Just as she did in her New York Times Notable debut novel, The Metal Shredders, Nancy Zafris follows a colorful cast of characters into uncharted fictional territory, this time landing in the canyon country of the desert Southwest in 1954. For motivations as straightforward as striking it rich to reasons far more complex and counfounding, they each embark on very personal divergent journeys across an unforgiving countryside, even while their quest...

For her acclaimed collection of stories, Red Ant House, Joyce Carol Oates hailed Ann Cummins as "a master storyteller." The San Francisco Chronicle called her "startlingly original." Now, in her debut novel, Cummins stakes claim to rich new literary territory with a story of straddling cultures and cheating fate in the American Southwest. Yellowcake introduces us to two unforgettable families-one Navajo, one Anglo-some thirty years after the closing...

"Human modification of the environment always carries a risk of accident and folly. Explore the causes and consequences of the Church Rock, New Mexico uranium mine disaster of 1979. Guided by compelling questions such as, "What led to this disaster?," "Who was impacted by it?," and "What changed in its aftermath?" the interdisciplinary content blends social studies and science. Ultimately, it pushes students to consider how humans can meet their need...

Ballad of the little soldier: The film focuses on a group of Miskito Indians in Nicaragua who used children soldiers in their resistance against the Sandinistas. Where green ants dream: Geologist Lance Hackett is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert area covered with ant hills prior to a possible uranium extraction. His work is impeded by aborigines who explain that this is the place where the green ants dream.