"Gaines Quammen uses science, broadminded inquiry, and historical records to capture all aspects of the movement to rescind the laws creating public lands. She also offers hope for the future of precious Southwestern landscapes."
--BOOKLIST "A literate reminder that it is difficult to fully appreciate the struggle over public lands in the West without understanding its ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
--DESERT COMPANION "Betsy Gaines Quammen has taken a deep, fascinating dive into a uniquely American brand of religious zealotry that poses a grave threat to our national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and other public lands. American Zion provides essential background for anyone concerned about the future of open space in the western United States. It also happens to be a delight to read."
--JON KRAKAUER, author of Under the Banner of Heaven "A magnificent portrait of complexity, interrogating the collision between frontier thinking and the rising consciousness toward the climate crisis on public lands. Brilliant and electrifying...Gaines Quammen's voice is bright, engaging, and smart. She listens. She is fair. But she is not seduced by cowboy mythology. Her vision calls for an ecological wisdom that can govern our communities, both human and wild, with reverence and respect."
--TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS, author of Erosion "This book is like a skeleton key, unlocking so many complicated, and largely unquestioned, myths of the West."
--ANNE HELEN PETERSEN, BuzzFeed News "What J. D. Vance did with Hillbilly Elegy to explain small-town Appalachian angst, Gaines Quammen has done with American Zion to help people understand the long and convoluted issues in the American West."
--THANE MAYNARD, co-author with Jane Goodall of Hope for Animals and Their World "I find the author's sense of the tribal perspectives spot on and sensitive. I enjoyed American Zion immensely--Betsy is a great storyteller "
--WALTER FLEMING, department head and professor of Native American Studies, Montana State University "A fascinating primer on the twisted and nefarious legacy of theology, entitlement, conquest and patriarchy in the American West. Gaines Quammen offers indispensable reading for anyone who cares about the fate of the nation's public lands."
--FLORENCE WILLIAMS, author of The Nature Fix "A creative, deeply thoughtful work on the origins, dynamics, and consequences of the Bundy legacy."
--JEDEDIAH