John Annerino

A Stream-of-consciousness style book that starts with the author climbing a rotten rock face. He fell, suffering a foot injury that nearly got his foot amputated by the physician. He isn't interested in never walking again, the outdoors is his whole life. He chronicles several other near tragic running and climbing events before starting a run of the length of the Grand Canyon. Alone, of course.

From paragraph to paragraph it might be reality, illusion, or historical reminiscences. Illusion and reality often run together in this book. The runner is repeatedly finding himself early in a running day without enough food and water. Those times are interspersed with running without enough sleep, or safe footing. He lives on the edge of danger, traversing rotten rock faces alone on muscles too tired for safety; at times simultaneously fighting off drowsiness. Sometimes he is unable to make the rendezvous point and spends a cold night with insufficient clothing or shelter.

A map inside the front of the book shows 4 runs between 1978 and 1982It is all engagingly written, but to my relief, in the last few chapters, illusion and reality were separate.
… (altro)

Since 1540 attempting to traverse El Camino del Diablo, crossing the 4,100 square mile no-man's land, the borderlands in the Southwest corner of Arizona, stretching from Gila bend to Yuma has proved to be a daunting task. This trail has proved to be one of the deadliest for illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico to the 'promised land'.

So why then do these fearless young Mexican's take on the heat of Arizona's summers, attempting to cross the numerous desert basins and rugged mountain ranges, often without sufficient supplies of food or water? Annerino has been drawn to the outback of Arizona since a young man and joined up with a group of four migrants to document their trip as they saunter out in the rippling desert's mirages in an effort to find jobs in America in order to provide a better life for the young families they leave behind. They come in search of the jobs that most American's abhor - picking lettuce or watermelon in fields, working twelve-hour days to earn a few dollars.

Traveling with these migrant workers, sharing their journey, water and food Annerino writes a fascinating tale of their failed attempt, and documenting the shared journey that is tracked by La Migra, the maligned border patrol who often find themselves in the role of the rescuer, putting their lives at risk to help dying illegals, or picking up the remains of those whose dreams fell fatally short.

Annerino ends the book with a list 'in memorium' of all documented deaths of immigrants, refugees, border agents, and humanitarian who has died in Arizona's desolate desert. The tome as written, and including his own photographs, is one that will touch you no matter where you stand in the battle waged against illegal immigration.… (altro)