(Original recording made in 1997)
Jonathan Raban was an Englishman who moved to Seattle many years ago and liked it so much that he stayed. Raban wrote numerous books and traveled widely. He wrote about his journeys but he absolutely hated it when anybody dared to describe him as a travel writer. Because he was much more than that. He apparently thought the term "travel writer" trivialized what he was doing.
His book "Bad Land - an American Romance" is a stunning work of history. Raban had heard about a region in Montana that was once depicted as a garden spot so that people would move there, claim some land through the "Homestead Act, then live happily ever after. Just over a century ago the titans of the railroad industry devised a scheme to lure people to head to this region-they had built all those railroads through this arid area and they needed to generate some passengers. They advertised heavily out east and in Europe to convince people to move there. A lot of people did. They went there with dreams of becoming successful farmers. The weather didn't go along with the plan however. One by one these migrants moved there, built homes, tried to farm, failed, then drifted away again. The ruins of their houses and their disillusionments still litter the plains that ultimately defeated them.
Raban's account, "Bad Land - an American Romance," is a potent retelling of this time of illusion and how the crushing defeats that awaited those who dared to traverse this desolate, heartbreakingly beautiful land, eventually quashed so many dreams.
This book was one of Raban's greatest works. In 1997 he made his only appearance on the program. The author died in January.
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
