This week, I finished teaching Dakota, an amazing book that I loved sharing with students. It was also enjoyable to read this book now that I am living on the Plains, a region close to the place Norris writes about. For that reason, I’ll quote the opening lines:

The high plains, the beginning of the desert West, often acts as a crucible for those who inhabit them. Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it before it bestows a blessing.  (1)