Richard Menzies has logged a quarter million miles on his vintage Volkswagen bus in pursuit of pictures and unusual stories. His favorite destination is Nevada, which encloses more open public land than any other state in the lower forty-eight.

“Nevada’s backcountry is sparsely populated yet surprisingly rich in diversity,” he writes. “Her social fabric is a colorful tapestry of cultures and ethnicities, fringed by eccentrics who simply defy categorization. Think of the Silver State as a haven for those irregular souls who could never be content with a nine-to- five job or a three-bedroom, split-level in suburbia.”

Passing Through is a compilation of the most memorable “misfits” Menzies has encountered in the course of his peripatetic wanderings across the American Outback.

Each chapter is richly illustrated with Menzies’ technically brilliant and hauntingly poignant photographs, rendered in warm sepiatones.

ForeWord magazine announced the winners of the 2005 Book of the Year Awards, a program established in 1998 to recognize quality books published by independent and university presses. Passing Through: An Existential Journey Across America’s Outback was awarded the Bronze prize for Travel-Essay Book of the Year.

Librarians and booksellers across the U.S. selected winners. The entries were judged on criteria including originality, writing and production quality, and patron/customer interest in the subject matter.