Desert Awakenings [Hardcover]

John A. Murray (Author), John Murray (Photographer), Jeff Gnass (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

Through his eloquent and often emotional essays, author John Murray shares his love of the desert. His text is a celebration of each of America's six desert regions: Painted, Sonoran, Colorado, Chihuahuan, Great Basin, and Mojave. The award-winning photography of Jeff Gnass is an unparalleled photographic portfolio of the grand beauty of this most enchanting landscape.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Northword Press (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559716665
• ISBN-13: 978-1559716666
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,524,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The desert never looked more beautiful, October 29, 2001

By 

Brent S Avery (Burnaby, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desert Awakenings (Hardcover)

Jeff Gnass and John Murray have managed to convey with in the pages of this wonderful book the incredibly diverse and colorful landscapes that makeup the desert regions of the south western United States. Their photographic images are with out a doubt some of the best ever put to film. Tne text is entertaining as well with personal insights relating to visiting a particular area photographed. I never grow tired of looking at the images- they are as close as you can get without actually being there. Highly recommended for lovers of the desert regions or for those that would like to experience them but cannot get there.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!Suggestive!Inspiring, November 9, 2001

By 

Johannes (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desert Awakenings (Hardcover)

Well,I had heard of this book before I saw it in a local bookstore,but I thought it wouldn`t be good,as the desert book "Western Horizon" was said to be better.
But I was wrong at this time. Already when I first looked inside it,I knew it would be amazingly suggestive for me. And I bought it. It was rather cheap for beeing such a book.
It features all kinds of deserted landscape from the US.
Some times,it doesn`t look much like desert,mostly in the Mojave,which the first chapter is about. Deserts are not at all lifeless places - in fact,it is full of wild palms,beautifull flowers and cacti with artistic shapes.
The second chapter treats the Sonoran Desert,and it,too,contains more of the diverse flora,especially the red cactus flowers.
In the third chapter,called Colorado Desert - Life on the Rocks,there are lots of such pictures too,but there is one special image that catches your attention immidiatley - pressure ridges in a salt pan,which looks like the finest crystals ever found!
The fourth chapter shows other kinds of desert. For you who like rocky deserts,this is something. It has fantastic sceneries from hundreds of feet high rocks,as well as a picture of dunes with white sand. That is the most lifeless of all deserts and the quietness is sometimes even frightening.
The fifth chapter is about The Great Basin Desert,and that is the largest desert of North America. Many pics in this chapter contains really fantastic views,and you`ll even find SNOW here!In a desert!Just amazin,isn`t it?Some of the most inspiring pictures are found here,and therefore,this is my favorite chapter. The special with those pictures are the mud formations at dusk.
The sixth chapter is "Painted Desert",which is also very inspiring,and here there are some pictures of the Colorado Plateau,which is fantastic rock formations where fossils of my favorite animals can be found (dinosaurs!). Many of the formations here are well-known from Western Movies. In this chapter,amazing pictures of Grand Canyon can be found as well.
I have now realized that this is my No.1 inspiration source for my animal stories. When I am drawing them,I am always looking at pictures of this book to find a suitable background for my dinosaurs. I am combining the best pictures. And then it is just to add the dinos. When I read this book,I pretend that I am trying to create a good dinosaur movie when looking at the pictures. It is incredibly inspiring,and ABSOLUTELY something for anyone who likes painting or look at landscapes.
You could spend (money) for "The Western Horizon" or (less) for this one. The choice is up to you. But I have made mine. Get inspired and save a lot of money by buying this one!