Rating: 
Summary: Who owns Western land ?
Review: In general this book explores the character of the West and considers opinions about who owns it. For the most part, Egan writes about the mountain states. Much of the text consists of clear and gripping accounts of historical events that capture the forces motivating people to grab a piece of the west, e.g., money, personal freedom, love of wilderness. One brilliant aspect of the book is that Egan can simultaneously present facts, editorial comment and provide a lucid picture of what is valuable about Western lands. I'll underline the thrust of one thread of Egan's book: Much of the West consists of federally owned lands that are the property of all americans, whether they live in urban areas or not, whether they are "latte-sipping weanies" or third-generation ranchers. This is no "liberal urbanite " bias this is a fact. The best evidence of political bias is found in the history of tax-payer-subsidized resource extraction on federal lands. This massive, decades-old rip-off has lined the pockets of conservative politicians and their mining, logging and ranching buddies, not liberal urbanites.
Rating:
Summary: Egan gets to the point.
Review: Not until after I finished Egan's Lasso the Wind did I realize how fast the book went. Egan is the rare writer who can easily combine a meaningful and entertaining story. OK then a well-written story explains why the book went fast. Or maybe the fast pace is due the fact that Egan covers some 11 western states in the span of 250 pages. The book's tempo seems to come from someone who lives in New York, New York. I wonder if Egan has been making too many trips to The New York Times corporate office to pitch stories to his editor. Its probably not a coincidence that the author takes advantage of the 'no speed limits' to rocket through a stretch of Montana, only to get the attention of a state trooper. Driving habits aside, Egan manages to get in touch with the heart of issues that are unique to the Western states. I enjoyed really getting to see these special places through his eyes. Throughout the book, Egan sees the West with a candid and objective eye, but always remains hopeful. An excerpt from the end of the book on California really depicts Egan's thinking of the West: 'But every Westerner should look at California's story; as it turns out, it is their own history and the fount of most of their follies, a mirror across the Sierra. Radically altering the land, living on phony myths, ignoring the best features or trying to kill them. And it is Western glory in its own fine way: a new society, with a tolerance of fledgling souls, embracing the possible. What is different is that California has done it all faster, with more excess and greater consequence than any other Western state. To believe California is dead, then, is to believe that the West is dead, or soon will be. I cannot.'
Rating:
Summary: Egan gets to the point.
Review: Not until after I finished Egan�s Lasso the Wind did I realize how fast the book went. Egan is the rare writer who can easily combine a meaningful and entertaining story. OK then a well-written story explains why the book went fast. Or maybe the fast pace is due the fact that Egan covers some 11 western states in the span of 250 pages. The book�s tempo seems to come from someone who lives in New York, New York. I wonder if Egan has been making too many trips to The New York Times corporate office to pitch stories to his editor. Its probably not a coincidence that the author takes advantage of the �no speed limits� to rocket through a stretch of Montana, only to get the attention of a state trooper. Driving habits aside, Egan manages to get in touch with the heart of issues that are unique to the Western states. I enjoyed really getting to see these special places through his eyes. Throughout the book, Egan sees the West with a candid and objective eye, but always remains hopeful. An excerpt from the end of the book on California really depicts Egan�s thinking of the West: �But every Westerner should look at California�s story; as it turns out, it is their own history and the fount of most of their follies, a mirror across the Sierra. Radically altering the land, living on phony myths, ignoring the best features or trying to kill them. And it is Western glory in its own fine way: a new society, with a tolerance of fledgling souls, embracing the possible. What is different is that California has done it all faster, with more excess and greater consequence than any other Western state. To believe California is dead, then, is to believe that the West is dead, or soon will be. I cannot.�
Rating:
Summary: A tapestry of words, a mosaic of stories, touching reality
Review: The best book I have read this year. Call me sentimental but I cried as I turned the last page of this book. We in Seattle are blessed with having probably the three best "travel" writers in America today: Egan, Jonathan Raban and John Krakauer. Egan is probably the most expressive of the three and he sows his words and sentences together to create a tapestry of the American West that is as true a picture in less than 250 pages that I have ever read. Not to disparage another writer, but I read Lasso the Wind right after completing An Empire Wilderness which basically covers the same territory. There is no comparison in style, insight or emotional involvement. Having just completed a swing around the Northwest quadrant of America on an extended camping trip I can associate with every footstep the author took in gathering his material. Hopefully this book will create the awareness that is needed to save us from "progress"
Rating: 
Summary: Well done!
Review: Timothy Egan has expanded his entertaining essays geographically from the Northwest (The Good Rain) to the "Real West" in Lasso the Wind. First of all, his definition of the West is dead on - it's not California, it's not Texas, and it's not Oregon or Washington (at least West of the Cascades). The snapshot stories gathered here give a caption on past and present life in this region. Very well written. Having visited many of the same places, I found myself agreeing with his view of the destruction and development of the West. Enjoy this book - Egan should now be regarded as one of the voices and defenders of the West. Let's hope more people listen.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: Timothy Egan has expanded his entertaining essays geographically from the Northwest (The Good Rain) to the "Real West" in Lasso the Wind. First of all, his definition of the West is dead on - it's not California, it's not Texas, and it's not Oregon or Washington (at least West of the Cascades). The snapshot stories gathered here give a caption on past and present life in this region. Very well written. Having visited many of the same places, I found myself agreeing with his view of the destruction and development of the West. Enjoy this book - Egan should now be regarded as one of the voices and defenders of the West. Let's hope more people listen.
Rating:
Summary: A suberb job!
Review: With his mixture of current topical events and delvings into forgotten or buried frontier history (the Mormon massacre of the Arkansas pilgrims was a shocker to me), Egan delivers an excellently written, witty and informative exploration of several towns in the Southwest and Northwest. His reporting on important environmental issues - specifically the abuse of water rights, dam building and river water diversion - are what makes this book one of the more important ones for anyone who cares about the future of American cities and their inhabitants.
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