The Enduring Wild - by Josh Jackson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Winner, 2025 Golden Poppy Award for California Lifestyle, Chosen by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance

A galvanizing road trip across California's immense public wilderness from a beloved adventurer.

"The Enduring Wild is a call to look beyond the surface, embrace the deep connections that tie us to our public lands, and commit to safeguarding them for future generations." --QT Luong, author of Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks

It all began with a camping trip. Outdoor enthusiast Josh Jackson had never heard of "BLM land" before a casual recommendation from a friend led him to a free campsite in the desert--and the revelation that over 15 million acres of land in California are owned collectively by the people. In The Enduring Wild, he takes us on a road trip spanning thousands of miles, crisscrossing the Golden State to seek out every parcel of public wilderness therein belonging to the federal Bureau of Land Management, from the Pacific shores of the King Range down to the Mojave Desert. Over mountains, across prairies, and through sagebrush, Jackson unravels the stories of these lands. He tells of the Indigenous peoples who have called them home for millennia, of the extractivist threats that imperil them today, and of the grassroots organizers and political champions who have rallied to their common defense to uphold the radical mandate to protect these natural treasures for generations to come. For the adventurers, campers, explorers, map readers, road trippers, nature enthusiasts, and public lands lovers out there, The Enduring Wild is an indispensable invitation to know these places more deeply and to embrace our common inheritance. Illustrations by Rebekah Nolan.

Review Quotes

Winner, 2025 Golden Poppy Award for California Lifestyle, Chosen by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance

"Josh Jackson's The Enduring Wild: A Journey Into California's Public Lands is a story of adventures across 41 California landscapes, with photos of beautiful places you are unlikely to have seen, in locations ranging from the Mojave Desert to the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness in Mendocino County. [...] It's hard to tell if the places he visits gets more beautiful over the course of the book or his capacity to appreciate them and share his joy has grown." --Melina Watts, Los Angeles Times

"Jackson affirms Terry Tempest Williams' claim that every pilgrimage to the desert is also a pilgrimage to the self [...] Jackson is also a reliable guide to the earthly realities of managing these vast holdings. With its many photographs, maps, illustrations, and practical tips for exploring BLM lands, the book invites readers to move beyond what [Aldo] Leopold called American conservation's concern with show pieces. A satisfying read and a call to adventure." --Kirkus Reviews

"The Enduring Wild is Josh Jackson's captivating portrayal of California wilderness under the Bureau of Land Management, including large wilderness areas in the Mojave Desert, Eastern Sierra, and the Lost Coast." --Foreword

"The Enduring Wild is a compelling plea and an inspirational call to action to get to know these little-known but often-awe-inspiring places, which are now potentially on the auction block. [...] A beautiful book of photographs, maps, and illustrations coupled with accounts of Jackson's journeys of discovery to far-flung but public corners of California, this book is incredibly timely." --Jon Christensen, Alta Journal

"Josh Jackson takes readers on an expedition across the astonishingly diverse lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in California--more than twice the size of the state's nine national parks combined. Each step in this transformative journey becomes a deliberate act of noticing, cultivating a profound understanding of stewardship, resilience, and interconnectedness. The Enduring Wild is a call to look beyond the surface, embrace the deep connections that tie us to our public lands, and commit to safeguarding them for future generations." --QT Luong, author of Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks

"Footstep by footstep, Josh Jackson gifts a vision of the often unseen 'leftover lands' of California and the threats to these precious places. He seeks out, finds, and shares the subtle beauty and meaning that come from a search for understanding and a deep attachment to place. This appreciation of BLM lands invites all to find their way into the wild." --McKenzie Long, author of This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America's National Monuments

"Josh Jackson lives and breathes these lands. In them, it is clear he has discovered the secret heart of the West, and his approach to sharing it is full of genuine respect, enthusiastic admiration, and a love that shines like a sunrise." --Obi Kaufmann, author of The California Field Atlas

About the Author

Josh Jackson is a writer, photographer, and leading voice for public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Through his evocative Forgotten Lands Project, Josh employs immersive storytelling, keynote talks, and striking visual narratives to inspire appreciation and engagement with our least understood, least protected, and largely unknown landscapes. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, High Country News, Adventure Journal, Modern Huntsman, Backcountry Journal, and on numerous podcasts exploring nature, science, and conservation. The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California's Public Lands, his first book, is both a love letter to these landscapes and a meditation on belonging and reciprocity.