She has an M.Litt. and a D.Phil. in social anthropology from Oxford University and lived in Europe for thirty years before returning to the U.S. in 2002. She is the author of a widely acclaimed The Circle of Mountains: A Basque Shepherding Community (University of Nevada Press), and numerous articles about Basque culture and, most recently, Franco-Basque-German relations during the Occupation. In 2007, she received the Millstone Prize, a national award for exceptional contributions to the study of French history.