How to Cuss in Western

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What to expect

Where nature writing meets humor—a raucous, hilarious look at life in the high desert of Nevada, from the author of Raising Wild and Rants from the Hill

Edward Abbey encouraged his readers to “be loyal to what you love, be true to the Earth, and fight your enemies with passion and laughter.” Here is Michael Branch’s response. Full of clear-eyed explorations of the natural world, witty cultural observations, and heart-warming family connections, How to Cuss in Western is a cranky and hilarious love letter of sorts to the western Great Basin Desert of Nevada.

Critics Review

  • “Not long ago, Mike Branch was a respected academic, one of the founders of ecocriticism, before he shed that old skin and emerged anew as a kind of Thoreau in Groucho glasses. That emergence has been a delight for readers, who find both laughter and wisdom in the words of this Western ranter, perched high in his desert home in Nevada, up on Ranting Hill, where he worships a divine troika of family, humor, and place. In his always-engaging essays, we encounter sage and pronghorn, juniper and sandstone, but also garden gnomes, the art of wheel waving, casual strolls to California, Muppets, and a deep meditation on flatulence. A book that could proudly sit on any Western shelf next to Austin’s or Abbey’s.”

    David Gessner, author of All the Wild That Remains

  • “By turns hilarious and thought-provoking, Branch’s collection will not disappoint.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “Michael Branch is a master of iconoclastic irony and gifted with a unique and compelling storytelling style that will keep the reader’s riveted attention throughout.”

    Midwest Book Review

  • “In [Branch’s] always-engaging essays, we encounter sage and pronghorns, juniper and sandstone, but also garden gnomes, the art of wheel waving, casual strolls to California, Muppets, and a deep meditation on flatulence. A book that could proudly sit on any western shelf next to Austin’s or Abbey’s.”

    David Gessner, author of All the Wild That Remains

  • “In How to Cuss in Western, Michael P. Branch once again offers his readers a companionable journey into the remote places he loves so we might share in the unique joy and humor he finds there.”

    S. M. Hulse, author of Black River

  • “If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he’d write like this.”

    High Country News

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