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Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History
An acclaimed nature writer’s dazzling love letter to a strange ecosystem and a moving odyssey into her own identity.
More than a hundred salt lakes dot Earth’s surface, most of them hidden away in remote desert valleys. But today nearly all of them are at risk of drying up. Their death is a harbinger of rising sea levels, life-threatening dust storms, and environmental collapse.
Writer and geographer Caroline Tracey didn’t know this when she began crossing paths with salt lakes during her early twenties. From the Great Salt Lake to the Aral Sea, across the American West and around the world, the unusual beauty of these shimmering, uncanny bodies of water captured her imagination. In Salt Lakes, Tracey travels across four continents to seek out and describe these extraordinary vanishing lakes and the people dedicated to saving them. She takes readers along on her adventures by train in Kazakhstan and on an inflatable raft in California, on her encounter with Mormon environmentalists in Utah and an Australian Aboriginal painter seeking to capture her country for her children. In evocative prose, she traces shorebirds’ seasonal migration and the history of water law.
As Tracey chronicles the decline of the lakes, she also experiences dramatic changes in her own life and conception of self. Running parallel to Tracey’s environmental journey is an intimate, human her story of finding queer love and building a home in a world fast being remade by ecological crises. By the end of Salt Lakes, she shows us how seeing the environment through a queer lens could help save our water system.
An exquisite blend of travel writing, memoir, and reportage, Salt Lakes is an inspiring call to fight for all that is fragile in our lives.
More than a hundred salt lakes dot Earth’s surface, most of them hidden away in remote desert valleys. But today nearly all of them are at risk of drying up. Their death is a harbinger of rising sea levels, life-threatening dust storms, and environmental collapse.
Writer and geographer Caroline Tracey didn’t know this when she began crossing paths with salt lakes during her early twenties. From the Great Salt Lake to the Aral Sea, across the American West and around the world, the unusual beauty of these shimmering, uncanny bodies of water captured her imagination. In Salt Lakes, Tracey travels across four continents to seek out and describe these extraordinary vanishing lakes and the people dedicated to saving them. She takes readers along on her adventures by train in Kazakhstan and on an inflatable raft in California, on her encounter with Mormon environmentalists in Utah and an Australian Aboriginal painter seeking to capture her country for her children. In evocative prose, she traces shorebirds’ seasonal migration and the history of water law.
As Tracey chronicles the decline of the lakes, she also experiences dramatic changes in her own life and conception of self. Running parallel to Tracey’s environmental journey is an intimate, human her story of finding queer love and building a home in a world fast being remade by ecological crises. By the end of Salt Lakes, she shows us how seeing the environment through a queer lens could help save our water system.
An exquisite blend of travel writing, memoir, and reportage, Salt Lakes is an inspiring call to fight for all that is fragile in our lives.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
April 16, 2026
Salt Lakes straddles memoir, travelogue & ecological study. Tracey writes both lyrically and easy to understand prose. I found her style to be easy to connect to and deeply moving.
This book will appeal to lovers of nature writing, queer memoirs and hard ecological science. You need to be open to Tracey’s winding journey both through her life and her research. You can’t sit down to read this with preconceptions about what type of book it is. I enjoyed Salt Lakes most when I sat back and allowed Tracey to lead!
This book will appeal to lovers of nature writing, queer memoirs and hard ecological science. You need to be open to Tracey’s winding journey both through her life and her research. You can’t sit down to read this with preconceptions about what type of book it is. I enjoyed Salt Lakes most when I sat back and allowed Tracey to lead!
April 11, 2026
About half of “Salt Lakes” is what the title and blurbs promise: an engaging and informative description of the ecology, geology, history and ethnography of a number of salt lakes in North America and beyond. While the coverage is somewhat spotty and corresponds only with the author’s seemingly random personal travels (e.g., no mention of the Dead Sea?), this part of the book is a credible general interest account of an interesting geological phenomenon ala Simon Winchester or John McPhee.
The other half of the book, however, interspersed liberally within the first, is a tedious, pretentious and wholly unnecessary personal memoir of the author’s journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening, interspersed with endless details of domestic life and the immigration journey of her partner. While most authors of popular science/history/enthnography share a few personal anecdotes regarding their travels and perspectives on the subject, the soul-searching essays in “Salt Lakes” have little or nothing to do with salt lakes and offer no meaningful insight or perspective on the subject. Rather, they read like undergraduate reflection papers that have been plunked wholesale into an otherwise factual narrative, complete with tedious references to obscure scholarly texts (Russian Literature, Queer Theory, etc.). We read far too much about the author’s interpersonal difficulties with roommates and traveling companions, the gory details of calf birthing (James Herriot with an excess of vaginal references), and the uninteresting middle class upbringing that brought the author to the West. Not surprisingly, she elevates her own experience to that of the literary — frequently quoting Wallace Stegner (she is no Wallace Stegner) and other Western writers in adjective-laden prose that is, at times, embarrassing to read (e.g., the author reflecting on her own “strong, sinewy body”). Admittedly, the author tries to tie this material to the ecology of salt lakes (applying queer theory to the lakes themselves, their bird life, etc.), but these attempts are largely unconvincing and, at times, strained beyond credibility.
