JACKALOPES DON'T EXIST (sorry), but we still love them. So let’s imagine that they not only exist but hold a magical power. In On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World’s Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer (Pegasus), Michael P. Branch jumps down a rollicking rabbit hole to discover the mythical hare’s origin story, the nature of hoaxes, and the viral cancer that causes hornlike protrusions on some bunnies. Research into that virus led to a vaccine for cervical and other cancers. Branch thus gives the jack its due and revels in its kitsch and lore. Other cancers still await a cure. Maybe Bigfoot holds the key?
Read More: Poet Michelle Otero focuses on the Río Grande Bosque in her newest book of poems.