The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail (Volume 36) (California Series in Public Anthropology) First Edition

by Jason De Leon (Author), Michael Wells (Photographer)

57 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0520282759

ISBN-10: 0520282752

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In his gripping and provocative debut, anthropologist and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow Jason De León sheds light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time—the human consequences of US immigration policy. The Land of Open Graves reveals the suffering and deaths that occur daily in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona as thousands of undocumented migrants attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the United States.

Drawing on the four major fields of anthropology, De León uses an innovative combination of ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and forensic science to produce a scathing critique of “Prevention through Deterrence,” the federal border enforcement policy that encourages migrants to cross in areas characterized by extreme environmental conditions and high risk of death. For two decades, this policy has failed to deter border crossers while successfully turning the rugged terrain of southern Arizona into a killing field.

In harrowing detail, De León chronicles the journeys of people who have made dozens of attempts to cross the border and uncovers the stories of the objects and bodies left behind in the desert.

The Land of Open Graves will spark debate and controversy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Land of Open Graves is an invaluable book, one full of rich ethnographic accounts of migrants, sharp analysis, and beautiful photographs by Michael Wells (as well as some by the migrants De León encounters). It is a strong indictment of the violence migrants face, particularly of a structural sort, and it calls us to "better understand how our worlds are intertwined and the ethical responsibility we have to one another as human beings." It deserves a broad audience."--NACLA Report on the Americas

From the Inside Flap

"De León confronts us with a vivid indictment of the killing fields on the US-Mexico border and reveals the brutality of global inequality in all its goriness and intimate suffering. A self-described refugee from archaeology, De León is revitalizing the field of anthropology by blowing apart the traditional subdisciplinary boundaries. With no holds barred, he offers new paths for theory, methods, and public anthropology." --Philippe Bourgois, author of Righteous Dopefiend and In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio

"Jason De León has written a remarkable book. I know of no other ethnography of life and death on the borderlands that is more moving, theoretically ambitious, or powerful than this eagerly awaited work." --María Elena García, author of Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Education, and Multicultural Development in Peru

"This book sears itself into your memory. You literally can't put it down." --Stanley Brandes, Robert H. Lowie Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley

"An impressive piece of scholarship, The Land of Open Graves is a brilliant and important book that humanizes the realities of life and death on the migrant trail in southern Arizona."--Randall H. McGuire, author of Archaeology as Political Action

"Jason De León has written that rare and precious book--a masterful deployment of tools from across the broad spectrum of anthropology." --Danny Hoffman, author of The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia

"The Land of Open Graves is a politically, theoretically, and morally important book that mobilizes the four fields of anthropology to demonstrate beyond a doubt how current US border defense policy results in deliberate death. Beautifully written and engaging, it is a must-read for the general public and students across the social sciences." --Lynn Stephen, author of Transborder Lives: Indigenous Oaxacans in Mexico, California, and Oregon and We Are the Face of Oaxaca: Testimony and Social Movements

From the Back Cover

"De León confronts us with a vivid indictment of the killing fields on the US-Mexico border and reveals the brutality of global inequality in all its goriness and intimate suffering. A self-described refugee from archaeology, De León is revitalizing the field of anthropology by blowing apart the traditional subdisciplinary boundaries. With no holds barred, he offers new paths for theory, methods, and public anthropology." —Philippe Bourgois, author of Righteous Dopefiend and In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio

"Jason De León has written a remarkable book. I know of no other ethnography of life and death on the borderlands that is more moving, theoretically ambitious, or powerful than this eagerly awaited work." —María Elena García, author of Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Education, and Multicultural Development in Peru

"This book sears itself into your memory. You literally can’t put it down." —Stanley Brandes, Robert H. Lowie Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley

"An impressive piece of scholarship, The Land of Open Graves is a brilliant and important book that humanizes the realities of life and death on the migrant trail in southern Arizona."—Randall H. McGuire, author of Archaeology as Political Action

"Jason De León has written that rare and precious book—a masterful deployment of tools from across the broad spectrum of anthropology." —Danny Hoffman, author of The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia

"The Land of Open Graves is a politically, theoretically, and morally important book that mobilizes the four fields of anthropology to demonstrate beyond a doubt how current US border defense policy results in deliberate death. Beautifully written and engaging, it is a must-read for the general public and students across the social sciences." —Lynn Stephen, author of Transborder Lives: Indigenous Oaxacans in Mexico, California, and Oregon and We Are the Face of Oaxaca: Testimony and Social Movements

"The Land of Open Graves is an invaluable book, one full of rich ethnographic accounts of migrants, sharp analysis, and beautiful photographs by Michael Wells (as well as some by the migrants De León encounters). It is a strong indictment of the violence migrants face, particularly of a structural sort, and it calls us to “better understand how our worlds are intertwined and the ethical responsibility we have to one another as human beings." It deserves a broad audience."—NACLA Report on the Americas

About the Author

Jason De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, with his lab located in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. De León is Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP), a long-term anthropological study of clandestine migration between Latin America and the United States that uses a combination of ethnographic, visual, archaeological, and forensic approaches to understand this violent social process. His academic work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including National Public Radio, the New York Times Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, and Vice. In 2013, De León was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and in 2017, he was the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

Series: California Series in Public Anthropology (Book 36)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; First edition (October 23, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520282752
ISBN-13: 978-0520282759
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 41 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17 in Anthropology (Books)
- #50 in Emigration & Immigration Studies (Books)
- #68 in General Anthropology

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41 customer reviews

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Athena Zissis

January 24, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am a historical archaeologist who trained in the U.S. where anthropology is taught as a four field discipline with cultural, physical, linguistic, anthropology and archaeology.