In short, “Salt Lakes” is a book with a split personality — one that is an informative read, but interrupted too often by irrelevancies and pretensions that a good editor should have insisted on deleting.
The other half of the book, however, interspersed liberally within the first, is a tedious, pretentious and wholly unnecessary personal memoir of the author’s journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening, interspersed with endless details of domestic life and the immigration journey of her partner. While most authors of popular science/history/enthnography share a few personal anecdotes regarding their travels and perspectives on the subject, the soul-searching essays in “Salt Lakes” have little or nothing to do with salt lakes and offer no meaningful insight or perspective on the subject. Rather, they read like undergraduate reflection papers that have been plunked wholesale into an otherwise factual narrative, complete with tedious references to obscure scholarly texts (Russian Literature, Queer Theory, etc.). We read far too much about the author’s interpersonal difficulties with roommates and traveling companions, the gory details of calf birthing (James Herriot with an excess of vaginal references), and the uninteresting middle class upbringing that brought the author to the West. Not surprisingly, she elevates her own experience to that of the literary — frequently quoting Wallace Stegner (she is no Wallace Stegner) and other Western writers in adjective-laden prose that is, at times, embarrassing to read (e.g., the author reflecting on her own “strong, sinewy body”). Admittedly, the author tries to tie this material to the ecology of salt lakes (applying queer theory to the lakes themselves, their bird life, etc.), but these attempts are largely unconvincing and, at times, strained beyond credibility.
In short, “Salt Lakes” is a book with a split personality — one that is an informative read, but interrupted too often by irrelevancies and pretensions that a good editor should have insisted on deleting.
Did Not Finish
May 28, 2026DNF @ 57%
Some of this is interesting, even learning about ranch hands (as opposed to science, ecosystems, and native american land rights)... but then it's interspersed with So. Much. personal memoir about her college life and dating and journey to queerness.
I really just wanted a geography/science novel, not to read about some lady I'd never heard of, sorry.
Some of this is interesting, even learning about ranch hands (as opposed to science, ecosystems, and native american land rights)... but then it's interspersed with So. Much. personal memoir about her college life and dating and journey to queerness.
I really just wanted a geography/science novel, not to read about some lady I'd never heard of, sorry.
September 5, 2026
Sunny’s author event!! :)
June 5, 2026
I always enjoy books that are willing to be experimental, and this one certainly was. This was a fascinating mix of environmental history, natural science, travel writing, memoir, queer identity, and ecological study all rolled into one. Some sections worked better for me than others, but I admired the authors ambition and passion for ecosystems that may seem lifeless at first glance yet are built around highly specialized forms of life (not to mention birds.) I also found their comparison between identity and salt lakes surprisingly effective. The main takeaway is that salt lakes are temporary just like everything else: species disappear, relationships change, and landscapes transform, but that doesn’t make these saline ecosystems any less important. 3.5/5
*Two Pride books back to back (and it’s only the 5th.) 🤔
*Two Pride books back to back (and it’s only the 5th.) 🤔
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
July 10, 2026
More memoir than microhistory, but still a fascinating read.
If you've even been interested in learning about salt lakes and their unique ecosystems and also a little bit of Russian literature, check this book out.
If you've even been interested in learning about salt lakes and their unique ecosystems and also a little bit of Russian literature, check this book out.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book is a blend of autobiography and nonfiction (science, history, politics) in a way that defies easy categorization, but makes the info-dumping more interesting than it might be in a standard textbook or pop-science format.
I picked it up thinking it would be mostly science around salt lakes, and was surprised at the many times the author elaborated on her (often terrible*) relationships. At first I was almost annoyed by those inclusions (plus the fact that she didn't immediately dump those partners), then realized it kept me more engaged than other non-fiction books do. It also added coherence and a storyline around the various lakes she visits, as she connected them to her personal experiences. Once I had settled into the format, I was surprised how often she quoted reference materials or interview subjects, but that does make sense given her graduate degree and the many nonfiction angles of the book. Tracey covers a wide breadth of material related to the lakes - the history of what's happened to them, the life that thrives (or is going extinct) within them, the barriers to preservation, local politics, etc. It's in no way comprehensive, but I appreciated the periodic deep dives, and ultimately found the writing style kept me engaged in a way that more conventional science books sometimes don't. Ultimately the book is hopeful (both for some of the lakes she discusses and her personal relationships). And she does draw parallels between her personal life and the lakes in a way that feels cohesive by the end.
Random side note: The book is generally well written and engaging, although the author occasionally could benefit from a thesaurus. If I don't hear the word "quotidian" again in the next 15 books I read I'll be happy, and I wish she had capped herself at using that word 5 times per chapter. She overuses "ephemeral" as well, but that one is often (not always) used for technical accuracy, so many of those are forgivable. This is a minor editing quibble, but would have helped.
