Gathering the desert /

Harsh and sterile though it may appear, the Sonoran Desert has yielded for thousands of years food, fiber, home, and hearth for the many human cultures dwelling within it. Nabhan has chosen a dozen of the more than 425 edible wild species found in the desert to demonstrate just how bountiful the land can be. Each chapter focuses on a particular plant, such as mesquite, amaranth, and tepary beans, that has been perennially significant to indigenous peoples. The discourse on each plant is a rich blend of scientific facts and observation; each chapter also includes enlightening and entertaining anecdotal material that carries deeper messages about the use, misuse, and abuse of the earth. The book includes a dozen stylized pencil drawings of the plants discussed and depicts the plants in their relationships with human cultures. Word and picture together create a total impression of plants and people as Nabhan traces the turn of seasons in the desert. A bibliographic essay at the end of the book enables interested readers to pursue a deeper study of the plants discussed, as well as other desert plants. Appropriate for undergraduates (all levels), graduate students, and general readers.-R. Mellor, University of Arizona

Nabhan, a naturalist specializing in arid lands, seeks in this book to popularize his field. He believes a better informed general public would prevent abuse to long-standing desert ecology. With a judicious mixture of ethnobotany, folklore, history, sociology, and nutrition he creates a ``persona'' for 12 Sonoran Desert plants: the creosote bush, palm, mescal, sandfood, organpipe cactus, amaranth, tepary bean, chile, devil's claw, panicgrass, and wild gourds. The result is a series of essays that are very readable and enlightening while remaining more scholarly than popular. Recommended for large public libraries as well as academic and special collections. Sondra Brunhumer, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.