Overview

Listed as one of the Reno News & Review's ""New Books from Nevada Authors,"" December 29, 2021 The grazing rights battle between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the federal government, resulting in a tense, armed standoff between Bundy's supporters and federal law enforcement officers, garnered international media attention in 2014. Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens places the Bundy conflict into the larger context of the Sagebrush Rebellion and the long struggle over the use of federal public lands in the American West.  Author John L. Smith skillfully captures the drama of the Bundy legal tangle amid the current political climate. Although no shots were fired during the standoff itself, just weeks later self-proclaimed Bundy supporters murdered two Las Vegas police officers and a civilian. In Eastern Oregon, other Bundy supporters occupied the federal offices of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and one of them died in a hail of bullets. While examining the complex history of federal public land policies, Smith exposes both sides of this story. He shows that there are passionate true believers on opposite sides of the insurrection, along with government agents and politicians in Washington complicit in efforts to control public lands for their wealthy allies and campaign contributors. With the promise of billions of dollars in natural resource profits and vast tracts of environmentally sensitive lands hanging in the balance, the West's latest range war is the most important in the nation's history. This masterful exposé raises serious questions about the fate of America's public lands and the vehement arguments that are framing the debate from all sides.

Full Product Details

9781647792831

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Beginning with a vivid account of the standoff at the Cliven Bundy ranch in 2014 over Bundy's trespassing cattle, author John L. Smith takes readers across the West to learn about recalcitrant ranchers, Sagebrush rebels, and patriot militias. . . . Smith handles a difficult and diverse subject well, mixing in wry humor. This is a valuable and timely book describing a fringe movement that is still gaining ground."" - New Mexico Historical Review ""In this timely and compelling work, John L. Smith skillfully engages the numerous and diverse factors at play in what he appropriately refers to as the endless war over public lands in the American West. . . . Smith knows the topic and his subjects well, which is a significant strength of the book."" - Utah Historical Quarterly ""This thoroughly researched book provides thoughtful insight into a controversial issue that doubtless will continue for years to come."" - Thomas Mitchell, Elko Daily Free Press ""Smith's accounting of the standoffs and the Bundy trials are particularly poignant because Smith witnessed these events, reporting on them as they unfolded. His account contains details and explanations that are largely absent from other works on the subject."" - Leisl Carr Childers, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly ""This is a lot to unpack in Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens, but it is well worth the effort. Rather than reducing the story to a simple cause and effect, Smith has woven a complex narrative, operating on multiple scales of analysis and tracing a myriad of forces and influences. The result is a compelling read that warns us against trusting monocausal explanations for extremism in America."" - Christopher Herbert, Pacific Northwest Quarterly ""Smith's work is significant because it weaves historical context into key events of the last ten years, giving readers an early interpretation of recent history. . . . Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens has several strengths. It keeps the past close to the present, showing the historic roots of recent events. Smith excels at giving the reader clear and concise contextual information."" - Mette Flynt, The Journal of Arizona History   ""Smith is fair and accurate. Like the rest of Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens, the reporting indeed is balanced. I write this, not with tongue in cheek but with great applause for Smith's content and his prose."" - Bookin' with Sunny   ""Smith's accounting of the standoffs and the Bundy trials . . . are particularly poignant because Smith witnessed these events, reporting on them as they unfolded. His account contains details and explanations that are largely absent from other works on the subject."" - Leisl Carr Childers, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly ""Smith opens with a detailed and often breath-taking recounting of that tense confrontation in April 2014 between Bureau of Land Management and other federal agents and heavily armed sympathizers of rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons, analyzing the issues and motivations of the cast of rather colorful and often charismatic characters. . . . This thoroughly researched book provides thoughtful insight into a controversial issue that doubtless will continue for years to come."" - Thomas Mitchell, Elko Daily Free Press

""Beginning with a vivid account of the standoff at the Cliven Bundy ranch in 2014 over Bundy's trespassing cattle, author John L. Smith takes readers across the West to learn about recalcitrant ranchers, Sagebrush rebels, and patriot militias. . . . Smith handles a difficult and diverse subject well, mixing in wry humor. This is a valuable and timely book describing a fringe movement that is still gaining ground."" --New Mexico Historical Review ""In this timely and compelling work, John L. Smith skillfully engages the numerous and diverse factors at play in what he appropriately refers to as the endless war over public lands in the American West. . . . Smith knows the topic and his subjects well, which is a significant strength of the book."" ​--Utah Historical Quarterly ""This thoroughly researched book provides thoughtful insight into a controversial issue that doubtless will continue for years to come."" --Thomas Mitchell, Elko Daily Free Press ""Smith's accounting of the standoffs and the Bundy trials are particularly poignant because Smith witnessed these events, reporting on them as they unfolded. His account contains details and explanations that are largely absent from other works on the subject."" --Leisl Carr Childers, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly ""This is a lot to unpack in Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens, but it is well worth the effort. Rather than reducing the story to a simple cause and effect, Smith has woven a complex narrative, operating on multiple scales of analysis and tracing a myriad of forces and influences. The result is a compelling read that warns us against trusting monocausal explanations for extremism in America."" --Christopher Herbert, Pacific Northwest Quarterly ""Smith's work is significant because it weaves historical context into key events of the last ten years, giving readers an early interpretation of recent history. . . . Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens has several strengths. It keeps the past close to the present, showing the historic roots of recent events. Smith excels at giving the reader clear and concise contextual information."" --Mette Flynt, The Journal of Arizona History ""Smith is fair and accurate. Like the rest of Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens, the reporting indeed is balanced. I write this, not with tongue in cheek but with great applause for Smith's content and his prose."" --Bookin' with Sunny ""Smith opens with a detailed and often breath-taking recounting of that tense confrontation in April 2014 between Bureau of Land Management and other federal agents and heavily armed sympathizers of rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons, analyzing the issues and motivations of the cast of rather colorful and often charismatic characters. . . . This thoroughly researched book provides thoughtful insight into a controversial issue that doubtless will continue for years to come."" --Thomas Mitchell, Elko Daily Free Press ""Smith's accounting of the standoffs and the Bundy trials . . . are particularly poignant because Smith witnessed these events, reporting on them as they unfolded. His account contains details and explanations that are largely absent from other works on the subject."" --Leisl Carr Childers, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly ""What this author brings to the table is a deep understanding of Nevada history and the political rivers running through it. Unlike other writers, he understands the state and the players as well as anyone."" --Geoff Schumacher, author of Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia and Palace Intrigue

Author Information

Nevada native, John L. Smith is a freelance writer, journalist, and author of more than a dozen books, including The Westside Slugger: Joe Neal's Lifelong Fight for Social Justice. He writes an award-winning weekly column for The Nevada Independent, and is a contributor to Nevada Public Radio's ""State of Nevada"" and a wide range of publications. An award-winning columnist, in 2016 he was inducted into the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame.  In the same year, Smith and his colleagues were honored with the James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism, the Ancil Payne Award from the University of Oregon, and the Society of Professional Journalists Award for Ethics.

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