*not abusive, so no worries about a trigger warning. But I was surprised she didn't dump some of them much, much sooner
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NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review expressing my personal opinions.
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I picked it up thinking it would be mostly science around salt lakes, and was surprised at the many times the author elaborated on her (often terrible*) relationships. At first I was almost annoyed by those inclusions (plus the fact that she didn't immediately dump those partners), then realized it kept me more engaged than other non-fiction books do. It also added coherence and a storyline around the various lakes she visits, as she connected them to her personal experiences. Once I had settled into the format, I was surprised how often she quoted reference materials or interview subjects, but that does make sense given her graduate degree and the many nonfiction angles of the book. Tracey covers a wide breadth of material related to the lakes - the history of what's happened to them, the life that thrives (or is going extinct) within them, the barriers to preservation, local politics, etc. It's in no way comprehensive, but I appreciated the periodic deep dives, and ultimately found the writing style kept me engaged in a way that more conventional science books sometimes don't. Ultimately the book is hopeful (both for some of the lakes she discusses and her personal relationships). And she does draw parallels between her personal life and the lakes in a way that feels cohesive by the end.
Random side note: The book is generally well written and engaging, although the author occasionally could benefit from a thesaurus. If I don't hear the word "quotidian" again in the next 15 books I read I'll be happy, and I wish she had capped herself at using that word 5 times per chapter. She overuses "ephemeral" as well, but that one is often (not always) used for technical accuracy, so many of those are forgivable. This is a minor editing quibble, but would have helped.
*not abusive, so no worries about a trigger warning. But I was surprised she didn't dump some of them much, much sooner
-----
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review expressing my personal opinions.
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May 29, 2026
I'll start by saying that I, in general, can appreciate the trend of women and femmes writing their own experiences into nonfiction science/history/non-memoir books. When it's done well, it can bolster the narrative of the "subject" while making it personal and human. I think it's also important to indigenize and queer subjects like ecology. Unfortunately, I felt like this missed the mark. A number of the personal stories seemed disconnected from the larger narrative, which was really a bummer. There was a lot of connection back to indigenous traditions, which I very much appreciated.
I can appreciate the experiences the author had which made her shift her view on aspects of the environment, but I think this book would have been better served by situating the salt lakes at the center and occasionally adding in autobiographical material as it more directly related. I don't feel that the author's experience with an irritating and invasive travel mate helped me learn the character of the Aral Sea or the author; rather, I appreciated when she talked about how hard it was to get there and the experiences she had in that town. It doesn't mean that she can't include personal info: the story about the author meeting her wife and learning about her father-in-law's connection to Mexico City's lake-related infrastructure is interesting and furthers the narrative. The author recounting how she figured out her first few sapphic experiences and having a flaky girlfriend seemed to take resources away from the story of the lake, though.
Although I mostly listened to this, I did see a physical copy of the book and was disappointed by the maps in it. I can appreciate the map of the Western US lakes and how they are spread out, but the foreign lakes are zoomed in on only the lakes, but have only basic details and no key. I am assuming that the dashed lines imply parts of the lake that are dry, but I don't know for sure, and I also have very little context as to what is around these lakes and where they are in their countries (there is a basic world map provided, but it doesn't help much).
I think this author can be compelling and interesting, and I would absolutely read somrthing by her again, but I would prefer if it stayed a little closer to the advertised topic.
I can appreciate the experiences the author had which made her shift her view on aspects of the environment, but I think this book would have been better served by situating the salt lakes at the center and occasionally adding in autobiographical material as it more directly related. I don't feel that the author's experience with an irritating and invasive travel mate helped me learn the character of the Aral Sea or the author; rather, I appreciated when she talked about how hard it was to get there and the experiences she had in that town. It doesn't mean that she can't include personal info: the story about the author meeting her wife and learning about her father-in-law's connection to Mexico City's lake-related infrastructure is interesting and furthers the narrative. The author recounting how she figured out her first few sapphic experiences and having a flaky girlfriend seemed to take resources away from the story of the lake, though.
Although I mostly listened to this, I did see a physical copy of the book and was disappointed by the maps in it. I can appreciate the map of the Western US lakes and how they are spread out, but the foreign lakes are zoomed in on only the lakes, but have only basic details and no key. I am assuming that the dashed lines imply parts of the lake that are dry, but I don't know for sure, and I also have very little context as to what is around these lakes and where they are in their countries (there is a basic world map provided, but it doesn't help much).
I think this author can be compelling and interesting, and I would absolutely read somrthing by her again, but I would prefer if it stayed a little closer to the advertised topic.
