All the Wild and Lonely Places, Journeys in a Desert landscape  •  Lawrence Hogue HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES Portrayed as bleak and inhospitable, the huge expanse of Anza-Borrego desert in the Southern California Rift includes palm canyons, mountains and sandstone gorges that have long been home to the Cahuilla and Kumeyaay peoples. Hogue looks at the notion of wilderness and its historic uses in this lively natural history of the region. (USW338, $30.00)
Arabian Sands  •  Wilfred Thesiger  •  Rory Stewart EXPLORATION •  2007 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES • FAVORITE The last of the great British traveler-explorers, Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003) journeyed among the nomadic camel-breeding peoples of Southern Arabia in the late 1940s, falling in love with the desert and ways of life of the Bedouin. This eloquent book, a Longitude favorite, is his tribute to vanished traditions. (ARB15, $15.00)
Baja California Plant Field Guide  •  Norman C. Roberts FIELD GUIDE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 309 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE We can't imagine a walk through the deserts of Baja California without this book in hand. With hundreds of color photographs illustrating commonly encountered plants, this excellent field guide also includes short introductory chapters on the botanic areas of Baja California as well as its geology and climate. (BJA05, $24.95)
Best Easy Day Hikes Anza-Borrego  •  Bill Cunningham  •  Polly Burke GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES A compact guide to 20 popular day hikes in the 60,000-acre desert park. (USW337, $6.95)
The Big Bend, A History of the Last Texas Frontier  •  Ron C. Tyler HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 286 PAGES A history of West Texas and Big Bend from Spanish exploration through pioneer days and the establishment of the national park. With archival photographs, maps, and a guide to historic sites in the Big Bend region. The author is former curator of history at the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art in Fort Worth. (USW90, $15.95)
Cadillac Desert, The American West and Its Disappearing Water  •  Marc Reisner NATURAL HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 582 PAGES A definitive history of water development in the American desert -- and a now-classic chronicle of wrong-headed policies and misadventures controlling the great rivers of the West. Originally published in 1986, the book was named by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best works of 20th-century non-fiction. (USW246, $18.00)
Compass Guide Arizona  •  Lawrence Cheek  •  Carrie Sears Bell  •  Michael Freeman  •  Kerrick James GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A personable and well written overview of Arizona's natural attractions, history, people, arts and architecture. Practical visitor information is accompanied by topical essays on Arizona's Hispanic heritage, cattlemen, miners, the Indian wars and literary excerpts by some of the state's best writers. Cheek introduces the guide with his own experience of moving to Tucson from Des Moines and his initial feelings of annoyance with the desert's bugs, climate and politicians. But his affectionate coverage of the state's canyons, mountains, deserts and forests proves that "in the end, this book is about falling in love." With detailed color maps and photographs. (USW121, $21.95)
Death Valley and the Amargosa, Land of Illusion  •  Richard E. Lingenfelter HISTORY •  1988 •  PAPER  • 662 PAGES An exhaustive history of Death Valley and the Amargosa River, up through 1933 when it was made a national park. Author Richard E. Lingenfelter discusses in detail the myths and folklore that were inspired by and helped shape the region. Filled with illustrations, maps and documents. (CAL10, $34.95)
Death Valley National Park  •  Fred Hirschmann  •  Randi Hirschmann  •  Mark Schlenz NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES One hundred and six color photographs of death Valley by landscape photographers Fred and Randi Hirschmann. It's a good overview of the park, especially recommended for travelers with a camera. (CAL13, $19.95)
A Desert Bestiary, Folklore, Literature, and Ecological Thought from the World's Dry Places  •  Gregory McNamee ANTHOLOGY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES From the ant to the wolf, this is a lively, informative tribute to desert animals and their place in literature, folklore and ecology. (DES08, $14.95)
A Desert Calling, Life in a Forbidding Landscape  •  Michael Mares  •  Stephen Jay Gould BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 318 PAGES A lively memoir and account of field research -- and the search for desert mammals -- in remote Argentina, Iran and Egypt. Curator of mammals and director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma, Mares has devoted decades of study to rodents, bats and other animals of Argentina with short forays to other deserts. With numerous photos and maps. (DES09, $29.95)
The Desert Road to Turkestan  •  Owen Lattimore EXPLORATION •  1996 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A classic tale of exploration, originally published in 1927. It tells of a daredevil journey by camel caravan through the high steppes of Inner Mongolia, a land inhabited by a sparse nomadic Mongol population. His first of many books, Lattimore tells much of the geography, history and culture of the region. (CAS14, $18.00)
Desert Solitaire  •  Edward Abbey NATURAL HISTORY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 289 PAGES • FAVORITE A beloved classic, read aloud at campfires throughout the Southwest. It's one of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about the Colorado Plateau and his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab Utah, his message is universal. Originally published in 1990. (DES02, $14.95)
