Desert

DK Eyewitness Books

by Miranda MacQuitty

Examining deserts and desert life, this book looks at different types of desert, how plants and animals survive, desert clothing, arts and crafts and exploring the desert.

Genres: Biology, Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically solid DK production, and a nice, informative follow-up to Desmond Bagley's Sahara-set thriller, Flyaway. Covers not only the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, but also (to a lesser extent) the Gobi, Kalahari, Australia's Great Sandy, and the American Southwest — although NO mention of the frozen Antarctic Desert, officially the world's largest.

The first third of the book covers "desert science" — physics, geography, weather, plant life, etc.— while the second focuses on the surprisingly wide range of uniquely-adapted animal life. People and culture only appear in the final section, and most of that dealing with the various nomadic groups (and their apparently-endless array of bladed weapons), including a lot of information on the Tuareg, who featured so heavily in Flyaway.

[Cool]

LIBRARY SHELVES

[Brent Barnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I partly read this because I'm interested in the Ancient Near East, but of course, it talked about many other deserts and the humans and critters there. Fun!