Summary

Part Three, “In Desolation,” opens with Chapter 10, “The Long Walk.” The chapter opens on May 20 at 6 a.m. Mendez tries desperately to get the group back towards Ajo. Mendez’s trail is becoming more erratic. Distributing water becomes a contentious issue, and Mendez refuses to share his water. Mendez makes another wrong turn. Santos, another of the expedition leaders who replaced Maradona, leads another group to retrace their steps back to Mexico. They were never found.

In the brief Chapter Eleven, “Their Names,” the author returns to the stories of why each man left his home to seek work in the United States and describes the different objects they carried with them. He concludes with a brief note on Lauro: “Mendez was the closest thing he had to a friend out there, and Mendez didn’t even know his real name” (149).

Chapter...