Wilderness and the American Spirit is a gripping exploration of the American spirit and our relationship to the environment that blends science, history, cultural criticism, and storytelling through the myths and stories of the American West along the Applegate Trail. The book tells a story of expansion of a nation across the continent illuminating the path we took to arrive here, in the 21st century, at the forward edge of environmental catastrophe and consequence. Told through stories of the first American emigrants who traveled west to the present day. These are stories of consumption, wealth and power that illuminate the American relationship to the environment and this storytelling model is a basis for new environmental thinking.