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Books like South and west
A raw, sun-bleached glimpse into the unvarnished notebooks of a master observer tracing the fault lines of American culture. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with South and west.
- sun-bleached
- humid
- restless
- eerie
- nostalgic
- 01
Let Me Tell You What I Mean
Joan Didion
A masterclass in cool, unsentimental observation that dissects American culture with surgical precision.
- 02
Blue nights
Joan Didion
A haunting, twilight meditation on the terrifying fragility of life, memory, and motherhood.
- 03
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Rebecca Solnit
A lyrical, associative journey that invites you to surrender to the beauty of not knowing exactly where you are.
- 04
Recollections of My Nonexistence
Rebecca Solnit
A lyrical, fiercely intelligent exploration of finding your voice and taking up space in a world designed to silence you.
- 05
The art of memoir
Mary Karr
An illuminating and cathartic exploration of how we shape our memories and how our memories shape us.
- 06
Hold still
Sally Mann
A lyrical, startlingly revealing descent into a complicated Southern family's archives, blending haunting photographs with page-turning drama.
- 07
The solace of open spaces
Gretel Ehrlich
A quiet, expansive collection of essays that invites the reader to find peace and intellectual clarity in the remote American West.
- 08
Working
Robert A. Caro
An intimate, inspiring masterclass in obsession that invites you to sit beside a legendary biographer as he sifts through the archives of history.
- 09
I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections
Nora Ephron
A sharp, hilarious, and ultimately heartbreaking conversation with your smartest friend over a very good lunch.
- 10
On Trails
Robert Moor
A thoughtful, wandering journey that changes the way you look at the ground beneath your feet and the choices that guide your life.
- 11
Basin and range
John McPhee
A contemplative journey across the American West that peels back the landscape to reveal the staggering depths of geologic time.
- 12
Hitch-22
Christopher Hitchens
A smoky, late-night masterclass in intellectual combat and literary friendship, delivered by a fiercely unapologetic raconteur.
