Gathering the Desert Paperback – August 1, 1986

I actually read this when I lived in Tucson back in the mid-80's but since then have had to buy several more copies as gifts. The audience has been friends who live in the Arizona/Sonoran desert. The subject matter is people who truly live there - not people who live in cars and houses with air conditioning and sprinkled lawns, but the people who live out in the desert, in the 115 degree heat, with the unsavory wildlife and the prickly plant life - and who revel in it. Nabhan went out to live with these people, learn their stories, see the desert through their eyes, enjoy a hearty meal in the process, and tell us all about it. Because he happens to be a superb writer, the result is an engrossing picture of the beauty and sustainability of a landscape that most residents of southern Arizona prefer to shut out, bulldoze down, and hide from. If you enjoy the desert writings of Edward Abbey, Joseph Wood Krutch, or John C. Van Dyke, then you are apt to be glad you found Gary Nabhan.

I appreciate being able to have this book that is not immediately available in bookstores now. Gary Nabham is an excellent author and important expert on the Southwest and Ethnobotany

I was born and raised in the southern california desert, and am fascinated by how people lived here. this book has shone a fascinating lite on the desert and its inhabitants, animal, plant and human. it tells a great story. it also shows how we have lost so much to advancing our own culture. this is my third copy. I have read this book over several times, passed it on to friends, as well as purchased it for friends.

Came fast and in good condition for a used book.

This book is very well written. It gives you a feel for what "farming" in real desert is like. I couldn't put it down.

If you are looking for a reference on gathering desert plants for food or medicine this is not the book for you. It's filled with cute stories (some that seem to have any relevance to the book at all) and very little factual information. The sections on each plant just kind of wondered around with out any real plan in the writing. I can't understand how this book won any kind of award.

Wonderful book! Chapters on a dozen different low desert plants and their uses to (mostly) indigenous peoples. Half of these plants I grow in my garden, but I still very much enjoyed the descriptions of the cultural uses. Very well referenced also.

I gifted this to a former biology teacher, as I already have a copy We live in Arizona, so this helps acquaint us to the unsung wonders in the desert which keep us alive.