Description
Book SynopsisSince World War II, the American West has become the nation's military arsenal, proving ground, and disposal site. Through a wide-ranging discussion of recent literature produced in and about the West,
Dirty Wars explores how the region's iconic landscapes, invested with myths of national virtue, have obscured the West's crucial role in a post-World War II age of ""permanent war"".
Trade Review"This meticulous, well-informed study should prove valuable to multiple fields, including American and western American literatures, American studies, and ecocriticism."—S. K. Bernardin,
CHOICE"
Dirty Wars is a profoundly ambitious book showcasing John Beck's considerable scholarly and critical abilities."—Bill D. Toth,
Western American Literature"
Dirty Wars should be of interest to readers in a variety of specialties, not only contemporary American literature but also environmental history, military history, Western history, cultural studies, and, of course, American studies."—Michael L. Johnson,
American StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Dirty Wars1. The Purloined Landscape2. The Prehistory of the Permanent War Economy3. Dust Breeding: Narratives of Inter(n)ment4. Learning from Los Alamos5. Gridlocked and Homeless6. Loomings: Dread in West Texas7. After Nature: Gothic Contamination8. After Nature Writing9. The West as Cold War Museum10. The Fringe of EmpireConclusion: Endless WarNotesIndex
