There are times when nations are no longer sure of what they are and what their purpose is, and for America 2004 was such a time. For 200 years America was the hope and role model of the democratic world, but now America is failing in this role. The national myths-the stories, heroes, self-images, and social values-that have guided America from the beginning are now misleading and failing us. Our heroic self-image tricked us into disasters in Vietnam and Iraq. Our frontier experience has left us refusing to face environmental limits. Our individualistic values have left us unwilling to care about one another as a people. Basic questions of national identity ran strong in the 2004 presidential campaign. Mything in Action uses the campaign to explore America's guiding myths in action in the most iconic places in the American imagination: Lexington and Concord on the 4th of July, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, a Mark Twain riverboat town, a Wild West town, and John Wayne's hometown. Mything in Action is a unique, literary exploration of American history, culture, and politics, offering a deeper analysis of America's difficulties than the usual partisan polemics.

Mything in Action: American Identity Lost and Searched for in the 2004 Election

Politics & Social Sciences

Lago, Don

Anthropology

iUniverse

The Grand Canyon has long inspired deep emotions and responses. For the Native Americans who lived there, the canyon was home, full of sacred meanings. For the first European settlers to see it, the canyon drove them to great exploration adventures and Wild West dreams of wealth. The canyon also held deep importance for America’s pioneer conservationists such as Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold, and it played a central role in the emerging environmental movement. The Grand Canyon became a microcosm of the history and evolving values of the National Park Service, long conflicted between encouraging tourism and protecting nature. Many vivid characters shaped the canyon’s past. Its largest story is one of cultural history and changing American visions of the land. Grand Canyon: A History of a Natural Wonder and National Park is a mixture of great storytelling, unlikely characters, and important ideas. The book will appeal to both general readers and scholars interested in seeking a broader understanding of the canyon.

Grand Canyon: A History of a Natural Wonder and National Park (America's National Parks)

History

Americas

University of Nevada Press

When his father developed Alzheimer’s disease, Don Lago realized that the stories and traditions of his Swedish ancestors would be lost along with the rest of his father’s memories. Haunted by this inevitable tragedy, Lago set out to fight back against forgetting by researching and reclaiming his long-lost Scandinavian roots.
Beginning his quest with a visit to his ancestral home of Gränna, Sweden, Lago explores all facets of Scandinavian America—Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Icelandic—along the way. He encounters Icelanders living in the Utah desert, a Titanic victim buried beneath a gigantic Swedish coffee pot in Iowa, an Arkansas town named after the famous Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, a real-life Legoland in southern California, and other unique remnants of America’s Scandinavian past. Visits to Sigurd Olson’s legendary cabin on the banks of Burntside Lake in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and Carl Sandburg’s birthplace in Galesburg, Illinois, further provide Lago with an acute sense of the Scandinavian values that so greatly influenced, and continue to influence, American society.
More than just a travel memoir, On the Viking Trail places Scandinavian immigrants and their history within the wider sweep of American culture. Lago’s perceptive eye and amusing tales remind readers of all ethnic backgrounds that to truly appreciate America one must never forget its immigrant past.

On the Viking Trail: Travels in Scandinavian America

Historical Study & Educational Resources

University Of Iowa Press

The Apollo moon landings offered a profound vision of the tiny, living Earth contrasted with the dead moon and empty space. Now, for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, comes a lyrical exploration of the contrast between a world that remained dead and a world that became alive and reached out to explore the chaos from which it had arisen. The Shadows Moving in the Moon's Skull Eyes tells the story of Apollo 11 from the moon's viewpoint, as if the craters could see. It offers none of the usual political, technological, or personal contexts of Apollo but sees the astronauts as astonishing forms amid formlessness, motion amid stillness, life amid death, consciousness amid obliviousness. This bold, poetic work of creative nonfiction celebrates the universe's creation of order, and the living Earth.

The Shadows Moving in the Moon's Skull Eyes: A Vision of Apollo XI

Science & Math

Astronomy & Space Science

Livingston Pr

The most incredible, unbelievable, wild, weird, fun, fascinating, and true facts about Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon is full of wonder--and so is this book. Here you will find the biggest and smallest, longest and shortest, first and last, weirdest and wildest, and the who, what, and where of the Grand Canyon. From rim to rim with the canyon and river in between, Grand Canyon Trivia offers something fascinating, fun, and little known about everything. Take it on a hike, pack it in your raft, carry it on a mule, or enjoy it around a campfire. You can even use it to quiz your companions and play a trivia game. These trivial trifles, treasures, and treats will keep you laughing, learning, and guessing. It's fun-tastic! Great for curious kids, inquisitive visitors, and inquiring hikers, and smart travelers.

