Search results

The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest relates to the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the 11th century converged on Chaco Canyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments--in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture and engineering--were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however,...

“Between the high Sierras south from Yosemite—east and south over a very great assemblage of broken ranges beyond Death Valley, and on illimitably into the Mojave Desert” is the territory that Mary Austin calls the Land of Little Rain. In this classic collection of meditations on the wonders of this region, Austin generously shares “such news of the land, of its trails and what is astir in them, as one lover of it can give to another.” Her vivid writings capture the landscape—from burnt hills to...

The landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region varies dramatically from parched desert lowlands to semiarid tropical forests and frigid subalpine meadows. Covering south easternmost California, much of southern and central Arizona, most of Baja California, and much of the state of Sonora, Mexico, it is home to an extraordinary variety of plants and animals. With a Natural History of the Sonoran Desert, this book takes readers deep into its vast expanse, looking closely at the relationships of plants...

"The book describes for a general natural history audience the unexpected scientific discoveries Fleming's research team made during an intensive 11-year study of four species of Sonoran Desert columnar cacti and their pollinators"--Provided by publisher.

Where nature writing meets humor—a raucous, hilarious look at life in the high desert of Nevada, from the author of Raising Wild and Rants from the Hill. Edward Abbey encouraged his readers to “be loyal to what you love, be true to the Earth, and fight your enemies with passion and laughter.” Here is Michael Branch’s response. Full of clear-eyed explorations of the natural world, witty cultural observations, and heart-warming family connections, How to Cuss in Western is a cranky and hilarious...

Along a tiny spring in a narrow canyon near Death Valley, seemingly against all odds, an Inyo Mountain slender salamander makes its home. "The desert," writes conservation biologist Christopher Norment, "is defined by the absence of water, and yet in the desert there is water enough, if you live properly." Relicts of a Beautiful Sea explores the existence of rare, unexpected, and sublime desert creatures such as the black toad and four pupfishes unique to the desert West. All are anomalies: amph...

'An important new step for world ornithology' – Professor Osor Shagdarsuren Mongolia lies in the heart of Asia, bridging the vast Siberian taiga forests of the north and the world’s coldest deserts to the south. It encompasses great mountain ranges, extensive steppes and deserts, and pristine rivers and lakes. Large and sparsely populated, Mongolia harbours a rich avifauna including an array of globally rare and local species. This first ever field guide to the birds of Mongolia covers 503 spe...

When Emily Kingsley arrives at the church, late and sad, for her Great Aunt Mary's funeral, she has no idea that her life is about to change completely. Still grieving for her broken relationship with the vain, mean and unfaithful Ted, and trying to come to terms with the cracks which seem to be appearing in her parents' marriage, she sobs her heart out in the church.At the wake afterwards, however, she and her cousin Clemmie are told that Mary has appointed them executors of part of her Will. T...

A magnificent illustrated journey into California’s famed deserts and the astonishingly abundant life they contain. 2023 Glenn Goldman Award Winner for California Lifestyle, Chosen by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller! From Obi Kaufmann, author-illustrator of the best-selling California Field Atlas, comes a grand adventure through time, geography, and ecology in California’s deserts. Of a piece with his richly illustrated books The Forests of...