Daniel Cunha has a lot on his mind. He got dumped by his pregnant girlfriend, his grandfather just dropped dead and on the anniversary of the raid that doomed his drug-dealing aunt and uncle, his vicious mother is coming home . . . Misfortune, however, is a Cunha family affair, and no generation is spared. Not Daniel's grandfather João, forced to raise his siblings while still a child himself. Not João's wife, Marta, branded as a bruxa and dragged from her home. And certainly not Maria, so envious of her younger sister's beauty that she took revenge and fled to the States, abandoning her children. But now Maria has returned to finally make peace, or so she says. As New Year's Eve nears, the Cunha family hurtles toward an irrevocable breaking point: a fire, a knife, and a death on the sands of Copacabana Beach.

Through the original writings and photography of renowned geologist Harold Rollin Wanless, this book paints a thorough and engaging picture of the White River Badlands' landscape, geology, biology, pioneer settlers, and how life was lived 100 years ago in a harsh, challenging, remote setting. In the summer of 1920, Harold Rollin Wanless, fresh from an undergraduate geology degree at Princeton, spent the first of three summers in the Badlands of South Dakota camping, hiking, and collecting fossil vertebrate skulls. Harold produced a fascinating and thorough diary and report, illustrated with over 100 image plates, in which he explains the geology, biology, and climate of this famous area. Wanless became deeply involved with and vividly records the life, hopes, trials and character of the new homesteading pioneers of the area, and the people and livelihoods he encountered are reflected in the diary as well. This is an engaging look at the history, environment, people and geological character of a unique portion of the American West. Combining a first-hand look at the White River Badlands and its people a century ago with the fossil history contained in its Cenozoic sediments gives a well-rounded historical presentation. This diary was found, compiled, and edited by Drs. Harold Rogers Wanless (the diarist's son and an accomplished geologist himself) and Emmett Evanoff. In the introductory and concluding chapters of this book, they provide a broader perspective of Harold Rollin Wanless's life and his significant achievements beyond the Badlands venture described here. In addition, this narrative - written "only" a century ago - provides a stark contrast with how we travel, communicate, conduct research and survive today, yet shows that human curiosity and kindnesses have not changed.

Daniel Cunha has a lot on his mind. He got dumped by his pregnant girlfriend, his grandfather just dropped dead and on the anniversary of the raid that doomed his drug-dealing aunt and uncle, his vicious mother is coming home . . . Misfortune, however, is a Cunha family affair, and no generation is spared. Not Daniel's grandfather João, forced to raise his siblings while still a child himself. Not João's wife, Marta, branded as a bruxa and dragged from her home. And certainly not Maria, so envious of her younger sister's beauty that she took revenge and fled to the States, abandoning her children. But now Maria has returned to finally make peace, or so she says. As New Year's Eve nears, the Cunha family hurtles toward an irrevocable breaking point: a fire, a knife, and a death on the sands of Copacabana Beach.