Outback Nevada: Real Stories from the Silver State

by John M Glionna

Overview

Join author John M. Glionna on a journey to discover the real Nevada, a place inhabited by diverse, spirited, and sometimes quirky people who make up the fabric of the Silver State. Outback Nevada explores the far-flung corners of the seventh-largest state in the nation and introduces its readers to the humanity, courage, strength, and charm of these little-known Americans. Each story is part of the vast collection of published articles Glionna has written during his decades of work as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

Glionna’s interest in Nevada’s rugged, isolated landscape and the people who choose to live in this often-harsh environment was born of his own wanderings into the “outback.” Through his stories, he shares intimate portraits of rural and small-town lifestyles not many understand. Readers meet men with names like Flash and Mr. Cool; will listen to a cowboy minister preach the word of God to his parishioners; will walk with an antiques dealer from Genoa as he hunts for denim in Nevada’s abandoned nineteenth-century mine shafts; and will learn from an ex-paramedic- turned-coffee-shop-owner who provides Boulder City with a true sense of community. Full of humor, eccentricities, and compassion, these stories reveal the state’s true nature and extend an invitation to get lost “somewhere out there” in the real Nevada.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647790448
Publisher:	University of Nevada Press
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	302
Sales rank:	1,050,847
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

John M. Glionna was a Seoul-based Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent from 2008 to 2012 and covered South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Pacific Islands. Later, as the paper’s Las Vegas bureau chief, Glionna covered the American West. He has written extensively about California and co-taught a journalism course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Glionna is now a freelance writer who divides his time between Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface: The There Out There xi

The North

Flash and Mr. Cool 3

The Rural Nevada Football Team That Rarely Scores 8

Cowboy Ministers 13

Coach 17: Preserving Nevada's Railroad History 19

Frank Van Zant's Feverish Rural Dream 23

A New Vintage for Nevada Farming 29

The Denim Hunters 32

The South

The Priest Who Conducts Mass in a Casino 41

The Cowboy Commissioner 46

Queens of the Mexican Rodeo 50

Former Addict Helps Keep Rural Addicts Clean 57

The Beard of Knowledge 61

Miss Kathy's Way or the Highway 68

The Coffee Cup: Tending to Hearts and Stomachs 71

Death Squad: Sorting Out the Remains of the Rural Dead 75

The Center

Outback Nevada's Women Pioneer Pals 81

Where the Drinkers-and the Chickens-Come Home to Roost 86

Jack Malotte: A Rural Native Artist Gets Political 91

The Circuit Judge Upholds an Old-Time Tradition 98

At This Joint, You Swallow Your Politics with Your Food 103

The Coyote Hunters 106

A California Family Breathes New Life into a Historic Nevada Town 113

Dodging a Virus in Esmeralda County 118

Steel and Sweat: Forging Yesterday's Tools 123

An Architectural Gem Rises from the Ruins 128

Jim Marsh's Rural Dream 133

The East

The Last Sheepherder 141

A City Girl with a Pickup, an Attitude and a Mission to Save Wild Horses 149

Being a Gay Mayor in Nevada's Outback 154

When Death Calls, Jay Gunter Answers the Phone 159

A Small-Town Police Blotter Tells Tall Tales 164

The Last Straw: A Rural Home Built from Hay 169

Keeping a Dying Native American Language Alive 173

Oddly Named Towns Recall Nevada's Colorful Past 177

Lessons of a One-Room Schoolhouse 181

The West

The Reluctant Innkeeper 189

Wild Horse Auctions 192

Nevada's U.S. Highway 50: A Road Less Traveled 197

Lethal Letha, the Big Cat Hunter 202

A Small-Town Museum Struggles for Survival 207

Nevada's Starry Nights: The Ultimate Cool 212

Nevada's Brothel Lobbyist: Promoting the World's Oldest Profession 218

One Man's Hard-Luck Castle 221

The Keeper of the Keys at a Ghost Hotel 224

Epilogue: An Old Fox Named Lamb 227

About the Author 231

Permissions and Source Acknowledgments 233

Editorial Reviews

“Outback Nevada is not a guidebook nor is it complete. It is grounded in the realization that the exploration of Nevada can never be finished. Glionna’s collection of essays is a testament, an epic poem that describes adventures as this modern-day Odysseus sails the sagebrush ocean in search of Calypso and many other enchantments. . . . With Outback Nevada, the author has given the West a gift.”
—Ronald M. James, Nevada Historical Society Q

“Nevada is the American West’s state of contradictions. . . .John M. Glionna embraces these contradictions. . . . [His] writing is entertaining, humorous, and respectful. Most importantly, he discredits a misconception of rural Nevada.”
—Michelle Follette Turk, Western Historical Quarterly

"Glionna masterfully weaves historical anecdotes and rich descriptions of the terrain with residents’ unique dialects, reminding readers that, in storytelling, it’s all in the details. . . . Glionna carefully tends to both the sentences and the people [the stories] showcase, making for a funny, informative, and memorable statewide road trip." 
—Brittany Bronson, Los Angeles Review of Books

“I dare you to stop reading a John Glionna story. I know I couldn’t. Every time I hop on board . . . I know I am in for a smart, informative and highly entertaining ride. It’s impossible not to take the journey to the end. His work is a real treat!”
—Michael Connelly, The New York Times best-selling author of crime fiction
 
“[Glionna’s] deep reporting and lucid explanatory writing evokes the McPhee school, but he tends to sprinkle his meat and potatoes with a kind of cosmic Flamin’ Hot Cheeto dust from the crinkled bag of his subconscious. Enjoy the burn. And wash hands thoroughly after contact.”
—Richard Fausset, The New York Times Atlanta bureau chief

“This collection is a vivid tapestry of human stories, representing twenty-first-century rural life in a state known for its eccentricity. John Glionna has made a career of portraying rural Nevadans, and the essays collected here are masterful glimpses into the realities of the region’s diverse residents. . . . the author presents them with precise details, enthusiasm, and a sense of humor.” 
—Scott Slovic, University Distinguished Professor of Environmental Humanities, University of Idaho, and author of twenty-seven books, including Going Away to Think: Engagement, Retreat, and Ecocritical Responsibility

“Glionna brings life to unique and sometimes almost absurd characters, introducing a side of Nevada few may know exist.” 
—Roberta L. Moore, park ranger, Great Basin National Park (retired); editor of Wild Nevada: Testimonies on Behalf of the Desert; author, artist, and activist

 

From the Publisher