Synopses & Reviews
Like the highest mountain peaks, deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to the most seasoned explorers. As Craig Childs makes clear in this highly praised book, there are two easy ways to die in the desert: thirst or drowning. His extraordinary treks through arid lands in search of water mysterious solitary water holes, a network of streams that flow only at night, a gushing fountain that conceals a hidden lake, serene and otherworldy are an astonshing revelation of the natural world at its most extreme.
Review
"Highlights include terrifying accounts of flash floods and a fascinating cave exploration, complete with wet suits, deep in the Grand Canyon." Library Journal
Synopsis
Naturalist Craig Childs's "utterly memorable and fantastic" study of the desert's dangerous beauty is based on years of adventures in the deserts of the American West (Washington Post). Like the highest mountain peaks, deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to the most seasoned explorers. Craig Childs, who has spent years in the deserts of the American West as an adventurer, a river guide, and a field instructor in natural history, has developed a keen appreciation for these forbidding landscapes: their beauty, their wonder, and especially their paradoxes. His extraordinary treks through arid lands in search of water are an astonishing revelation of the natural world at its most extreme.
"Utterly memorable and fantastic...Certainly no reader will ever see the desert in the same way again." --Suzannah Lessard, Washington Post
Synopsis
Deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to seasoned explorers. Craig Childs has spent years in the deserts of the American West, and his treks through arid lands in search of water reveal the natural world at its most extreme.
About the Author
Craig Childs is a river guide, a field instructor, an adventurer, and a writer. He camps in the back country of the American West at least nine months of the year, usually living in the back of his truck, out of a river vessel, or from his backpack. He hasn't had a phone in 10 years.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Craig Childs