Joachim Hildebrand

How could one approach an American myth better than through a road trip? Joachim Hildebrand traveled through the seven states of the American Southwest, where the Wild West is geographically and imaginatively located. The book title inevitably conjures images full of clichés and stereotypes in our minds. However, today, as wilderness is being pushed aside by civilization, Joachim Hildebrand discovers entirely different images in the former borderland of the American frontier. His gaze is directed towards blurred edges, contrasts, boundaries, and transitions: from architecture to nature, from urbanity to landscape. The archetypes of the American West have become mere caricatures. The myths of the Wild West and manifest destiny, which are central to the self-understanding of the USA, are being deconstructed. Nevertheless, the West remains significant for Joachim H.