Cheap Land Colorado

Off-Gridders at America's Edge

By: Ted Conover

Narrated by: Ted Conover

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From Pulitzer Prize finalist and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Newjack, a passage through an America lived wild and off the grid, where along with independence and stunning views come fierce winds, neighbors with criminal pasts, and minimal government and medical services.

“In these dispatches, [Conover] invites readers to ride shotgun along an unraveling edge of the American West, where sepia-toned myths about making a fresh start collide with modern modes of alienation, volatility, and exile.... In a nation whose edges have come to define its center, this is essential reading.”—Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

In May 2017, Ted Conover went to Colorado to explore firsthand a rural way of life that is about living cheaply, on your own land—and keeping clear of the mainstream. The failed subdivisions of the enormous San Luis Valley make this possible. Five-acre lots on the high prairie can be had for five thousand dollars, sometimes less.

Conover volunteered for a local group trying to prevent homelessness during the bitter winters. He encountered an unexpected diversity: veterans with PTSD, families homeschooling, addicts young and old, gay people, people of color, lovers of guns and marijuana, people with social anxiety—most of them spurning charity and aiming, and sometimes failing, to be self-sufficient. And more than a few predicting they’ll be the last ones standing when society collapses.

Conover bought his own five acres and immersed himself for parts of four years in the often contentious culture of the far margins. He found many who dislike the government but depend on its subsidies; who love their space but nevertheless find themselves in each other’s business; who are generous but wary of thieves; who endure squalor but appreciate beauty. In their struggles to survive and get along, they tell us about an America riven by difference where the edges speak more and more loudly to the mainstream.

©2022 Ted Conover (P)2022 Random House Audio

Great Book!

This is probably the most engaging book I’ve listened to this year. Excellent work and excellent stories to tell.

Thoughtful Examination of Life on the Margins

Cheap Land Colorado does a great job of explaining the appeal of the remote San Luis Valley. The book brings to life people who have come to this valley to make it their home. Regarding the narration, Conover is a calm and methodical narrator.

Enjoyable listen

Enjoyed the book, exposed me to a life I drive through but never experience. The author was able to insert himself into a culture much different than his normal life and presented an unbiased look into another world.
Nothing extrodinary happens during the book but it is a relaxing deep listen to what life is like out there……wherever that may be. There are many places like this in America.

Cheap Land (insert state here)

Not only is that the right set of keywords, it was such an apt title for this book. This was a wonderful story that could have kept on going and with so many tangents the run through to the end. As a former big city dweller now living in a small rural town, I can relate to so much of what the author experienced. I was once told by a work colleague who lived in Baja, CA that people there were wanted and unwanted and I feel the author has perfectly captured that essence. If only for the realism of off grid life is like this book is worth listening to.

Eye-Opening

He describes the San Luis valley from a very interesting perspective of immersion there.
It is concerning that there is so much deception, crime, poverty, etc. there... probably many good people, but pushed to their limits.

Great book

Loved the descriptions of the area, people and history of the San Luis Valley.

Pronghorn are not antelopes

Really hope to enjoy this book but...
Bad way to start, with an inaccuracy in the sample.

Been there

This book was so exciting to read after my own experiences in the San Luis Valley. I loved Cheap Land Colorado. Conover is concise, funny and impartial.

Fascinating

This was a great book and a total surprise to me with how engrossing it was. I’ll admit; I’m a Coloradoan who has spent time in the San Luis Valley so the subject matter hit home, but this is just an interesting story, well-told

Fascinating!

As a longtime Coloradan, I’m always interested in learning more about my adopted state. This book was illuminating and eye-opening. I usually prefer a professional narrator but the author’s narration was excellent.