Robert Laxalt

Sweet Promised Land Robert Laxalt

How long has it been since you fell in love with a book?

Dominique Laxalt was 16 when he left the French Pyrenees for America. He became a sheepherder in the Nevada desert and nearby hills of the Sierra. Like all his fellow Basque immigrants, Dominique dreamed of someday returning to the land of his beginnings. Most Basques never made the journey back, but Dominique finally did return for a visit with family and friends. Sweet Promised Land is the story of that trip, told by his son Robert, who accompanied him to the pastoral mountain village of Tardets in France. Dominique came home victorious, the adventurer who had conquered the unknown and found his fortune in the New World. He told of his life in America, the hardships and challenges, and began to realize that he had changed since his departure from Tardets. By the end of the visit, he knew with certainty where he belonged.

During the past 50 years, this book has become a classic in Western American literature, still beloved by the Basque American community. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the book's publication, Western literature scholar Ann Ronald wrote a new foreword, discussing the book in the context of American and Nevada literature.