As he ranges across the West, the author of this book shows not just the present day world of affluent skiers in Aspen, impoverished Indians and the ghost towns and silver mines of Colorado, but also shows us the lands' history, like the Conquistadores and their futile search for El Dorado. Through it all runs the riddle of the Anasazi, the old people whose cliffside cities still seem to pulsate with life though abandoned over 500 years ago. To Keneally the disappearance of this peaceful race sums up all the mystery of the West - imagining them as the lost souls of America. Thomas Keaneally has had four of his books shortlisted for the Booker Prize with Schindler's Ark winning the prize in 1982.