Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America's Desert Borderlands [Hardcover]

John Annerino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 1999

In one of the hottest, loneliest spots on earth, John Annerino hooked up with four Mexican nationals determined to cross the border illegally. Their choice was simple: risk their lives crossing the desert for a poorly paid job in El Norte or stay in Mexico and watch their families starve. Annerino and his companions would have died in that vast, unforgiving land had they not shared the water they had and helped one another with the encouragement that seemed pointless at the time. Dead in Their Tracks is the true story of a desperate human struggle in a bleak, beautiful wilderness.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Photojournalist John Annerino has written for Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, and the New York Times. The author of eight books, he lives on the edge of the desert in Arizona.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows (May 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568581327
• ISBN-13: 978-1568581323
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,072,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John is pleased to share the exciting news two of his new photography and literature books were published on January 24, 2012: the "Land if Enchantment's" 100 Year Centennial Edition, New Mexico: A Photographic Tribute; and the "Grand Canyon State's" 100 Year Centennial Edition, Arizona: A Photographic Tribute. His third new book, The Virgin of Guadalupe: Art and Legend, will be published by Gibbs Smith on March 1, 2012. His landmark photograph commemorating the World Trade Center was recently published in the 2011, 10th Anniversary editions of the New York Times No. 1 bestselling books, LIFE One Nation, America Remembers September 11, 2001, and LIFE In the Land of the Free. The iconic image and others can be viewed online at www.johnannerinophotography.com. John Annerino's indelible photographs were published previously in the New York Times No. 1 bestselling book, America 24/7: 24 Hours, 7 Days, Extraordinary Images of One American Week, and the Grand Canyon state sequel Arizona 24/7: Amazing Photographs of an Extraordinary State. John is the author and photographer of many books, among them 17 distinguished photographic essays and thirty-two single-artist calendars, including Wild & Scenic Arizona, Wild & Scenic New Mexico, La Virgen de Guadalupe, and the award winning books Indian Country, Desert Light, Grand Canyon Wild, Vanishing Borderlands, Canyons of the Southwest, The Wild Country of Mexico, and Roughstock: The Toughest Events in Rodeo, (acclaimed by the Rodeo Hall of Fame). John's credits include Arizona Highways Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, LIFE, Newsweek, People, Scientific American, Time, Travel & Leisure, and many prestigious clients worldwide. In his quest to explore the renowned landscapes and secret places of the Great Southwest and Old Mexico with a camera and pen over last 25 years, John has climbed its hallowed mountains, rafted its wild and scenic rivers, journeyed on foot through its mystical chasms, and crossed its alluring deserts. He has photographed and come to know the region's Native peoples and ceremonies, Western cowboys and traditions, and Spanish heritage and celebrations. John Annerino is a member of The Authors Guild, New York. Visit his illustrated bio online at www.johnannerino.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another terrific work from Annerino, November 15, 2000

By 

Christopher May (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America's Desert Borderlands (Hardcover)

A story like this demands a great deal from an author. Although Annerino has obviously spent many hours researching the borderlands of the Southwest, the key to this monumental work is the extent to which he is willing to live the story he writes. He has taken immense risks, walking side by side through the desert with Mexican immigrants, and coming face to face with the coyotes and narcotraficantes and Border Patrol agents and ranchers of this volatile area. With Annerino's books, you always learn tons of local history, but never at the expense of that vivid sensation of dust and sweat and heat and imminent danger that keep it an interesting read. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about the little-known wilderness along the Mexican border and the human cost it extracts due to current immigration policies.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS is a remarkable, tremendously important, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America's Desert Borderlands (Hardcover)

August 11. I sat down this evening to read DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS, and just finished it. All in one sitting. I really couldn't put it down. I think it's a tremendously important book. It should be required reading for those planning to cross the border, and track and control the border through immigration policies. The author did a huge amount of research, and legwork. I commend Annerino's efforts and results. His photographs, along with the maps, work well together to give the reader a first hand encounter with the land and people who cross it. I like the pacing of the chapters, the inclusion of both the men who cross the border and the Border Patrol agents, and Annerino's very thoughtful reflections on the value of Mexicans killed in the killing fields in search of a paycheck to send home to their families. It makes me feel real bad. It is hard to read at times only because it's so sad. Boy, am I glad I wasn't the photographer on those trips! Thank you for the remarkable book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good immersion book, April 7, 2004

By 

Koby (AZ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America's Desert Borderlands (Paperback)

The photos in this book alone will move you. It was great to read about the author's journeys and firsthand experiences in the border desert of AZ. What I like most about the work is that we get a firsthand view of what it's like to cross those barren deserts just to get a job. It's amazing to hear those stories.

At one point in the book we read about John's travels from the Mexican border to the I-8 in the US. Elsewhere we read about his week-long journey through those same deserts at the peak of summer, stopping at wells and water-holes along the way just to stay alive.

While John's text is really disjointed, unorganized, and at times flat-out confusing, he's not writing to impress-- but to take the reader to the places he's been and help them to feel the feelings he has. This work is a great exposition of something that happens in our southwestern deserts almost every day.