Why I Came West - by Rick Bass (Paperback)

Rick Bass's "Why I Came West" is a poignant memoir that chronicles the author's transformation into a writer, hunter, and environmental activist through his love for the mystique of the West.

Growing up in suburban Houston, Bass attended college in Utah before working as a geologist in Mississippi.

Despite extensive logging, not a single species has gone extinct since the last Ice Age in the remote Yaak Valley of northwestern Montana where he eventually settled.

Through his journey, Bass reveals how the rugged landscape smoothed out his rough edges and transformed him into the person he is today.

This memoir is a must-read for any environmental activist, as Bass joins reluctantly but necessarily to defend and preserve the wilderness he loves amidst deep-rooted philosophical conflicts that set neighbor against neighbor.