Book Review: "Brave New West. Morphing Moab at the Speed of Greed," by Jim Stiles

University of Arizona Press, 2007. Illustrated paperback. $19.95. (see Books page)

Exerpts of a review by Martin Murie; the full review is in Mountain Gazette, No. 132, 2007.

"Brave New West" might be one of those books that arrive at the right time, right place. Because we are at a crossroads. In fact, I'd venture to say we passed that fork in the road some time ago and are now roaring along the road to hell.

Jim Stiles loved Moab, the funky little town lost in the desert ... He worked at Arches National Park as a seasonal ranger, drew unemployment pay during the winters, then decided to start his own journal, The Canyon Country Zephyr ... I don't remember how I happened upon the Zephyr, but I liked the wide-open style and the cartoon ads drawn by Stiles himself ... Well, to finish this full disclosure ... I turned off the Interstate one summer, drove to Moab, inquired around town, "Where might I find Jim Stiles?" A woman looked at her watch. "About now he's likely to be at The Broiler."

... Sure enough, there he was. We had a good exchange of views. Later Jim asked me to contribute to the Zephyr.

Stiles uses a variety of writing styles, from hilarious satire, such as his meeting with Robert Redford, or outright fantasies, such as his time travel to the totally bureaucratized and militarized Moab in the year 2040.

In the role of investigtive reporter and dogged finder and purveyor of facts we get Jim Stiles in his full blast writing style. Environmentalists, among others, get the full treatment ... The rift in environmental movements is now obvious and perilous ... Do you see one huge block of varmental outfits, especially the Big Greens, going along to get along with market economy and the dollar-sizing of just about everything? And do you see struggling grassroots varmentalists trying to find their footing, resisting as best they can the swift swamping of the intangibles?

"There is a difference between progress and development although it's surely a subjective distinction." (See pp 125-27).

In summary, let's return to the introductory chapter, two tell-tale words, towns like Moab being "embarkation places," a thumbnail intimation of where we are, the commodification of all life, of space travel, of water and air. We can no longer keep on with the pervasive head-in-the-sands business as usual; we have to face this fact: Consequences can't be corralled. This, for me, is the basic theme of "Brave New West." What do you think?