De Leon's book is powerful. It discusses the use of landscape as systematic violence by the United States' Federal Government against border-crossers. De Leon uses all four sub-fields of anthropology to research and address the experiences of the people who are crossing before, during, and after travel (for themselves and their families) and uses his findings and the stories of people (in their own words) to engage in the important conversation of immigration and violence in the U.S. against non-citizens, and how the U.S. wages a war against non-citizens on U.S. soil without the US public being aware (and with the inner-gov't being mentally removed from the process, despite being in power to design immigration policy).

Highly recommended for anyone and everyone to read. It is extremely thoughtful and accessible. For those who teach anthropology, particularly applied or political anthropology, should include this as mandatory reading in your curriculum.

8 people found this helpful

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Anthropology PhD

What it means to do 'Anthropology' in the 21st century!

February 11, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Brilliant book that is easy to follow, little jargon, and with simple yet powerful theoretical framings. This speaks to the fact that the author intends for this book to have public appeal and effect. The book does an excellent job of showing how 'the border' is more than just a line on a map or a stretch of fence, but that it encompasses animals and plants, histories and desires, political economic structures, complex worlds, and cross-continental connections. A must-read for anyone interested in anthropology, from undergraduate to graduate. The book also offers a compelling use of the 'four-fields' in anthropology, which doesn't get done very often, even in American cultural anthropology - thus it can can be quite useful for teaching undergraduates, especially given its accessibility.

The book leaves plenty of questions open about immigration, politics, and capitalism, but it hopefully provides critical ethnographic context for how we ought to collectively think about these topics coming into the 21st century - particularly the role of anthropology in helping to build our shared human and non-human futures.

6 people found this helpful

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Alayna

Jason De León performs the pinnacle of ethnography in blurred spaces

August 1, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

De León's writing is comprehensive, scientific, and emotional. His ethnographic sections humanize the real people that experience the undertaking of immigration. The book serves as an exposé of the U.S. government for those who weren't aware of the depth of border control policies; the graphic descriptions of living, dying, and death in the desert supply the gruesome science of it all. The photography provided by Jason and Michael Wells transports the reader to the desert and the lives of the immigrants that Jason got to know. I can say for sure that this book has cemented U.S. border policy as a human rights issue in my mind, and I am also interested in his Undocumented Migration Project. After seeing him speak at my university, I am moved by the subject, by his methods, and by his success. I look forward to more of his work.

2 people found this helpful

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Kmarie

Land of Open Graves is an absolute must read.

December 19, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Land of Open Graves was an qmazing book, a must read. I was so impressed with De Leon's ethnography and research on this project. His work about undocumented migrants is so important and necessary. He uses several methodologies and a four field anthropological approach in his research.
De Leon gives readers a glimpse into who these undocumented migrants are, he gives them a voice so that people understand them on a whole different level. He digs deep into why Prevention Through Deterrance is just institutional and systematic violence against undocumented migrants. As an aspiring Anthropologist I highly recommend this book to everyone. De Leon gives us all an important lesson in humanity. 5 star read.

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Sarah Thompson

I was not disappointed. It links border policy with its incredibly important ...

April 26, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Jason is a former professor of mine, and I was really excited to see that his book had come out. I was not disappointed. It links border policy with its incredibly important humanistic implications. It uses theoretic analysis of bureaucracy alongside some innovative fieldwork to illustrate a truth for people who don't know what's really going on on the border, and in our federal governmental structure. I recommend it to anyone interested in immigration, border issues, or just the general study/intrigue about how seemingly benign power structures perpetuate violence and injustice. Not a happy read, but well well worth it.

6 people found this helpful

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Jennifer Preston

Excellent read - worth the purchase

July 8, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is excellent. It frames how the US got to this ridiculous situation with the border with Mexico and provides real insight in to the experience of people who cross. Occasionally uses highly academic terms, but overall an excellent read.

3 people found this helpful

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Whitney

I think this book gives great insight on what migrants have to go through when ...

October 13, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I think this book gives great insight on what migrants have to go through when crossing them border to get to America. Even though I do not agree with what the author said about some things, this book was written very well and drew me in from the moment I started reading this book. I would definitely recommend people to read this book to learn a bit about migration and immigration policies.

2 people found this helpful

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William L Tilton

Fascinating first person stories and great archaeological context

November 8, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you have any interest in the stories of people from Mexico, Central American or South America who form our wave of migrants from the south, this is a MUST READ book. Fascinating first person stories and great archaeological context. Highly recommended.

7 people found this helpful

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The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail (Volume 36) (California Series in Public Anthropology) First Edition