysis of real Western life. There is a remarkable section on water rights, stockmen, and ranchers that seems incredibly prophetic considering the recent Malheur occupation.

The third part examines Western writers and their talents. It's a rather odd combination, but the book is clearly segmented, allowing readers to pick and choose what to read. Overall, it offers a comprehensive look at the West, both in terms of life and literature.

Stegner classifies the essays in this book into three parts.

Part I, titled “Personal,” I discovered to be extremely compelling and delightful to read. It is not dissimilar to his greatest novel, “Angle of Repose.”

Part II, “Habitat,” also brings joy if the reader, just like Stegner himself, has resided in and been in awe of The West.

Part III is most likely to resonate with readers who are familiar with the authors that Stegner analyzes and praises: Steinbeck, Stewart, Clark, McLean, and Berry.

Each part offers a unique perspective and engages the reader in different ways. The “Personal” section allows us to get a glimpse into Stegner's own life and experiences. The “Habitat” part showcases the beauty and significance of The West. And the third part provides in-depth insights into the works and contributions of some well-known authors.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in literature, the West, or the works of Wallace Stegner.

The first couple of chapters do a great job of clearly outlining what the American West is and what it aspires to become.

It presents the American West as an arid region, with an open and spatial nature, emphasizing movement rather than a fixed place.

This is my initial encounter with Stegner's work, and I'll definitely need to read a second piece before I can form a proper judgment on his writing style as a storyteller.

I'm intrigued by the way he describes the American West, and I'm looking forward to delving deeper into his stories to see how he develops the characters and the plot.

Overall, the first couple of chapters have piqued my interest and left me eager to explore more of Stegner's writing.

Stegner is truly one of the greats. His writing is remarkable not only for what he writes about but also for how he writes. The stories he tells and the way he weaves words together have a profound impact on the reader. Moreover, he has played a crucial role in teaching and mentoring many talented individuals along his journey. His influence has spread far and wide.

Stegner's work is of particular significance as he has created a whole new genre centered around the American West. His writings challenge us to view the West in fresh and appropriate ways. He doesn't just present a romanticized or one-sided view but delves deep into the complex history and culture of the region. Through his works, we gain valuable insights into our history, understanding the struggles, triumphs, and the unique spirit of the people who have inhabited the American West.

Wallace Stegner is my all-time favorite writer.

(Although sometimes I’ll say it’s John Steinbeck, depending on who I’ve read most recently.)

No one has a command of language like Stegner. His sentences are so beautifully crafted that I often find myself rereading them mid-paragraph just for the sheer pleasure of seeing how he strings words together.

I’ve read seven of his novels, and this collection of essays is my third and by far my favorite.

His essays are centered around his upbringing in the West, encompassing its climate, geography, and the people who have chosen to make it their home.

Time and again, he reminds us that the unifying characteristic of the West is aridity. He warns that damming its rivers to water our expanding suburbs and irrigate our non-native lawns will lead to trouble in the long term.

As I was reading this, the devastating floods in California were making headlines. I was astonished to realize that many of the causes, such as the urban sprawl that has outgrown its irrigation infrastructure, were precisely the things that the prescient Stegner had been writing about decades ago.

The last several essays in this collection focus more on writing. In fact, most of them are literary reviews of Western writers.

He reviews a Steinbeck short story called “Flight” that I’d never heard of before. His essay about George R. Stewart’s works, especially “Names on the Land,” is almost a gushing love letter.

Although I saw “A River Runs Through It,” I never knew that Norman Maclean was a 70-year-old retired English teacher when he published it.

I also added Walter Clark and Wendell Berry to my to-read shelf. If Stegner loves their works, I’m likely to as well.

READ IT IF: You love Stegner. If you’ve never read him, I recommend starting with “Crossing to Safety” or “Big Rock Candy Mountain.”

This book is a remarkable collection of essays that vividly showcases the extensive and diverse interests as well as the rich background of author Wallace Stegner.

He spent a significant portion of his life in the American West, and this experience serves as a unifying thread that weaves through all of these writings.

For those readers who have delved into Stegner's novels, he provides additional and valuable insights into how the places he inhabited had a profound impact on several of his most renowned works.

Stegner also holds firm views on some common mythologies of the West. He points out that the stereotype of the lonesome and independent cowboy does not accurately align with what was required for success during the past one hundred and fifty years as Americans settled in the West.

For Americans who have not lived in the West, Stegner offers a reality check. He describes how the arid nature of most of the west has significantly affected the possibilities for work and life in most of the western regions.

Although all of these essays were penned over thirty years ago, his views on conservation and habitat were remarkably prescient. They remain highly relevant today, especially as we witness the dramatic impact that droughts and wildfires have had in recent years.

His first essay, "Finding the Place," details how his experiences as part of a family that rarely settled in one place and had a penchant for migration had a profound and lasting impact on his life.

The two places where his family did remain for several years, Saskatchewan and Salt Lake City, solidified his deep attachment to the west.

He notes how he continued the pattern of mobility from his childhood in the early years of his careers in writing and university teaching. However, he eventually decided to settle in the west at Stanford in Palo Alto after a teaching stint at Harvard.