August 24, 2026
I found this book incredibly frustrating. There were times when it was what it had been billed to be--going into the interesting relationship between Mormon theology and Utah water usage for example, exploring all the ways the rise and fall of governments destroyed the Aral Sea, sharing the relationship indigenous groups had to different locations--but it is interspersed with winding vignettes about a white woman from California traveling during grad school and realizing she's queer. At times Tracey's weaving of her personal narrative and nature writing makes sense, like her comparison of the necessary bureaucracy to mark life events (her marriage and the immigration of her wife) to the same necessary bureacracy required to protect the life of ecosystems. But other times, such as her tale of getting dumped by her first lesbian situationship in Mexico City which somehow relates to the imperial wrought extinction of the saline lake Mexico City now sits in, feel smashed together for the sake of it. The lakes and their ecosystems were never really allowed to be the star, but were instead settings in which stories from Tracey's life take place. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the fit is imperfect and forced throughout. Further, Tracey's thesis--that taking lessons from queer living can save the environment--is fine if I felt she had conveyed what that actually meant. Queerness is not a monolith and queer lifestyle is incredibly varied. Tracey approaches it from a, to be honest, incredibly pretentious place steeped in queer theory and constant name drops of writers of varying obscurity (she uses the word "cosmopolitan" to describe the type of woman who will be able to share her interests when making a dating profile). She explains her own queer life (using a phrase "the queer quotidian") as living between her and her wife's two homes, biking to the farmer's market, traveling together with their dog. She acknowledges privilege but it feels more like a boiler plate virtue signal than her actually wrestling with how very affluent and academic her life comes across. Again, nothing wrong with that. But to make the statement "culture embracing the queer experience as I personally understand it and experience it is going to save ecosystems" feels hallow and a little self involved.
I understand what Tracey was going for here. The transformation of salt lakes and their ultimate death mirroring her own transformation and the death of the person she thought she was. The vitriol with which local communities declare salt lakes useless when in fact they are thriving oasises of life compared to the treatment of queer people in society and the truth of queer community. But it ultimately did not work for me.
I understand what Tracey was going for here. The transformation of salt lakes and their ultimate death mirroring her own transformation and the death of the person she thought she was. The vitriol with which local communities declare salt lakes useless when in fact they are thriving oasises of life compared to the treatment of queer people in society and the truth of queer community. But it ultimately did not work for me.
March 26, 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
-
I love reading non-fiction books about nature and expanding my knowledge as a nature enthusiast. I have never seen or heard of a book that covers salt lakes, so I was really excited when I learnt of this book.
However, my hopes of learning a lot about salt lakes in a scientific sense were not fully fulfilled.
It started really well, but then the book went from salt lakes to the author's personal life. And that is not a bad thing per se, it simply was not why I was there. I believe I learnt more about the author's life rather than Salt Lake's.
I think the narrator saved it for me. This narrator was one of those people who you can listen to no matter what they are talking about. If there were another narrator or I read a physical copy, I'm not sure I would've finished the book.
Overall, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't the best. I came for the Salt Lakes, stayed for the narrator.
This is a review of the audiobook.
-
I love reading non-fiction books about nature and expanding my knowledge as a nature enthusiast. I have never seen or heard of a book that covers salt lakes, so I was really excited when I learnt of this book.
However, my hopes of learning a lot about salt lakes in a scientific sense were not fully fulfilled.
It started really well, but then the book went from salt lakes to the author's personal life. And that is not a bad thing per se, it simply was not why I was there. I believe I learnt more about the author's life rather than Salt Lake's.
I think the narrator saved it for me. This narrator was one of those people who you can listen to no matter what they are talking about. If there were another narrator or I read a physical copy, I'm not sure I would've finished the book.
Overall, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't the best. I came for the Salt Lakes, stayed for the narrator.
This is a review of the audiobook.
June 27, 2026
Once I got past the beautiful cover, I found a book that just never came together into anything I liked. I don't have an issue with the premise or structure-- basically, memoir nominally built around certain salt lakes and their history-- because I thought it would be like The Library Book or Optic Nerve, personal meditations on narrow aspects of a big general topic the author cares about. Many books like that have worked for me, but this one was a struggle to finish. The (mostly indigenous) history hit me as preachy and inauthentic to a degree I almost can't believe, centering as it does Caroline Tracey's personal biography rather than any of the people she's actually talking about; and, probably relatedly, long long passages felt like diaphanously-veiled bragging. There is no humor whatsoever. Most of the book's politics are predictable, absolute, and substantially unexamined, leading to statements like "the only ethical position is x"-- all of which is pretty much the opposite of what I like to read.
