![]() First edition cover | |
Author | William T. Vollmann |
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Language | English |
Genre | Literary non-fiction |
Publisher | Viking Books |
Publication date | July 2009 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
Pages | 1344 (first edition) |
ISBN | 978-0-670-02061-4 |
Imperial is a 2009 study of California's Imperial Valley and Imperial County by American author William T. Vollmann. The product of over a decade's research, the 1,344-page published text is Vollmann's longest single-volume work. The book is divided into thirteen sections and explores the history, economics and geography of the region from 13,000 B.C. to the present day, with a particular focus on the border with Mexico.
Vollmann has called Imperial "my Moby-Dick".[1] The book was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for general nonfiction.