Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series) [Paperback]

D. Gentry Steele (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This photographic essay portrays the wilderness, history, and culture of Big Bend National Park, bordering the Rio Grande. Steele (anthropology, Texas A&M Univ.) captures the region's deserts, mountains, and wildlife in 50 black-and-white photographs taken over a four-year period. The use of a large-format camera has resulted in images that are deliberate and rich in textural detail. While many of the photographs use the contrast of light and shadow to portray somewhat abstract images, others reveal softer, more realistic representations with gradients of grays. The accompanying text adds to the reader's understanding of the area and gives testimony to Steele's attachment to the Big Bend natural landscape. Recommended for natural history, southwestern U.S., and photography collections.APamela W. Bellows, Northwestern Connecticut Community Coll. Lib., Winstead
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

D. Gentry Steele is a professor emeritus of anthropology at Texas A&M University. He is the co-author of The Anatomy and Biology of the Human Skeleton, also published by Texas A&M University Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press (January 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890968357
• ISBN-13: 978-0890968352
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,841,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book on the scale of its subject, October 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series) (Hardcover)

The Big Bend is a rugged, powerful, unforgiving, and beautiful country,that exists on a scale that most of civilized man never experiences. Most casual tourists who visit Big Bend are disappointed, as I was, in their pitiful efforts at capturing the essence of the experience both in words and 35mm photographs. This is a land that does not exist in standard format; it is truly a large-format landscape that requires exceptional verbal ability and skillful large-format photography to do it justice. Gentry Steele has done just that. His love and knowledge of the Big Bend country are clearly evident in his text and, especially in his striking black and white photographs. A hearty thumbs up for this spectacular book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing black and white photographs of Big Bend, Texas., October 2, 1998

By 

Katherine A. Dettwyler "dettwyler" (Newark, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series) (Hardcover)

This is the kind of book you return to again and again. Steele has both consumate technical skill and the eye (and heart) of an artist. The composition of each photograph is striking, but it is the play of light and shadow -- across canyon walls, over abandoned adobe buildings, and the occasional plant -- that will delight and amaze the viewer. Steele used the intense desert light as his accomplice, creating art out of light, shade, rocks, and space. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief description of what you are seeing and where the photograph was taken. Steele's love and respect for the Big Bend region is evident on every page. This isn't the kind of book to be flipped through casually. I find myself lingering over each page, savoring the image, returning over and over to particular images, seeing some new each time. I plan to give this book to friends and relatives for Christmas this year. I confess to owning two D. Gentry Steele photographic prints, including the one chosen for the cover of this book. Highly recommended!!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive introduction to the Big Bend Country of TX, March 17, 1999

By 

Bill Wright "Bill Wright" (Abilene, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series) (Hardcover)

Gentry Steele conveys the essence of the remarkable northern extension of the Great Chihuahuan Desert in his well-written text and supliments it admirably with supurb large format photographs. An excellent introduction to one of America's least explored regions.