Imperial

By William T. Vollmann

Subjects: California, description and travel, Mexicans -- California -- Imperial County -- History, Immigrants -- California -- Imperial County -- Social conditions, Mexicans -- California -- Imperial County -- Social conditions, Migrant agricultural laborers, Immigrants, Nonfiction, California, history, Pictorial works, Imperial County (Calif.) -- Social conditions, Migrant agricultural laborers -- California -- Imperial County -- Social conditions, Mexico, description and travel, Photographs, Immigrants -- California -- Imperial County -- History, Social life and customs, Social conditions, California, social conditions, History, Mexicans, Migrant agricultural laborers -- California -- Imperial County -- History

Description: An epic study of an emblematic American region by one of our most celebrated writersIt 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...