In the Sierra Madre

Jeff Biggers author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Illinois Press

Published:27th Jul '07

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

In the Sierra Madre cover

The stunning history of legendary Copper Canyon treasure seekers and enigmatic natives

A history of legendary Copper Canyon treasure seekers and enigmatic natives. This book offers a look into the ways of the resilient indigenous culture in the Americas, the exploits of Mexican mountaineers, and the parade of argonauts and accidental travelers who have journeyed into the Sierra Madre over centuries.

A stunning history of legendary treasure seekers and enigmatic natives in Mexico's Copper Canyon

Based on his one-year sojourn in Copper Canyon among the Raramuri/Tarahumara, award-winning journalist Jeff Biggers offers a rare look into the ways of the most resilient indigenous culture in the Americas, the exploits of Mexican mountaineers, and the fascinating parade of argonauts and accidental travelers who have journeyed into the Sierra Madre over centuries. From African explorers, Bohemian friars, Confederate and Irish war deserters, French poets, Boer and Russian commandos, Apache and Mennonite communities, bewildered archaeologists, addled writers, and legendary characters including Antonin Artaud, Henry Flipper, B. Traven, Sergei Eisenstein, George Patton, Geronimo, and Pancho Villa, Biggers uncovers the remarkable treasures of the Sierra Madre.

“Half a century after the release of the film, Jeff Biggers brings home the true treasure of the Sierra Madre: its stories. Biggers weaves a tapestry of intertwined tales that sheds light on this little-known region. Warm-hearted and compassionate, these stories bring to life the Raramuri.” --Michael Shapiro, author of A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk about Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration
 
“Once every generation a book comes along that captures the stunning terrain and hidden life of Mexico’s remote western Sierra Madre. In the Sierra Madre is that book for this generation. Jeff Biggers has seen the strange and remarkable that the rest of us can only imagine.”--Tom Miller, author of The Panama Hat Trail and On the Border
 
"Jeff Biggers has the keenest eye in the business, and he has a fine, luminous voice to tell you what he has seen. This is a welcome addition to western and Mexican letters. Biggers manages to write like a poet, a historian, a naturalist, and an adventurer. His pages are burnished and alive, and I admire his work. You need to read this one soon."--Luis Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter and The Devil's Highway
"An astonishing sojourn into a remote region."--Booklist
"In the Sierra Madre introduces us to a host of idiosyncratic customs, numerous unforgettable characters, and situations that only a traveler of this ilk could manage. Biggers is the quintessential observer, with the eye and voice of a poet."--San Antonio Express-News
"Award-winning writer Jeff Biggers'. . . . new book In the Sierra Madre is a worthy addition to that shelf of books on the Mother Mountains of Sonora and Chihuahua. . . . In the Sierra Madre tells the story of becoming part of a new and different place, if only for a short while, and what can be learned about not only other people, but yourself, if you strip away most of the trappings of the so-called modern world and focus on what's really important: work, friends, music, a little beer not and then, and a connection to a landscape as it was before technology took over. . . . In the Sierra Madre is a sweet and perceptive book, filled with empathy, respect and kindness."--Tucson Weekly
"Jeff Biggers, as demonstrated here, is a journalist of considerable talent."--Journal of Arizona History
"An interesting and informative look at one of Mexico's last untouched regions."--New Mexico Historical Review

  • Winner of <DIV>Winner of the Gold medal in the Travel Essays Category for the 2006 <I>ForeWord</I> Book of the Year Awards contest.</DIV> 2006

ISBN: 9780252074998

Dimensions: 229mm x 146mm x 13mm

Weight: 286g

208 pages