What exactly is a desert? How can I attract hummingbirds? Are cactus spines poisonous? Is a javelina a pig? This book provides detailed answers to 42 questions that the staff at the Desert Museum are most often asked. Supplemented with nearly 100 illustrations, this 200 page book is broken down into three sections: getting to know the desert, the desert as one's backyard, and enjoying the desert. Seven useful appendixes cover a range of topics including hummingbird gardening, venomous bites and stings, climate, and additional sources of information about desert life. A fun way to learn how wild and fascinating our deserts really are!
The 200,000 or so people who stroll through Tucson's Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum each year bring with them many questions: What is a desert? How is it that gophers and rattlesnakes can live in the same hole? How can I stop Gila woodpeckers from whittling down my house? If I find a desert tortoise, can I make it a pet? David Lazaroff, a biologist and writer, answers these and dozens more questions in this entertaining, intelligent book, which belongs on every Southwesterner's bookshelf. --Gregory McNamee
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
A New Resident's Perspective:
As a new resident, I had lots of questions about such a strange and beautiful land. Everywhere I turned for answers, I was pointed toward this book. So I bought it. The first night after it's arrival I opened it and didn't put it down until it was finished. It's not in my library, however. My wife and I refer to it so much we have to keep it closer.
A wonderful book about this beautiful part of the country:
This is a great book for anyone that wants to learn about this desert and the plants and animals that live in it. Unlike some of the other books about this topic that are written in an academic/textbook style, this book is written in a lively, question & answer format and is full of interesting and unusual facts. I've lived in this region for over 25 years and I learned quite a bit by reading this book.
just by flipping through it, I wanted to buy it!:
I only saw this once in the bookstore, and just by flipping through it, I knew it had to be a part of my book-collection. Just moving to the desert southwest, I have been thirsty for more about my new eco-system and home........I may not have so many dilemmas now on critters and plants..........
