Lasso the Wind

Away to the New West

By: Timothy Egan

Narrated by: John McLain

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Winner of the Mountains and Plains Book Seller's Association Award

"They have tried to tame it, shave it, fence it, cut it, dam it, drain it, nuke it, poison it, pave it, and subdivide it," writes Timothy Egan of the West; still, "this region's hold on the American character has never seemed stronger." In this colorful and revealing journey through the eleven states west of the 100th meridian, Egan, a third-generation westerner, evokes a lovely and troubled country where land is religion and the holy war between preservers and possessors never ends.

Egan leads us on an unconventional, freewheeling tour: from America's oldest continuously inhabited community, the Ancoma Pueblo in New Mexico, to the high kitsch of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where London Bridge has been painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone; from the fragile beauty of Idaho's Bitterroot Range to the gross excess of Las Vegas, a city built as though in defiance of its arid environment. In a unique blend of travel writing, historical reflection, and passionate polemic, Egan has produced a moving study of the West: how it became what it is, and where it is going.

©1998 Timothy P. Egan (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Sprawling in scope.... Mr. Egan uses the past powerfully to explain and give dimension to the present." ( The New York Times)

"Fine reportage... honed and polished until it reads more like literature than journalism." ( Los Angeles Times)

Worth the listen except for ...

This is a good and important story. But I was surprised he did not cover anything going in the Seattle area. I've been a fan of Eagan but like others here this narrator just did not seem a good, quite a few mispronunciations and his cowboy demeanor seemed out of place even though it was about the west.

Stereotypical Cowboy Voice

The narrator seemed to put on a "cowboy" voice and lilt which I found annoying. Several Native words were mispronounced,thos discredited the narrator to me.
The book itself was good, but very outdated. It is a book about the "new" West but it's nearly 30 years old. Nevertheless, it is extremely interesting. I really liked the one chapter, one city format.

Engaging

Love Timothy Egan's work. well researched and easy to digest. Great way to hear history come alive.

Visual descriptions. Positive accounts concerning native Americans.

This story covers a lot of territory. I like locating on the map the places reader describes and quotes from famous explorers who have gone before.

Worst Narrator Ever

written as a loose history of the American West. Well crafted by Tim Eagan as usual. I hated the narrator. will never listen to another of this narrators books.