Why read Tucson Salvage?

Book cover of Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera

Book description

Literary Nonfiction. Essays. This book is a chronicle of the overlooked and unsung, a collection of award-winning essays based on Brian Jabas Smith's popular column, "Tucson Salvage."

"A true champion of the dispossessed and forgotten. ... I can't recommend this book highly enough."—Willy Vlautin

"TUCSON SALVAGE is holy work, no…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Tucson Salvage as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tom Zoellner

Author

Brian Jabas Smith lived a hard life on society’s margins and developed the ability to see people–the forgotten, the filthy, the addicted, and unattractive–that most of us simply look through on our way to someplace else.

In this wonderful book, Smith writes portraits of the invisible people of Tucson, Arizona, most of them down and out, and all of them with stories to tell. But he never slips into mawkishness and doesn’t expect the reader to “do anything” about society’s problems except pay attention to the human beings who take the worst of it.

His graceful and empathetic prose style…

From Tom's list on The best books about Southern Arizona.