Why a Booktrail?
1900a, 2000s: Spanning three generations of an Arizona family, A hard look at the brutality and beauty of life on the border.
Crossers
What you need to know before your trail
When Gil Castle loses his wife, he retreats to his family s sprawling homestead out west, a forsaken part of the country where drug lords have more power than police. Here Castle begins to rebuild his life, even as he uncovers some dark truths about his fearsome grandfather.
When a Mexican illegal shows up at the ranch, terrified after a border-crossing drug deal gone bad, Castle agrees to take him in. Yet his act of generosity sets off a flood of violence and vengeance, a fierce reminder that we never truly escape our history.
Locations
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The Crossings
The sites in the book will no doubt give readers a new way of thinking about the whole immigration issue as well as revealing the historical background behind the issues in the book. These ‘Crossings’ happen both way s across the border and drug mules are often spotted and caught trying to evade authorities.
Borderline Arizona, is a harsh landscape indeed – this is where U.S. and Mexican cultures have battled each other in one way or another for many years. This part of Arizona is rife with historical and cultural battles and of course those involving drugs and politics . The most fierce, the most deadly are the battles between the drug cartels and the authorities – the violence, the fear and the uncertainty which is in complete contrast to the stunning Huachuca Mountains and vast Sonoran Desert.
There are lots of interesting snippets into the nature of farming in the area and the type of life which can be sustained in this part of the world. For example, the golden waving grass between Sonoita to Sierra Vista was imported from Africa and the cattle can’t graze it so that’s why it’s so tall.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Crossers
Author/Guide: Philip Caputo Destination: Arizona Departure Time: 1900s, 2000s
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