W. L. Rusho (1928–2011)

Rusho wisely avoids a prolonged investigation into how Everett Ruess may have disappeared. Rusho allows Everett Ruess's letters, diary segments to speak for the young artist's vision. Rusho offers occasional, brief explanations on Ruess's journey, but never does he obtrude into the narrative offered us by Everett's letters to his parents, brother, friends. Only in the last 35 pages of the 218 page book are we given a narrative of Everett's disappearance, search for him, evidence, speculation as to what happened. The fact that it was written in '83 excludes the mistaken conclusions that his bones were found in '09 -- subsequently disproven. And later conclusions by Scott Thybony that his aclove had been found where Ruess likely died. Less about his death, this book is far, far more about Everett Ruess's vision of beauty in a wild landscape which echoes so relevant in today's climate changing world as our species hurtles toward climate Armageddon.

Subsequent books on Everett Ruess explore the possibility that Everett suffered from bi-polar disorder I, and later progression into the more severe form at the time of his death. Philip Frandlin does this in, Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death and Astonishing Afterlife. Frandkin, Pulitzer Prize winner, cities numerous professionals and professional organizations to support his opinion.
Why would such speculation be important? It would explain, not only Everett's disappearance, but his fanatical preference for solitude, his sense of "misfit," his unease at being with other folks for very long. It may have contributed to his sense of ecstasy at the beauty of the southwest.
Rusho, to his credit, lets Everett Ruess's view of beauty stand alone, unrelated to mental health issues. I agree with Rusho here. Everett Ruess was not writing of the beauty he found at the local street corner, but the almost mystical views he beheld among the canyons and ancient dwellings of the southwest. He hiked and rode under the stars during thunderstorms, sunsets, full moons. Surely, these are breathtaking in themselves, regardless of the beholders mental state. And this is the contribution Rusho makes in revealing the life of of this desert wanderer who speaks to us from almost a cerntury past.… (meer)