The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'odham Country [Paperback]

Gary Paul Nabhan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Longtime residents of the Sonoran Desert, the Tohono O'odham people have spent centuries living off the land—a land that most modern citizens of southern Arizona consider totally inhospitable. Ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan has lived with the Tohono O'odham, long known as the Papagos, observing the delicate balance between these people and their environment. Bringing O'odham voices to the page at every turn, he writes elegantly of how they husband scant water supplies, grow crops, and utilize wild edible foods. Woven through his account are coyote tales, O'odham children's impressions of the desert, and observations on the political problems that come with living on both sides of an international border. Whether visiting a sacred cave in the Baboquivari Mountains or attending a saguaro wine-drinking ceremony, Nabhan conveys the everyday life and extraordinary perseverance of these desert people in a book that has become a contemporary classic of environmental literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“People often find science boring and ill written. Not in this book. Here the reader is lured into botany, ethnology, hydrology, and a couple of million acres by vivid writing, good pictures, and a beautifully produced book. . . . Anyone ignorant of the desert should begin their cure here.” —Tucson Citizen “The humor, spice, charm, insight, and compassion with which Gary Paul Nabhan weaves his tale make for enjoyable reading.” —Rio Grande Sun “Nabhan's point is that we transplanted desert dwellers have a great deal to learn from longtime, environmentally conscious inhabitants if we are not to destroy our fragile home. . . . A remarkably humane essay on nature and respect for it.” —Bloomsbury Review “The Desert Smells Like Rain offers a remarkable insight, sensitive but unsentimental, combining the sound perceptions of a scientist with ecological concerns, matching humor and a sense of human frailty with tentative hope for the future.” —High Country News “His eyes are those of a scientist, his prose and vision a poet's: spare, evocative, respectful of both facts and mysteries.” —Orion Nature Quarterly

About the Author

A MacArthur Fellow and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, Gary Paul Nabhan is Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816522499
• ISBN-13: 978-0816522491
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems > Deserts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Desert Smells Like Rain, February 16, 2008

By 

Frank M. Morales "Desert Dweller" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'odham Country (Paperback)

My wife and I found it interesting how the Tohono O'odham used rainfall alone to successfully subsist in the desert. We were also fascinated with the knowledge and use of herbs to maintain their physical well-being and to ward off disease. We found some of the folk tales amusing. Having lived in the Tucson area, we found we could identify with the book. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The author did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the Tohono O'odham (Papago) culture and lifestyle.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, January 19, 2011

By 

Michael J. VanHorn (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'odham Country (Paperback)

I purchased this book as required reading for a Cultural Anthropology course I took. It's a short book but is a insightful view into the culture of the O'odham people. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for those interested in O'odham, October 18, 2011

By 

Richard A. Brown "RickABrown" (American desert) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'odham Country (Paperback)

I really liked the book. It was about real O'odham (formerly called Papago) Native Americans and how they lived in the Sonoran Desert.