This book provides a challenging look at current feminist criticism as well as ecocriticism and the burgeoning literature of the environment. Barney Nelson is widely considered one of the most original and innovative scholars at work in the field today. She offers unique views of the domestic qualities of many wild animals as well as the wildness in domesticated species often witnessed by those who live close to the land, as she and her family have for generations. Through brilliant readings of Mary Austin, John Muir, and Edward Abbey, Nelson explores pernicious dichotomies and shakes up our thinking about animals and the American West.