During the Fulbright section-- after explaining how she won this scholarship with her cool research plan and got to study abroad in Central Asia-- Tracey seems to shame a female friend of hers for trying to add too much "intimacy" to their friendship. Examples given include telling Tracey about her own sex life and asking if Tracey is "religious," shocking breaches of friend boundaries for sure; by the end of the chapter I was cheering for the girl when she decided to break off the relationship. Nobody needs the kind of friend who judges her for jokingly referring to herself as a "fallen woman." Then, when Tracey talks about working "as a cowboy," she has to let us know that despite the physical, seemingly unprestigious job, she is reading queer theory (complete with lengthy info dump), pondering "colonial domination," and memorizing fancy poetry. I am by no means anti-elitist, but this is all a bit much. When she describes her first lesbian relationship in I think her 30s?, her attempts to make her girlfriend a villain for things like taking as much as an hour to return her texts (the emotional cruelty!) also did not impress me. She never admits to doing anything wrong herself in any relationships, ever. She travels the world and studies in Mexico and learns other languages and gets a Ph.D. and becomes a professor, etc., and at every stage I felt like I was reading some kind of excruciating combination of a dating profile and a CV. The more Tracey told me about herself, the more convinced I became that I don't know anything real about her (except that she sure loves the words "quotidian" and "ephemeral"). She isn't running for president, so she didn't have to write a memoir; and I'm honestly not sure why you would frame such superficial biography this way.
Goodreads pushed this book as part of their Pride Picks challenge for June, which is how I heard of it. I bought it because the cover was pretty and, again, the premise seemed like it could work. But there is so much name-dropping and lists of Things Tracey Knows, firm opinions about cultures that aren't hers, and a self-portrayal suggesting not only a lack of true self-scrutiny but also (sorry) a very, very smooth and easy life path. Sitting at what sure sounds like the top of Maslow's pyramid, Tracey doesn't describe anything that feels raw or recognizable to me. In memoirs, I'm drawn to heart and mess and laughter, and I didn't find those here. I would have much preferred if she cut the book down to a pure history of the lakes.
During the Fulbright section-- after explaining how she won this scholarship with her cool research plan and got to study abroad in Central Asia-- Tracey seems to shame a female friend of hers for trying to add too much "intimacy" to their friendship. Examples given include telling Tracey about her own sex life and asking if Tracey is "religious," shocking breaches of friend boundaries for sure; by the end of the chapter I was cheering for the girl when she decided to break off the relationship. Nobody needs the kind of friend who judges her for jokingly referring to herself as a "fallen woman." Then, when Tracey talks about working "as a cowboy," she has to let us know that despite the physical, seemingly unprestigious job, she is reading queer theory (complete with lengthy info dump), pondering "colonial domination," and memorizing fancy poetry. I am by no means anti-elitist, but this is all a bit much. When she describes her first lesbian relationship in I think her 30s?, her attempts to make her girlfriend a villain for things like taking as much as an hour to return her texts (the emotional cruelty!) also did not impress me. She never admits to doing anything wrong herself in any relationships, ever. She travels the world and studies in Mexico and learns other languages and gets a Ph.D. and becomes a professor, etc., and at every stage I felt like I was reading some kind of excruciating combination of a dating profile and a CV. The more Tracey told me about herself, the more convinced I became that I don't know anything real about her (except that she sure loves the words "quotidian" and "ephemeral"). She isn't running for president, so she didn't have to write a memoir; and I'm honestly not sure why you would frame such superficial biography this way.
Goodreads pushed this book as part of their Pride Picks challenge for June, which is how I heard of it. I bought it because the cover was pretty and, again, the premise seemed like it could work. But there is so much name-dropping and lists of Things Tracey Knows, firm opinions about cultures that aren't hers, and a self-portrayal suggesting not only a lack of true self-scrutiny but also (sorry) a very, very smooth and easy life path. Sitting at what sure sounds like the top of Maslow's pyramid, Tracey doesn't describe anything that feels raw or recognizable to me. In memoirs, I'm drawn to heart and mess and laughter, and I didn't find those here. I would have much preferred if she cut the book down to a pure history of the lakes.
June 3, 2026
I should've learned more about this book before I decided to read it for a Goodreads "pride pick" challenge. Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History blends Caroline Tracey's self-discovery of sexual identity along with the ecology of saline lakes. If I had time to burn, I would tally the number of times the word "queer" appears in this book. Not only does Tracey use the term to describe her personal journey, but also to analyze ecological systems through a "queer ecology" framework. Tracey is a good writer, and I really enjoyed her descriptions of the landscapes she visits.
December 1, 2025
Thank you to Under the Umbrella Bookstore that allowed me to read and review this as an ARC!
Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History takes you through an emotional journey of salt lakes throughout the world while the author explores her queerness. Tracey strikes a balance of discussing relevant history, nature, and her own story which makes the book interesting and informative. She further highlights the continued plight of the salt lakes due to human interference, and how to move forward towards saving these beloved lakes. This is an important read for anyone who lives near a salt lake. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys nature, especially those who have visited any of the salt lakes across the world.
Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History takes you through an emotional journey of salt lakes throughout the world while the author explores her queerness. Tracey strikes a balance of discussing relevant history, nature, and her own story which makes the book interesting and informative. She further highlights the continued plight of the salt lakes due to human interference, and how to move forward towards saving these beloved lakes. This is an important read for anyone who lives near a salt lake. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys nature, especially those who have visited any of the salt lakes across the world.
