Traces of gold

the long version

"From Gold Rush romances to cowboy Westerns, from hard-boiled detective thrillers to nature writing, the American West has long been known mainly through hackneyed representations in popular genres. But a close look at the literary history of the West reveals a number of writers who claim that their works represent the "real" West.". "With its forays into ecocriticism and cultural studies and the welcome inclusion of Western genre writing in a serious study of American literary history, Traces of Gold will appeal to students and scholars of American literature, American studies, and western history."--BOOK JACKET.