The Vision: Go Inside the Gorgeous New Book “West”
Author:Lindsey ShookFor more than a century, the mythology and magic of the western United States have been the inspiration for countless novels, films and iconic images. And as American cities continue to climb higher and grow denser, the fascination with the sparsely settled expanses that remain is burning brighter than ever. West (Gibbs Smith), a new book by Swedish trio Lars Strandberg, Lars Åberg and Ronnie Nilsson, explores what’s left of the Wild West- the dusty lands of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and California- through eerie photographs (by Strandberg) and poetic prose (by Åberg).
The book opens with images of the abandoned town of Bodie, California, about which Åberg writes, “It was an established truth that no miming town could be worse than Bodie in terms of bad men and foul weather.” But the book isn’t all tales of the trouble that brewed out West- moving portraits of proud rodeo and the remains of rainbow-bright towns such as Butte, Montana (pictured), ensure the book reads something like a love letter to the land that sits just outside our modern cities yet seems years and worlds away. West ($45 at Gibbs Smith)
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the July|August 2012 issue of California Home + Design.
