Mary Austin

The Land of Journey's Ending Mary Austin

When The Land of Journeys' Ending was first published in 1924, The Literary Review warned, "This book is treacherous, waiting to overwhelm you with its abundant poetry." In it, successful New York author Mary Austin describes the epic journey she undertook in 1923, when she left her East Coast home at the age of fifty-five to travel through the southwestern United States. Part memoir, part travel narrative, part historical investigation, and part ecological study, The Land of Journeys' Ending is a moving account of a woman coming full circle, finding solace in the broad landscape of her youth. In telling her own story, Austin also tells the story of those who journeyed there before her-Native American tribes, Spanish conquistadores, miners, adventurers, and California-bound migrants. The result is both an homage to the magnificence of the desert, mountains, rivers, canyons, plants, and animals of the Southwest and a history of the waves of people who inhabited the region. "Austin writes with a singular force and charm and with an intensity of conviction of their worth that is truly stimulating." - The New York Times"A memorable, life-increasing book."- International Book Review