March 20, 2026
Salt Lakes has an intriguing premise, but for me it struggled under the weight of its own structure. The blend of environmental reporting and personal memoir never fully coheres, with the narrative often pulled in competing directions rather than feeling meaningfully integrated. I found the personal anecdotes in particular to be too bizarre and distracting, taking me out of what could have been a more compelling exploration of fragile ecosystems. At the same time, the book’s wide geographic scope comes at the expense of depth—each location and issue is touched on, but rarely explored with the level of nuance or analytical rigor that would make it truly resonate. Overall, while I appreciated the ambition, this one didn’t quite land for me.
August 25, 2026
2.75, but that is probably worse than this deserves.
It is kind of frustrating how many books that are supposedly about ecology in some way wind up being about the author's life story.
There was stuff mentioned in here that I would have liked to hear more about. In particular this book kept mentioning dust storms and asthma that would have been fascinating to learn some of the biology of. This book also would occasionally list of the contents of a lake, clearly intending for that to be like "look at all these dangerous toxins" but then didn't explain any of their effects on people or how they became part of the lake ecology in the first place.
This book can be pretty and well written at times, and if you like autobiography it'll probably suit you. I just wish I got the chance to actually learn about the thing the book is allegedly about.
It is kind of frustrating how many books that are supposedly about ecology in some way wind up being about the author's life story.
There was stuff mentioned in here that I would have liked to hear more about. In particular this book kept mentioning dust storms and asthma that would have been fascinating to learn some of the biology of. This book also would occasionally list of the contents of a lake, clearly intending for that to be like "look at all these dangerous toxins" but then didn't explain any of their effects on people or how they became part of the lake ecology in the first place.
This book can be pretty and well written at times, and if you like autobiography it'll probably suit you. I just wish I got the chance to actually learn about the thing the book is allegedly about.
Read
June 15, 2026Listened on audio. Be gay and save the great salt lake… and other salt lakes, obviously.
August 8, 2026
The lake parts were too thin and the memoir parts too grating
June 17, 2026
DNF @ 60%
This felt like two entirely separate books mashed together into one. I'm normally not against an author including aspects of their personal life in a history book because it allows us to see the connections and the author's own personal passion for the subject at hand, but it didn't work here at all. I came here for a popular history on salt lakes, not the author's life story.
This felt like two entirely separate books mashed together into one. I'm normally not against an author including aspects of their personal life in a history book because it allows us to see the connections and the author's own personal passion for the subject at hand, but it didn't work here at all. I came here for a popular history on salt lakes, not the author's life story.
Did Not Finish
August 11, 2026DNF.
I was pretty eager to read this book. The subject matter is very important to me and where I live so of course I wanted to learn more. That was until I came across factually untrue, low effort information put forth as fact. Now I am no expert, but I love history and strive to continue growing my knowledge of it. I find misinformation as the biggest issue to our society and the internet in general, no one fact-checks anymore and they all blindly trust whatever they read on the internet. I figured a well researched nonfiction book would be different, but I guess not. I can see the bias of the author and look past it, but I won't look past false information.
The Bear River Massacre occurred near the town of my namesake in 1863. I have personally visited the site numerous times since I was a boy. I have researched the tragedy that occurred there extensively. In this book, the author writes that the Bear River Massacre was committed by US Troops AND local settler militias. That is factually untrue. The Massacre at Bear River was committed solely by a US Cavalry Regiment of California volunteers under the command of Colonel Connor (an Irishman). No locals or local militias were involved in the Massacre, though they were involved in raids and other conflicts that eventually led to the Massacre. After the Massacre, local settlers gave aid to the US troops and a few Shoshone survivors. To add even more context, Colonel Connor was stationed in Salt Lake City at the newly established Fort Douglas (with cannons pointed at SLC) to keep an eye on the Mormons during the Civil War.
The author then goes on to say that after the Massacre and by 1865 that the remaining Shoshone in the area were relocated to Eastern Utah. That is the first I had ever heard of that so I looked into it more and couldn't find anything supporting that claim. To my knowledge and supported by my further research, most of the Shoshone in the area were relocated to the Fort Hall Reservation in southeastern Idaho. Those that did not want to live on a reservation founded the Native community of Washakie in Box Elder County which is definitely not Eastern Utah. This whole passage feels very low effort with little research done.
All that said, I don't trust the author to accurately teach me about other things, when her bias clearly clouds facts and her judgement. The best nonfiction books I have read are the unbiased ones that examine events from a neutral perspective without emotion. This is not one of those books.
I was pretty eager to read this book. The subject matter is very important to me and where I live so of course I wanted to learn more. That was until I came across factually untrue, low effort information put forth as fact. Now I am no expert, but I love history and strive to continue growing my knowledge of it. I find misinformation as the biggest issue to our society and the internet in general, no one fact-checks anymore and they all blindly trust whatever they read on the internet. I figured a well researched nonfiction book would be different, but I guess not. I can see the bias of the author and look past it, but I won't look past false information.
