Sara Dant – A Deep Dive Into the History of the West

Dr. Sara Dant

Sara Dant is a historian, professor, and chair of the history department at Weber State University. She’s also the author of one of my new favorite books: Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West. Sara’s work touches many of the topics we discuss regularly on this podcast, including conservation, water, public lands, building consensus around divisive issues, historical figures of the West, and much more. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Sara has a unique ability to explain complex and potentially dry topics regarding the American West in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner.

Whether you’re like me and have read dozens of books on the history of the West or simply have a general interest the subject, I think Losing Eden should be mandatory reading. It lays out the history of the region, starting with human migration into North America 15-30,000 years ago and ends in the present-day West with our scramble to find solutions to natural resource shortages and climate change. For me, the book connected many different time periods and concepts into one cohesive narrative, while simultaneously introducing me to new ideas and people, all in just under 200 pages.

Sara and I had a great conversation covering key concepts from her book, as well as her life as a historian, teacher, and life-long Westerner. We chat about the concept of the “tragedy of the commons,” conservation versus preservation, and the myth that the West was a sort of Garden of Eden prior to European settlement. We also dig into some of the key historical figures of the West, including Brigham Young, John Wesley Powell, Theodore Roosevelt, and John Muir. Most of you know that I’m weirdly obsessed with Teddy Roosevelt—I’ve got a life-sized cardboard cut-out of him in my office, for Pete’s sake!—so Sara gently offers a more “balanced” examination of his conservation legacy. We also discuss Sara’s upbringing in Arizona, love of trail running, favorite books, and much more. Be sure to visit the episode notes for links to everything we discuss, because there’s a lot.

And since many of you are members of the Mountain & Prairie Book Club, I wanted to let you know that Losing Eden will be the November/December selection. Sara has graciously offered to answer questions about the book or even participate in some sort of online discussion, so I’ll be sorting out those details in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, start reading the book and visit the book club webpage for more information as it becomes available.

For now, please enjoy this fun and educational conversation with Sara Dant.

Photos courtesy of Sara Dant


Click Here to Download on iTunes

Click Here to Download on Overcast

Click Here to Download on Google Play

Click Here to Download on Stitcher


Episode Notes

Topics Discussed:

3:55 – How Sara describes her work
4:45 – Where Sara grew up
6:15 – Background on the book
7:30 – The myth of the West as “Eden”
9:40 – The tragedy of the commons explained
13:10 – The Morman’s settlement of the West
17:00 – John Wesley Powell explained
22:00 – Ambition and the settlement of the West
23:00 – The significance of the 1890s
27:55 – Conservation versus preservation
34:00 – A more balanced view of Theodore Roosevelt
40:00 – Growing up in Arizona
41:25 – Early influences
44:15 – The book that most influenced Sara’s career
46:20 – Pursuing her Phd and the choice to teach
49:00 – Sara’s optimism about current college students
52:45 – Trail running
54:25 – Working at Grand Teton and Denali National Parks
56:30 – Public lands
1:01:30 – Favorite books
1:03:00 – Favorite films
1:05:00 – Hobbies
1:05:50 – Most powerful outdoor experience
1:07:25 – Favorite location in the West
1:08:00 – Best thing Sara ever learned
1:09:00 – Sara’s words of wisdom
1:10:15 – Connect with Sara online
Information Referenced: