Live! From Death Valley: Dispatches from America's Low Point [Hardcover]

John Soennichsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2005

Death Valley is a place of record-breaking heat and unexplained natural oddities, a place where salt beds descend a thousand feet below the surface; where inch-long fish swim in a 112-degree creek; where huge boulders slide mysteriously across a dry lakebed. There are gas stations, convenience stores, a visitor’s center, and a five-star hotel. And despite the modern conveniences, it’s still quite easy to die in Death Valley. John Soennichsen has spent nearly two decades hiking and exploring and observing as much of this forbidding yet fascinating area as possible. Based on journals kept during his travels, the book relates Soennichsen’s experiences in Death Valley and examines the history, geology, and philosophical implications surrounding the area. A compelling look at a region that has long served as a backdrop for movies, television shows, commercials, UFO sightings, rumored ancient civilizations, political aspirations, doomsday prophesiers, and spiritual reawakenings. Live! From Death Valley offers an intriguing glimpse into a monumental landscape that is simply too big to be completely understood in one visit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part a memoir of his years spent exploring the largest national park outside of Alaska, part an amateur naturalist's appreciation for the geography, flora and fauna of this extreme environment, and part a history of the "crazy humans who did bizarre things" there, Soennichsen skillfully weaves these diverse subjects into a narrative of one of the most fantastic and dangerous places on Earth. Soennichsen first visited the area at age 13, and he returned to hike and explore the region for over two decades. His experiences roused a fascination with the desert, as well as a profound respect for its dangers. Much of the human history of Death Valley over the past 150 years is concerned with mineral prospecting, mining and death by desiccation. Naïve Easterners and Europeans came seeking fortunes in mythical gold and silver mines, wilted under the unforgiving climate and abandoned homesteads and short-lived boom towns. The most significant and lasting result of the mining boom in Death Valley is the large present-day population of wild burros, descendants of miners' jacks and jennies freed when their owners gave up or died. Eloquently written, Soennichsen's book is a triumph of reportage reminiscent of McPhee.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (August 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570614482
• ISBN-13: 978-1570614484
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Los Angeles and lived there for a few decades before gravitating north to Oregon, and then to eastern Washington state. While in Southern California, I developed my interest in the Mojave Desert and, especially, Death Valley. On foot and by four-wheel drive in my trusty 1972 Toyota Landcruiser, I roamed all around the Death Valley region for a dozen years or more. Here, I discovered the magical qualities found in its arid, saline atmosphere and quickly learned both the benefits and pitfalls of isolation and desert travel.

My college degrees are in journalism and creative writing and I keep busy by writing all sorts of things for all sorts of people, some of whom even pay me for it!

I live in eastern Washington with my wife and youngest son. My older son and my daughter live nearby. Also considering themselves part of the family are four dogs, three cats and six pygmy goats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative, well-written book, September 4, 2005

By 

Candice Wells "Reader of a lot of books" (Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live! From Death Valley: Dispatches from America's Low Point (Hardcover)

I really liked this book. It is about Death Valley and about some of the people who have lived and/or traveled through it. Or I should say, survived it. The author also shares his experiences with Death Valley. Very interesting, and well-written. It is the best book I have ever read about Death Valley.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful read, October 5, 2005

By 

Rivercat "rivercat0338" (San Ramon, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live! From Death Valley: Dispatches from America's Low Point (Hardcover)

Soennichsen has written a very entertaining book that captures the natural history and lore or Death Valley. A perfect balance of wry and reverent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, February 23, 2006

By 

Ann Labuda "Ann Labuda ºOº" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live! From Death Valley: Dispatches from America's Low Point (Hardcover)

Ok, so... I'm acquainted with this author (online only) because one of his other interests is one I share, and we hang out on the same message board. So when the book came out, I came here to Amazon and bought a copy, just to support John, even though I had NO interest at all in Death Valley.

Well, I started reading it after having it in my "to read" pile for a couple of months, and must say I am VERY pleasantly surprised. John has a great writing style - very accessible, and easy to read. I also like the way you have the past interspersed with the present in this volume. I learned so very much from this book, and have actually told my husband that I'd like to visit Death Valley at some point. (Though, I must admit, I'm one of those city wimps who would want air conditioning & cold water at all times. *grin*)

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone - whether they do or do not currnetly have any interest in Death Valley. It will suck you in and make you long to see this lowest point in America. I am so very pleased that I enjoyed it :) - I honestly thought before I cracked the book open that I'd read 20 or 30 pages then put it away due to a lack of interest.