The Bear River Massacre occurred near the town of my namesake in 1863. I have personally visited the site numerous times since I was a boy. I have researched the tragedy that occurred there extensively. In this book, the author writes that the Bear River Massacre was committed by US Troops AND local settler militias. That is factually untrue. The Massacre at Bear River was committed solely by a US Cavalry Regiment of California volunteers under the command of Colonel Connor (an Irishman). No locals or local militias were involved in the Massacre, though they were involved in raids and other conflicts that eventually led to the Massacre. After the Massacre, local settlers gave aid to the US troops and a few Shoshone survivors. To add even more context, Colonel Connor was stationed in Salt Lake City at the newly established Fort Douglas (with cannons pointed at SLC) to keep an eye on the Mormons during the Civil War.
The author then goes on to say that after the Massacre and by 1865 that the remaining Shoshone in the area were relocated to Eastern Utah. That is the first I had ever heard of that so I looked into it more and couldn't find anything supporting that claim. To my knowledge and supported by my further research, most of the Shoshone in the area were relocated to the Fort Hall Reservation in southeastern Idaho. Those that did not want to live on a reservation founded the Native community of Washakie in Box Elder County which is definitely not Eastern Utah. This whole passage feels very low effort with little research done.
All that said, I don't trust the author to accurately teach me about other things, when her bias clearly clouds facts and her judgement. The best nonfiction books I have read are the unbiased ones that examine events from a neutral perspective without emotion. This is not one of those books.
August 20, 2026
3.5 stars ~ This was a serviceable introduction to the politics and ecology of a sampling of salt lakes around the world. I have a personal interest in this subject because I live near one of the stars of the book, the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and it was interesting to see how Tracey approached the culture surrounding it as an outsider (thoughtfully and fairly objectively, I found; she also interviewed several of my colleagues). It was also useful to compare it to the other lakes she covered, which I didn’t know much about except for Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras, which I visited growing up (my home county in central California also gets a tangential shout out in the chapter about the Salton Sea*). It’s fascinating how many parallels there are across these ecosystems in the western US, Mexico, and Kazakhstan, especially in governments’ mostly failed attempts to control the water and then the dust, but also differences in trajectory and level of “naturalness.”
A lot of other reviews complain about the memoir aspects of the book, and at first I thought this was a mismatch of expectations, because braided memoir and popular journalism/history/science is a well-established genre. But as the book went on, the memoir sections did start to feel less well-integrated and more self-indulgent. Tracey has a tendency to recount details in a methodical way, which works fine in the journalistic sections but leaves you wondering what the point is in her domestic life. I wasn’t blown away by the writing in either case. Her exploration of queerness (her own and more broadly) is vaguely interesting, but I wasn’t totally convinced by the connections to ecology or her assertions about how queerness gives one special access to a lifestyle grounded in quotidian details and presentness. None of her broad statements seemed especially nuanced.
But it was worth reading for the more factual sections, which do read well.
A lot of other reviews complain about the memoir aspects of the book, and at first I thought this was a mismatch of expectations, because braided memoir and popular journalism/history/science is a well-established genre. But as the book went on, the memoir sections did start to feel less well-integrated and more self-indulgent. Tracey has a tendency to recount details in a methodical way, which works fine in the journalistic sections but leaves you wondering what the point is in her domestic life. I wasn’t blown away by the writing in either case. Her exploration of queerness (her own and more broadly) is vaguely interesting, but I wasn’t totally convinced by the connections to ecology or her assertions about how queerness gives one special access to a lifestyle grounded in quotidian details and presentness. None of her broad statements seemed especially nuanced.
But it was worth reading for the more factual sections, which do read well.
June 3, 2026
“Just as queer ecology teaches us to celebrate the ugly and the unruly of the world, the scorned and the sacred, it also prepares us for these losses. The presence of the ephemeral in queer life is many-hued. It trains us to grasp the flashes of utopian pleasure on the horizon, but also to mourn the kin unjustly taken away. ‘Queer and trans peoples experiences of grieving premature death,’ writes the hydrologist Cleo Woelfe Hazard in Underflows, ‘can stoke collective action on extinction and repair.’ We have to mourn to recognize the gravity of the losses that surround us, and to feel how important it is to keep fighting to staunch them.”
…
“We saw phalaropes only from a distance, stationed on the opposite shore in large groups, then passing us in the air like big clouds, glinting gray and white as they opened and closed their wings. The way they moved as a collective reminded me of the fluttering ascendance of the predatory wasp song, where the feeling of sacred warmth came from the unexpected match between queer desire and natural beauty. They're queer birds, the butches of the bird world, tough women who refuse to follow the rules. When they fly past you, though, they just look synchronized and delicate. It's that kind of unimaginable match that makes queer love so powerful. It defies common wisdom about what's correct, overwhelming you with something so beautiful that it turns the whole landscape sacred.”
***
So stunning and beautiful. I loved every page of this.
