GHOST DANCES
AUGUST 2012 HARDCOVER
Ghost Dances
Proving Up on the Great Plains
Josh Garrett-Davis
978-0-316-19984-1, $27.99
A gifted young writer takes a singular journey back to his native Midwestern American Plains. Growing up in South Dakota, Josh Garrett-Davis always knew he would leave. But as a young adult, he kept going back—in dreams and reality and by way of books. With this beautifully written narrative about a seemingly empty but actually rich and complex place, he has reclaimed his childhood, his unusual family—and the Great Plains.
Among the subjects and people who bring his Plains to life are the destruction and resurgence of the American bison; his great-great-grandparents’ 20-year sojourn in Nebraska as homesteaders; Native American “Ghost Dancers,” who attempted to ward off destruction by supernatural means before the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee; the political allegory to be found in The Wizard of Oz; and current attempts by ecologists to “rewild” the Plains. Ghost Dances is a fluid combination of memoir and history and reportage that reminds us that our roots matter—and might even be inspiring and fascinating.
About the author: Josh Garrett-Davis has an MFA from Columbia University and is currently a PhD student in American history at Princeton. He was raised in South Dakota.
Publicity contact: Elizabeth Garriga, elizabeth.garriga@hbgusa.com
