Yuck
By Barret Baumgart
Wandering Aengus Press, 2025
Apparently people used to really, really hate the Joshua Tree. Near the start of the book Baumgart trots out a parade of absolutely vicious 19th century insults that are so bizarrely vitriolic one can't help but laugh. But then you're sort of like...but why? I like Joshua Trees. Like a lot of people, they're the quirky, unique-to-the-mojave plant that in my mind symbolizes Joshua tree National Park. Who could possibly hate anything about JTNP?
The answer is one of the reasons this book is so much more than just a humorous look at an unusual plant. To understand the criticism, you have to understand the people that were saying these things, and that means viewing a lot of it through the lens of Manifest Destiny. It's an attitude and idea that many of us can't relate to today. The West hardly seems to need conquering anymore. The last time I was in the Mojave, I sped across it in an air-conditioned metal box. But Baumgart's book had me imagining doing it in a wagon with a couple of parched horses. No water anywhere. You're by turns roasting in the day or freezing at night, and it all seems endless. Now imagine that the only thing you can see, for miles around, is this useless, bizarre-looking plant that you can't eat or burn or even find shade under. I can see how it could come to symbolize all the hardship and danger of such a journey.
With humor and prose, Baumgart affords us a from-the-side view into several other interesting subjects regarding the history of this country, of the West, and of LA. I was sent down so many rabbit-holes by this book. I had several conversations with different people about things I read in this book. These are the kinds of things I always want a non-fiction book to do for me, and Yuck delivered.
I experienced both the book and the audiobook and I have to say that if you enjoy one you should try the other as well because they are completely different experiences. The book is set like poetry at times, which can illuminate the text. But the audiobook has, shall we say, dramatic choices that are hilarious. #Yuck #barretbaumgart #wanderingaengus
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