Desert Survival Skills  •  David Alloway GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A practical guide to survival in the desert, leavened by Alloway's sense of humor and own experience in the Chihuahuan desert. Topics include finding and conserving water, fire, shelter, weather, plant and animal resources, vehicle repair and first aid. (DES06, $24.95)
Edge of Taos Desert, An Escape to Reality  •  Mabel Dodge Luhan BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1987 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES The extravagant New York socialite Mabel Dodge gathered with the likes of Gertrude Stein, John Reed and D.H. Lawrence before she moved to Taos in 1917 to reunite with her husband, the artist Maurice Stearn. First published in 1937, this story reveals the spiritual awakening she experienced through Taos, the Pueblo Indians and Indian Tony Luhan, whom she later married. (USW127, $21.95)
A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians  •  Robert Stebbins FIELD GUIDE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 533 PAGES This field guide covers reptiles and amphibians found from Northern Mexico to Alberta. With the variety of chuckwallas, whiptails and other localized lizards and snakes in Baja California, it is an indispensable guide to that region. Baja endemics are featured on four of the book's 56 plates. P.S. It's true that Santa Catalina Island has a rattleless rattlesnake -- although it's retiring and hard to see. With color photographs, newly revised range maps and very good descriptive information. (FG08, $22.00)
For All Seasons, A Big Bend Journal  •  Roland H. Wauer  •  Nancy McGowan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES These diary entries, compiled over 30 years, chronicle a year in Big Bend National Park. Wauer is the former chief naturalist at the park. With black-and-white illustrations and anecdotes. (USW89, $19.95)
The Forgotten Peninsula, A Naturalist in Baja California  •  Joseph Wood Krutch NATURAL HISTORY •  1986 •  PAPER  • 277 PAGES A classic portrait and celebration of the plants, landscapes and history of Baja Naturalist Ann Zwinger called this book "a delightful narrative of natural history exploration at its best." It's a classic. (BJA01, $19.95)
Gathering the Desert  •  Gary Paul Nabhan NATURAL HISTORY •  1985 •  PAPER  • 209 PAGES An ecologist with a particular interest in the origins of foodstuffs, Nabhan interweaves ethnography, biochemistry, natural history and journalism to document traditional uses of 12 Sonoran desert plants: the creosote bush, palm, mescal, sandfood, organpipe cactus, amaranth, tepary bean, chile, devil's claw, panicgrass, and wild gourds. (USW120, $19.95)
Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley  •  Robert P. Sharp  •  Allen F. Glazner NATURAL HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 329 PAGES This volume describes the geological features one will find in Southeastern California, from the Sierra Nevada to the eastern border of the state. It focuses on the rich landscapes and rock formations of the Death Valley region. (CAL12, $18.00)
Getting Over the Color Green  •  Scott Slovic ANTHOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES This anthology and tribute to the American desert features the writing of Charles Bowden, Ann Zwinger and Barbara Kingsolver. Highlighting the work of these and other renowned Southwestern authors, the collection includes more than 50 pieces, ranging from fiction and poetry to essays and field notes. While the pieces differ in style and tone, they all share a passion for the desert. (SWU62, $19.95)
Glory in a Camel's Eye, A Perilous Trek through the Greatest African Desert  •  Jeffrey Tayler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES The you-are-there narrative of a 535-mile trek across the Draa Valley in the Moroccan Sahara with Ruhhal guides. Published in Britain as Valley of the Casbahs: A Journey across the Moroccan Sahara, Tayler has also written memorably about Siberia and the Congo. Tayler (now based on Moscow) was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from 1988-1990. (NAF35, $14.00)
In a Desert Land, Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan  •  Neil Folberg NATURAL HISTORY •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 204 PAGES A stunning collection of photographs of the desert Middle East, including the Sinai, Petra and Jerusalem. Folberg, an American photographer living in Jerusalem, focuses especially on the evocative landscapes. A first-person account accompanies the photographs. Superb. (JRD06, $49.95)
Into a Desert Place  •  Graham MacKintosh TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 312 PAGES One day the spectacularly ill-equipped MacKintosh set out to walk around Baja California, with $150 in his pocket and a gallon jug of water in each hand. This is the vastly entertaining and typically British story of his 3,000-mile lark around the Peninsula. The book takes the form of a two-year-long diary, recounting the eccentric personalities and his day-to-day efforts to feed himself -- along with some down-to-earth prose on the remote grandeur of the desert and sea. While not exactly literary, the book is a fine introduction to the pleasures -- and perils -- of the desert. (BJA07, $16.95)
An Island Called California, An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities  •  Elna S. Bakker NATURAL HISTORY •  1984 •  PAPER  • 484 PAGES An introduction to the ecology and wildlife of the Golden State, this volume is filled with photographs illustrating a variety plants, animals and geological features found throughout the deserts, forests and coastline of California. (CAL11, $22.95)
Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country  •  D. Gentry Steele NATURAL HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 152 PAGES The evocative black-and-white photographs of this book capture the scale and magnificence of the desert landscapes of Big Bend. With a long introductory chapter on the region and 50 full-page photographs. (USW84, $19.95)
Lost World of the Kalahari  •  Laurens van der Post CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1986 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES Originally published in 1958, this poetic book is the story of a quest to find the San people in the remote desert. It has become a classic romanticized tale of an encounter between the literate European and "noble savage": mystical, captivating and a useful record of a time. (SAF24, $17.00)
Moon Handbook Baja  •  Joe Cummings GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES Packed with maps, charts and photographs, desert rat Cummings combines practical advice with solid basic information on the natural history of Baja California in this comprehensive guide. (BJA09, $19.95)
Naturalist's Big Bend, An Introduction to the Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles  •  Roland H. Wauer FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 149 PAGES A guide to commonly encountered plants and animals of Big Bend by the park's former chief naturalist with wildlife checklists, good descriptive information on the park and an extensive bibliography. Since it has few illustrations and most of those in black-and-white, the book is most useful as an introduction to the natural history of the park. (USW82, $15.95)
A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country  •  David Williams  •  Gloria Brown FIELD GUIDE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 188 PAGES A compact field guide to the wildlife of the high desert of the Colorado Plateau and the nine national parks of the region, including Arches and Canyonlands, featuring handsome watercolor illustrations by Gloria Brown. A former ranger based in Moab, Williams includes an overview of the history, geology and ecology of the high desert in addition to basic information that you'll need to identify common plants and animals. Published in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association. (USW289, $22.95)
Places in the Sand  •  Margaret Courtney-Clarke ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES A beautifully produced collection of color photographs of the Namibian desert landscape by the noted photographer. (NMB09, $45.00)
The Redrock Chronicles, Saving Wild Utah  •  T. H. Watkins NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES A natural and human history of the Colorado Plateau, and most specifically southern Utah, illustrated with photographs. Watkins, a professor and frequent traveler in the Southwest, explores the complex geology, human settlement and modern issues concerning the region. Enchanted by the beauty of the area, he also makes a genuine plea for conservation. (USW267, $29.95)
Sahara Unveiled, A Journey across the Desert  •  William Langewiesche TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 302 PAGES Traveling across the Sahara from Algiers to Dakar, Langeweische has written an uncommonly good memoir of the desert, with meditations on its history, inhabitants and allure. (NAF05, $14.95)
Sahara, The Extraordinary History of the World's Largest Desert  •  Sheila Hirtle  •  Marq de Villiers NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 326 PAGES A chronicle of the geography, history and nature of the Sahara. The author (who has also written about water) combines travelogue, science and archaeology in this informative report. In the second half of the book de Villiers brings in the great cities and civilizations of the Sahara. With a few black-and-white photographs, notes and bibliography. A Canadian journalist (whose family has roots in South Africa), de Villiers draws on travels through North Africa in the 1970s with his collaborator Sheila Hirtle. (NAF13, $14.00)
Scats and Tracks of the Desert Southwest  •  James Halfpenny  •  Todd Telander FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES An essential pocket guide to tracks, scats and signs of not just the mammals of the region but also the reptiles, amphibians and birds. Each of the species gets a double-page spread with line drawings of the animal, scat and track, range map, and description. With shaded pencil drawings by Todd Telander. (SWU61, $9.95)
The Songlines  •  Bruce Chatwin CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1988 •  PAPER  • 294 PAGES • FAVORITE This celebrated travelogue is as much about its gifted author -- and the meaning of travel -- as about the Aboriginal people and their ways of life. In this unusual book, Chatwin combines straightforward reporting, history, dream-time stories, and a heady mix of quotations from his notebooks. Along the way, he transforms a journey through the outback into an exhilarating, semi-fictional meditation on our place in the world. (AUS01, $16.00)
Tracks, A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback  •  Robyn Davidson EXPLORATION •  1995 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Davidson arrives in the outback with a dog, a little cash, and she manages to find some camels (feral in Australian desert since the 19th century) to carry her on her journey. This absorbing book is her account of her trek across the desert -- a tale of true adventure shot through with a feel for the landscape and empathy for the Aboriginal people she meets along the way. (AUS15, $14.95)
Yemen  •  Tim MacKintosh-Smith TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES A wonderfully insightful, informative and entertaining travelogue and history of Tim Macintosh-Smith's adopted homeland. Mackintosh-Smith can chew "qat" with the best of them, a useful quality when interpreting this ancient and, according to the author, strange land. He's a talented writer steeped in the language and culture. (ARB25, $18.95)