Books
Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country (2009) offers a fresh interpretation of the history of the government's failed policy to preserve grazing lands by eradicating livestock on the Navajo reservation during the 1930s, with particular focus on women, the primary owners and tenders of the animals. Winner of the Hal Rothman Award, the Norris and Carol Hundley Award, and the Caroline Bancroft Honor Book Award, among others.
Buildings of Wisconsin (2017) represents the capstone of my career as a historic preservationist. From Milwaukee to Madison, Racine to Eau Claire, La Crosse to Sheboygan, and scores of places in between, tradition and progressivism have shaped Wisconsin's architectural landscape. This volume in the Society of Architectural Historians' Buildings of the United States series showcases noteworthy and representative sites across the state's six major regions and seventy-two counties. More than 750 entries canvass the entire Midwestern mosaic, including Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces, the extraordinary Basilica of St. Josaphat, Yerkes Observatory, Old World Wisconsin, the quirky Wisconsin Concrete Park and Dickeyville Grotto, Aldo Leopold's "shack," grand theaters, breweries, lighthouses, Northwoods retreats, octagon houses, round barns, and much more. Published by the University of Virginia Press.
Land of Plenty (1995), a social and labor history, narrates the experiences of the pejoratively named "Okies," who were lured to and labored in Arizona's cotton fields during the Great Depression. Now out of print, this book won the Angie Debo prize for best book on the American Southwest published by the University of Oklahoma Press.
Scholarly essays
My scholarly essays have dealt with the so-called Okie migration, agricultural labor, Navajo environmental history, and gender.
Journal writings
My short journal writings focus primarily on environmental controversies, environmental justice, and public history.