A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures, and the Search for Heaven on Earth
Pure Land is the story of the most brutal murder in the history of Grand Canyon and how McGivney's quest to investigate the victim's life and death wound up guiding the author through her own life-threatening crisis. On this journey stretching from the southern tip of Japan to the bottom of Grand Canyon, and into the ugliest aspects of human behavior, Pure Land offers proof of the healing power of nature and of the resiliency of the human spirit.
Techniques and Skills for Stoking the Flames Both Indoors
and Out
W.W. Norton, November 2017
Part how-to, part history of fire, Building Wood Fires is an essential guide for anyone with a fireplace, backyard fire pit, or love of camping. Outdoor journalist and wilderness expert Annette McGivney shares years of expertise, providing tips from whereto build your fire pit to how to roast the perfect marshmallow and helpful diagrams to demonstrate essential techniques.
Building Wood Fires
Glen Canyon and a New Vision for the American West
With photographs by James Kay
Foreword by Bill McKibben
Braided River/The Mountaineers Books, 2009
"No matter your view on Glen Canyon and whether it should be preserved or not, this is a book that will capture your attention. It is thoughtfully written and the images of Glen Canyon and Lake Powell are spectacularly interesting." -- Deseret News
A Guide to the New Wilderness Etiquette
Second Edition
The True Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America's Misguided Quest for Wellness
Torrey House Press, available September 2026
In her latest book, Annette McGivney offers up a blend of narrative elements that readers who care most deeply about the American Southwest will find bracing, provocative, and potentially transformational. This is a true-crime thriller that may well alter (and will surely challenge) the way you think about the New Age, self-help, and wellness industries. It is also an edifying memoir infused with all the searching introspection and unsparing honesty of an author who is willing to confront the darkness and hypocrisy residing not only within her subject, but also deep inside her own past. More than anything else, however, Plastic Shaman stands as a profoundly unsettling treatise on the toxic legacy of our nation's treatment of its original inhabitants, told by a writer whose wisdom, eloquence, and moral courage continue to grow with each new title she brings into the world.
— Kevin Fedarko, author of The Emerald Mile and A Walk in the Park
Leave No Trace
Beyond cleaning up your trash and not cutting down trees for firewood, how far should you go to minimize your impact on wilderness lands? What is really important, and what is too extreme? Annette provides thoughtful answers based on scientific facts. She presents practical tips and techniques tailored for hikers, climbers, backcountry skiers, mountain bikers, equestrians, sea kayakers, canoeists, and rafters.