THIS LAND How Cowboys, Capitalism and Corruption are Ruining the American West

Christopher Ketcham makes the wise choice to narrate his own audiobook, an exhaustive exposé of the Mormon ranchers who are keeping a murderous choke hold on the Bureau of Land Management. Ketcham speaks with an upbeat twang that doesn't reflect a specific region. His voice grows softer as he heads into Utah's Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to research the rampant exploitation of public lands there. Ketcham expertly reenacts his audiobook's many interviews with passionate scientists, terrorized former BLM workers, and anti-federalist ranchers. His descriptive love of wild ecosystems provides the backdrop for his sledgehammer of scorn. No one but the author could express such informed disgust for the multilayered, bipartisan corruption that is destroying what is left of our public lands. J.T. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2019]