McKenzie Long join Leopold's Books Bar Caffè on Saturday, June 17 at 1:00 p.m. for a reading and discussion of her book This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America's National Monuments. This event is free and open to the public. 

McKenzie Long visits thirteen national monuments, from Gold Butte in Nevada to Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine, and writes an eye-opening exploration of the stories these natural sites tell, the passions they stir, and the controversies surrounding them today. In essays both contemplative and resonant, This Contested Land confronts an unjust past and imagines a collaborative future that bears witness to these regions’ enduring Indigenous connections. 

"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in national monuments today, their values, and the issues surrounding them. "—National Parks Traveler

"Long's reporting is balanced, and her accounts are comprehensive, but the passages detailing her passion for these national treasures and for preserving and protecting them are the book's most compelling parts. A great storyteller, she has a knack for weaving in personal anecdotes and telling details, helping readers appreciate both the beauty of these monuments and the challenges they face."—Booklist

"In This Contested Land, McKenzie Long reframes national monuments in the American consciousness. With painterly language, superb historical research, and engaging boots-on-the-ground storytelling, this book explores crevices for meaning and truth in what for many is a gray area between politics and place. This is a vivid, smart, and overdue book."—Kathryn Aalto, author of Writing Wild: Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World