…
“We saw phalaropes only from a distance, stationed on the opposite shore in large groups, then passing us in the air like big clouds, glinting gray and white as they opened and closed their wings. The way they moved as a collective reminded me of the fluttering ascendance of the predatory wasp song, where the feeling of sacred warmth came from the unexpected match between queer desire and natural beauty. They're queer birds, the butches of the bird world, tough women who refuse to follow the rules. When they fly past you, though, they just look synchronized and delicate. It's that kind of unimaginable match that makes queer love so powerful. It defies common wisdom about what's correct, overwhelming you with something so beautiful that it turns the whole landscape sacred.”
***
So stunning and beautiful. I loved every page of this.
July 1, 2026
From what I can tell, this book has some polarizing reviews. I think that in order to enjoy this book, you have to let it be what it is, and not what you think it should be. It is not strictly an encyclopedia of salt lakes around the world; rather, the analysis of salt lake ecosystems around the world is interspersed with the author's own discovery of self.
There are some times that the comparisons between ecology and queer culture get a bit out-there, but ultimately I think that in reading a book like this, you choose to see the world through that author's lens. I do think it was interesting how her unique experiences, from childhood through adulthood, shape the way in which she interprets the significance of and her own connection to salt lake ecosystems.
The author does do some deep dives on the cultural, political, and ecological backgrounds of many salt lake ecosystems around the world, so this is definitely not solely a memoir either. I do commend the author on her incorporation of indigenous historians in telling the stories of these lakes.
There are some times that the comparisons between ecology and queer culture get a bit out-there, but ultimately I think that in reading a book like this, you choose to see the world through that author's lens. I do think it was interesting how her unique experiences, from childhood through adulthood, shape the way in which she interprets the significance of and her own connection to salt lake ecosystems.
The author does do some deep dives on the cultural, political, and ecological backgrounds of many salt lake ecosystems around the world, so this is definitely not solely a memoir either. I do commend the author on her incorporation of indigenous historians in telling the stories of these lakes.
August 29, 2026
Great Salt Lake in Utah was the only salt lake on my radar, and I knew it was in danger of drying up. Thanks to this book, I have so much more knowledge of the abundance and importance of salt lakes, and how in danger they ALL are of drying up.
Tracey did a great job of weaving her personal story in with that of salt lakes. You can feel the deep love she has for the landscapes of the West and passion she has to preserve and reinvigorate the ecology of the country.
“Salt Lakes” also felt hopeful, which is not always the case with modern environmental writings. Yes things are dire, but there is also chance for renewal.
Tracey did a great job of weaving her personal story in with that of salt lakes. You can feel the deep love she has for the landscapes of the West and passion she has to preserve and reinvigorate the ecology of the country.
“Salt Lakes” also felt hopeful, which is not always the case with modern environmental writings. Yes things are dire, but there is also chance for renewal.
June 26, 2026
Different from what I usually grab, but I was curious about the salt lake connection and how much UT would be featured (which was kinda a lot tbh, but not always in a great light… :/ ) I tuned in and out just a bit but overall it was worth it.
-“It was the first of salt lakes’ many lessons for me: places that seem ugly or desolate are vital and complex in ways you don’t notice until you give them a chance…it’s possible, and even in the world we live in, necessary, to make a home in an environment that is inhospitable, toxic, and mundane.”
-“It was the first of salt lakes’ many lessons for me: places that seem ugly or desolate are vital and complex in ways you don’t notice until you give them a chance…it’s possible, and even in the world we live in, necessary, to make a home in an environment that is inhospitable, toxic, and mundane.”
Read
July 31, 2026a superbly written memoir, full of lush adjectives and descriptions, that showcases the breadth of the author's life experiences as well as her background reading: she was a Fulbright scholar who majored in Russian and traversed Central Asia, she was a ranch hand in a land previously occupied by the Zunis, and she was a scholar in Mexico with a specialization in the Southwest who also took classes on queer theory. Throughout the book she muses on natural history, such as the treatment of salt lakes and the abundance of examples of queerness in nature.
June 4, 2026
I loved this blend of memoir and nature nonfiction. Although the more technical parts about salt lake biology and the judicial aspect of salt lake protection were a little dry, the personal stories were a joy to read. I wish there was even more information about the cultural history of salt lakes, also in other parts of the world than America, because those stories were very interesting to hear.
April 30, 2026
I was genuinely not expecting to enjoy that as much as I did.
I struggled to find my flow with it but once I did it was beautiful to read.
Ecology and humanity, queer and indigenous and religious social histories, personal anecdotes and historical facts.
It was so good
I struggled to find my flow with it but once I did it was beautiful to read.
Ecology and humanity, queer and indigenous and religious social histories, personal anecdotes and historical facts.
It was so good
June 30, 2026
good listen i liked this more than i thought i would
July 21, 2026
While I appreciated and enjoyed the majority of this book, it was another one that was more memoir than informative. I really wanted to learn more about salt lakes, but felt that I learned more about Caroline's life.
June 15, 2026
I wanted information about salt lakes; I didn’t want the author’s dating history.
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