The second work in the book is a touching letter to his mother, written fifty-five years after her passing. In the letter, he makes it abundantly clear that she had been a profound influence on him. Characters similar to her are prominent in his quasi-autobiographical novels The Big Rock Candy Mountain and Recapitulation.

In this essay, he poignantly states, "You are at once a lasting presence and an unhealed wound." Later, he writes, "I began this rumination in a dark mood... already you have cheered me up. I have said that you didn't die and you didn't. I can still hear you being cheerful on the slightest provocation..."

The middle of the book predominantly focuses on the west and the dramatic impact that its desert character and general lack of water (aridity) have had and will continue to have on its inhabitants.

These facts significantly influence the cities in the west and their desperate need to find and safeguard water supplies. Stegner was a passionate advocate for conservation, and much of his advice emphasizes the importance of facing the reality of these lands and not indulging in fantasies about possibilities that might work in areas like the midwest and eastern US but are completely unsuitable in the desert regions of the west.

Stegner also dedicates several essays to other western writers and highlights the challenges they have all faced as they attempt to convey the experiences of their life and times, which often do not translate well for many readers from other parts of the United States and even Europe.

Finally, the last essay, "Ruminations About the Art of Fiction," is likely to be of great interest to both other writers and those readers who have relished Stegner's novels.

Here, he writes candidly about the differences between autobiography and fictionalized works that draw on one's life. He penned this essay shortly after completing his final novel Crossing to Safety and makes some fascinating points about how he deeply mined his life experiences for the book while still creating fiction that deviated from some particulars about the four lead characters.

I highly recommend this novel to readers for numerous reasons. It is rare for a writer at the peak of their powers to create a narrative that draws on so much life experience and compels the reader to reflect on their own lives and the extent to which they have been able to stay true to their moral compasses and achieve even a fraction of their younger hopes and dreams.

Even better, Stegner delves deeply into friendships and marriages and explores what it takes to sustain them over a long period of time. At the close of this essay, he compares autobiography and fiction and concludes by saying, "Either way, if you have done it right, it's true."

I began reading this book in a beachside setting in Maine and completed my reading at home approximately three weeks later. This book exudes a strong sense of place and may prompt readers to explore their own backgrounds and contemplate how they have been shaped by the places they have lived and cherish.

In a similar vein, this book also discusses people in general and writers in particular, and some of these essays examine the profound impact they can have on us.

I have read two of Stegner's novels, namely Big Rock Candy Mountain and Crossing to Safety, and both of them were incredibly good, to the extent that they had a life-changing impact on me. These are the kinds of books that I still think about even after many years.

When I discovered this compilation of his writings in the thrift store, I immediately grabbed it because I had a strong sense that I had a great deal more to learn from him. And, as it turns out, I was absolutely right.

In these essays, we gain insights into his early, migratory life. We learn about the way in which the West and its culture became his home. Western writing is the subject of many of the essays. I truly enjoyed reading his thoughts about other Western writers and their contributions. I finished this book with a genuine feeling that I wanted to delve even deeper into the canon of Western novels, given how deeply I have already been moved by what I have read so far. His command of language is truly masterful. To be honest, at times I was almost bewildered by his use of language - it was so eloquent and, at times, rambling that I would have to pause and allow my brain to process what he was saying. I also liked learning about the establishment of the governmental authorities that have been created to help protect our planet, and I especially appreciated his own unique perspective on how the Mormon pioneers had a significant impact on the West, both in small and large ways, as well as in an overarching sense.

Since it isn't a novel, it took me a bit longer to read, but I am glad that I persevered.

In Stegner's own words to match the landscape:

Vibrant wide angle view of the West and its forever enchantment to those of us who live here and those who wish they did!

The West, as described by Stegner, is a place of breathtaking beauty and allure. It is a land that stretches out before our eyes in a vibrant wide angle view, captivating our hearts and minds. The forever enchantment of the West is felt not only by those of us who are fortunate enough to call it home but also by those who long to experience its magic.

Whether it's the majestic mountains that rise up in the distance, the vast plains that seem to go on forever, or the colorful sunsets that paint the sky, the West has a way of making us feel small and yet a part of something much larger. It is a place that inspires us, challenges us, and makes us believe in the impossible.

Stegner's words truly capture the essence of the West and its ability to touch the souls of all who encounter it.

I don't think I was well suited to this one.

It is indeed technically proficient, but unfortunately, I saw very little that truly interested me.

The ecology described seemed rather obvious, and his romanticization of the West was similar to the way he accused others of doing.

He decried what others were doing, yet failed to acknowledge that he was simply advocating a smaller scale of the same thing.

Frankly speaking, it sounded a bit too much like the "get off my lawn" attitude, and it seemed as if he wanted newcomers to leave him alone in his so-called paradise.

The piece on his mom was probably the best among them, but still seemed pretty cliché.

The pieces on the authors were almost all about works that were unknown to me.

That can often work, but in this case, he didn't manage to interest me or convey enough of a sense that I should care.

The one author I knew, I already wasn't fond of.

That's probably a sign, albeit one that came rather late.

All in all, the article is put together well, but I found very little reason to keep reading it.