An epic study of an emblematic American region by one of our most celebrated writers
It sprawls across a stinking artificial sea, across the deserts, date groves, and labor camps of southeastern California, right across the Mexican border. For generations of migrant workers, from Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s to Mexican laborers today, Imperial County has held the promise of paradise - and the reality of hell. It is a land beautiful and harsh, enticing and deadly, rich in history and heartbreak. Across the border, the desert is the same but there are different secrets. In Imperial, award-winning writer William T. Vollmann takes us deep into the heart of this haunted region, and by extension into the dark soul of American imperialism.
Known for his penetrating meditations on poverty and violence, Vollmann has spent ten years doggedly investigating every facet of this bi-national locus, raiding archives, exploring polluted rivers, guarded factories, and Chinese tunnels, talking with everyone from farmers to border patrolmen in his search for the fading American dream and its Mexican equivalent. The result is a majestic book that addresses current debates on immigration, agribusiness, and corporate exploitation, issues that will define America's identity in the twenty-first century.
It sprawls across a stinking artificial sea, across the deserts, date groves, and labor camps of southeastern California, right across the Mexican border. For generations of migrant workers, from Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s to Mexican laborers today, Imperial County has held the promise of paradise - and the reality of hell. It is a land beautiful and harsh, enticing and deadly, rich in history and heartbreak. Across the border, the desert is the same but there are different secrets. In Imperial, award-winning writer William T. Vollmann takes us deep into the heart of this haunted region, and by extension into the dark soul of American imperialism.
Known for his penetrating meditations on poverty and violence, Vollmann has spent ten years doggedly investigating every facet of this bi-national locus, raiding archives, exploring polluted rivers, guarded factories, and Chinese tunnels, talking with everyone from farmers to border patrolmen in his search for the fading American dream and its Mexican equivalent. The result is a majestic book that addresses current debates on immigration, agribusiness, and corporate exploitation, issues that will define America's identity in the twenty-first century.
Used availability for William T Vollmann's Imperial
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
August 2009 : Hardback
| Title: Imperial: Photographs Author(s): William T. Vollmann ISBN: 1-57687-489-3 / 9781576874899 (USA edition) Publisher: powerHouse Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
July 2009 : Hardback
| Title: Imperial Author(s): William T. Vollmann ISBN: 0-670-02061-3 / 978-0-670-02061-4 (USA, AU, or UK edition) Publisher: Viking Adult Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
October 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Imperial Author(s): William Vollmann ISBN: 0-14-311840-4 / 978-0-14-311840-4 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
January 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Imperial Author(s): William T. Vollmann ISBN: 1-84688-096-3 / 9781846880964 (UK edition) Publisher: Alma Books Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
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