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The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert Paperback - 2001

by Craig Childs

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The author of "Crossing Paths" takes on the defining subject of the arid west: water. His odyssey of risk and adventure follows the search for the secretive water of the desert where flows are hidden, ephemeral, sudden, and violent. Line drawings throughout.

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From the publisher

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

First line

The desert looks hideous.

Details

  • Title The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
  • Author Craig Childs
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 1st Back Bay Pbk
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Little, Brown Paperbacks, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
  • Publication date 2001-05-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780316610698 / 0316610690
  • Weight 0.67 lbs (0.30 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.26 x 5.54 x 0.82 in (20.98 x 14.07 x 2.08 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Southwest U.S.
    • Cultural Region: Western U.S.
    • Topical: Ecology
  • Category Nature
  • Library of Congress subjects Southwest, New - Description and travel, Deserts - Southwest, New
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 99057283
  • Dewey Decimal Code 553.709

About the author

Craig Childs -- naturalist, adventurer, desert ecologist, and frequent contributor to National Public Radio's Morning Edition -- lives in Crawford, Colorado. His previous books include House of Rain, The Way Out, The Secret Knowledge of Water, and Soul of Nowhere.
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Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Craig Childs

  • Used
  • Paperback
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Used
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780316610698 / 0316610690
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Back Bay Books, May 2001. Trade Paperback. Used - Good.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Childs, Craig

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Little, Brown Paperbacks. 1. Very Good. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning

by Childs, Craig

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Little Brown & Company. Used - Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Childs, Craig

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  • Very good
  • Paperback
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Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780316610698 / 0316610690
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Back Bay Books, 2001. Softcover. Very Good. 5x0x8. In Very Good+ condition. The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Childs, Craig

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  • Paperback
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780316610698 / 0316610690
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Childs, Craig

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  • Paperback
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780316610698 / 0316610690
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Back Bay Books, 2001-05-01. 1. paperback. Used: Good. 5.50x0.75x8.20. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning

by Childs, Craig

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780316610698 / 0316610690
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Little Brown & Company. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

by Childs, Craig

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