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Acid West
Acid West: Essays | Joshua Wheeler
4 posts | 4 read | 10 to read
A rollicking debut book of essays that takes readers on a trip through the muck of American myths that have settled in the desert of our countrys underbelly Early on July 16, 1945, Joshua Wheelers great grandfather awoke to a flash, and then a long rumble: the worlds first atomic blast filled the horizon north of his ranch in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Out on the range, the cattle had been bleached white by the fallout. Acid West, Wheelers stunning debut collection of essays, is full of these mutated cows: vestiges of the Old West that have been transformed, suddenly and irrevocably, by innovation. Traversing the New Mexico landscape his family has called home for seven generations, Wheeler excavates and reexamines these oddities, assembling a cabinet of narrative curiosities: a man who steps from the stratosphere and free-falls to the desert; a treasure hunt for buried Atari video games; a village plagued by the legacy of atomic testing; a showdown between Billy the Kid and the author of Ben-Hur; a UFO festival during the paranoid Summer of Snowden. The radical evolution of American identity, from cowboys to drone warriors to space explorers, is a story rooted in southern New Mexico. Acid West illuminates this history, clawing at the bounds of genre to reveal a place that is, for better or worse, home. By turns intimate, absurd, and frightening, Acid West is an enlightening deep-dive into a prophetic desert at the bottom of America.
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quote
AlaMich
Acid West: Essays | Joshua Wheeler
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The abuses compound and still they love their country. I get the sense there is no other choice. A patriot makes a conscious sacrifice. A victim, on the other hand, is powerless. It is a remarkable contortion to call your involuntary exposure to an atomic blast a sacrifice, but when your whole life has been a struggle against powerlessness, you bend to keep from breaking. ⬇️

AlaMich On the “downwinders,” residents—and descendants of residents—of the area around the Trinity nuclear bomb test site in New Mexico, July 16, 1945. 6y
41 likes1 comment
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AlaMich
Acid West: Essays | Joshua Wheeler
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First line:

Beyond Deadman Canyon but just this side of Purgatory Canyon lies the Sleeping Lady. I watch her from the yard of the haunted house where I‘ve been staying since coming home again like I can‘t quit doing because I can‘t quit leaving.

You have me, Joshua Wheeler.

Leftcoastzen I picked this up,maybe I should go back and get it 6y
AlaMich @Leftcoastzen I haven‘t read much yet, but he writes beautifully. I feel as though I am in New Mexico. 6y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Count me in. 6y
See All 7 Comments
Centique Oooh this sounds interesting! Have you read this @Reggie ? 6y
AlaMich @Centique It is very interesting! Each essay deals with an aspect of southern NM, such as the atomic bomb test, UFOs and Roswell, and other less famous or personal things. @Reggie 6y
Reggie @Centique I have not but I‘m stacking it. I‘m from a small between the Aliens in Roswell and the bats in Carlsbad so it sounds fun. Stacked. (edited) 6y
ApplesandSpindles Great opening! Sold! 6y
38 likes3 stack adds7 comments
review
Kristy_K
Acid West: Essays | Joshua Wheeler
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Pickpick

A book of essays about New Mexico, I found this entertaining and unique. Wheeler explores all the people, places, and stories that make New Mexico what it is. There are some oddities and interesting facts although parts of it I felt lagged. Overall an enjoyable experience though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc #essays #nonfiction

57 likes2 stack adds
blurb
Liberty
Acid West: Essays | Joshua Wheeler
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Holy book mail, Batman! 📚 📬❤️

LeahBergen That‘s impressive. 7y
blondie Awesome!🖤🖤 7y
151 likes2 stack adds2 comments