West--Essays is a collection of 18 essays spanning from Alaska to southern California and east to Utah and Idaho, defining the heart of the West. Among others, these essays include the author's recovery from a severe stroke in the lava fields of Craters of the Moon and writing about walking up the L.A. River, the Boise River, Utah's Arch Canyon, and floating down the wild Colville River in the enormous, rugged, and poorly named National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. This book of 205 pages, includes 83 color photos, and the essays seek to recover something broken or lost while living in today's western United States