Grand Canyon Trivia

Travel

Food, Lodging & Transportation

Riverbend

The most incredible, unbelievable, wild, weird, fun, fascinating, and true facts about Death Valley National Park. Death Valley National Park is full of wonder - and so is this book. Here you will find the biggest and smallest, longest and shortest, first and last, weirdest and wildest, and the who, what, and where of Death Valley. From Telescope Peak to Badwater Basin and everything in between, Death Valley Trivia offers something fascinating, fun, and little known about the area's landscapes, geology, plants, wildlife, weather, explorers, prospectors, outlaws, celebrities - and more. Carry it on a hike, read it in your car, and take it home to enjoy again and again. Play a Death Valley trivia game with family and friends! These trivial trifles, treasures, and treats will keep you laughing, learning, and guessing. It's fun-tastic!

Death Valley Trivia

Reference

The most incredible, unbelievable, wild, weird, fun, fascinating, and true facts about Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks are full of wonder -- and so is this book. Here you will find the biggest and smallest, longest and shortest, first and last, weirdest and wildest, and the who, what, and where of Zion and Bryce Canyon. In this book you'll discover which tree puts out 48 million seeds, what animal jumps the length of a bus, and which bird flies at 200 miles per hour. You'll meet a 90-pound rodent and the world's smallest snail. You'll hear the stories of Native Americans, pioneers, adventurers, artists, and movie stars. You'll find legends and history, lists and jokes, and hundreds of facts you may find hard to believe -- but that's only because Zion and Bryce Canyon are so unbelievable!

Zion & Bryce Canyon Trivia

The Grand Canyon—long recognized as one of North America’s premier natural wonders—has stirred human imagination and creativity, leaving an indelible mark on all who have encountered its spectacular vistas and intricate landscapes. Stories of the canyon’s early inhabitants to its modern day visitors are as varied and deep as the canyon’s cliffs. In 1928 astronomer Edwin Hubble came to the canyon to test it as a site for the world’s greatest observatory. In the 1960s the Apollo astronauts hiked into the canyon to learn geology in preparation for lunar explorations. Famous writers and poets have looked to the canyon to find the meanings of nature and God. Dreamers turned a 1909 newspaper hoax into an elaborate myth about ancient Egyptian tombs in the canyon. Canyon of Dreams tells these and other stories, including that of Brighty the burro, who inspired a classic children’s novel, and the story of a teenaged Roger Miller, who spent a summer living in a trailer and “pushin’ broom” at the canyon, leading to his song “King of the Road.” Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst’s fight against the National Park Service to retain property he owned on the canyon rim is another illuminating tale. Despite being little known in the official annals of Grand Canyon history, the fight served as a pivotal moment in the much broader struggle between promoters of wilderness conquest and those advocating for preservation. This eclectic compilation runs the gamut from the idiosyncratic to the landmark, the mythical to the empirical, and everything in between. The narratives are captivating and sure to appeal to readers interested in the Grand Canyon’s long and complex history. The work is thoroughly researched and will prove a valuable contribution to historical scholarship. Canyon of Dreams sheds light on many obscure aspects of the canyon and takes readers on rollicking adventures in the process.

Canyon of Dreams: Stories from Grand Canyon History

University of Utah Press

The Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic tourist destinations in America and a testament to the power of nature. At its bottom, the Colorado River weaves its way through Arizona. The canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep. Native Americans have inhabited the walls of the canyon and the area around it for thousands of years, making it a location rich in human history as well as geological history. In this young reader s book, the author lays out the history of the Grand Canyon in its many facets. He includes geological and volcanic history, ecological history, human history, and its history as an attraction. By weaving these all together, the author allows the reader to better understand the mile-deep canyon weaving its way through the Southwest.

All about the Grand Canyon (All About...People)

Children's Books

Blue River Press

The landscapes of the American Southwest—the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Sedona red rocks—have long filled humans with wonder about nature. This is the home of Lowell Observatory, where astronomers first discovered evidence that the universe is expanding; Meteor Crater, where Apollo astronauts trained for the moon; and Native American tribes with their own ancient, rich ways of relating to the cosmos. With the personal, poetic style of the very best literary nature writing, Don Lago explores how these landscapes have offered humans a deeper sense of connection with the universe. While most nature writing never leaves the ground, Lago is one of the few writers who has applied it to the universe, seeking ties between humans and the astronomical forces that gave us birth. Nowhere else in the world is the link between earth and sky so powerful. Lago witnesses a solar eclipse over the Grand Canyon, climbs primeval volcanos, and sees the universe in tree rings. Through ageless Native American ceremonies, modern telescopes, and even dreams of flying saucers, Lago, who is not only a poet but a true philosopher of science, strives to find order and meaning in the world and brings out the Southwest’s beauty and mystery.

Where the Sky Touched the Earth: The Cosmological Landscapes of the Southwest

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Books by Lago, Don