"Obsessive, strangely engrossing . . . a combination history book, documentary, autobiography, and topographical survey."
–Time "Vollmann has penetrated the soul of a place that is like few others on earth, but whose hardships and triumphs tell you something universal about the durability and ambition of the human spirit."
–The Economist "No one who reads this singular, significant book–half Michael Harrington's
The Other America, half James Joyce's
Finnegans Wake–will contemplate NAFTA, illegal immigration, or a trip to a 'Southside' brothel without thinking of [Vollmann]."
–The Washington Post "Tracks the battles, real and metaphorical, that define Imperial County–battles over immigration and water, identity and the reach and limitations of political power. The book is perhaps the clearest expression of Vollmann's career-long commitment to immersing himself in complexities."
–Los Angeles Times
