Skin of the Earth

the long version

"Nevada's back country is a region of vast spaces, drought-parched sagebrush and snow-clogged winters, rugged ranchers and fiercely independent loners seeking solitude in remote canyons. But the Nevada of Art Gibney's story collection is part of the modern West, where traditional ways collide uneasily with apocalyptic technologies, ranchers contend with BLM bureaucrats about the use of the land, downwinders die of horrible malignancies, and no canyon is inviolate to the ubiquitous military presence.". "Gibney captures the tensions of the contemporary rural West. Few stories depict the primal herder's life as vividly as "The Wild Cow," and the heartbreaking dignity of the dying rancher in "The Manure Spreader" will linger long in the reader's mind. The characters in "A Hard Way to Make a Hundred Bucks" explore the mystery of a secret Department of Defense installation while reflecting on the larger mystery of an impending birth, and a drought in "Cloudshine" launches a series of events that threatens a peaceful Mormon community."--BOOK JACKET.