The Desert: Lands of Lost Borders

(Hardback)

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Lands of extremes, contrasts and constant change, deserts cover a quarter of our planet's land area and are home to some half a billion people. Though generally seen as arid and infertile, deserts have been the birthplaces of critical evolutionary adaptations, civilizations, ideologies and agricultural and social progress. Deserts play active roles in the continued evolution of our climate and societies, demanding that we think seriously about these barren lands and their future. From scorching seas of sand to glacial polar expanses, The Desert: Lands of Lost Borders relates the tales, truths, folklore and facts of the desert in an analysis that is at once informative and surprising.

Reviews

In this impressively illustrated scientific and cultural history, [Welland] sets out the bigger picture, harnessing geology, climate science, botany, zoology, ecology, and anthropology to reveal places of natural and cultural abundance, with rich histories. * Nature *
in this expansive work, whose cultural references range from the classical to the Mad Max reboot, his love of these empty regions is palpable and highly infectious . . . With chapters on art and film, on desert poetry, on colonial exploitation, on the erosion of rocks by wind and sand, it all adds up to an encyclopaedic survey. * Geographical Magazine *
This handsome book is informative, well-illustrated, broad-ranging, and clever. The author has managed to weave together a whole array of different strands that serve to make deserts what they are . . . Lovers of deserts will love this book and will also learn much from it. * Andrew Goudie, Geoscientist Magazine *
This rich comparative study of the worlds deserts is both historical and scientific, touching upon cultural analysis and literary descriptions by author-explorers. Welland concentrates on the Sahara, the Mojave, the Gobi, Australias Great Sandy and the Empty Quarter, or Rub al-Khali, approaching his material in a pleasantly idiosyncratic manner. His chapter headings Wet and Dry, Hot and Cold, Body and Soul, Feast or Famine underscore the dichotomies that arid regions always seem to hold in surprise. * Aramco World *
The desert also has a dreamy reputation, but Michael Wellands The Desert is largely romance free. It takes a serious, scientific and sociological look at life on the sandy plains that take up a third of our landmass from Mojave to Oz outback without being too arid. * Wanderlust Magazine *
Geologist Michael Wellands The Desert: Lands of Lost Borders tackles deserts around the world, but for him a desert is much more than sandstorms. Its art and history, spirit and silence, conflict and courage, the people who live in the desert, and the dispelling of myths. * Herald, Washington State *
A rich, scholarly, beautifully crafted and illustrated account of deserts in all their diversity: not just their geology and wildlife, but also the human cultures that have made wilderness their home, and the art and poetry that has been inspired by arid remoteness. We learn of those who have treated deserts wisely and with respect, and those who have placed human vanity above regard for nature. Wellands grasp of an impressive range of research never falters. * Richard Fortey FRS, author of The Earth: An Intimate History *

Author Bio

Michael Welland was a geologist with more than 40 years experience in teaching and the international energy industry around the world, including sojourns in many of the planets great arid regions. Author of the award-winning book Sand: A Journey Through Science and the Imagination, he gave public lectures and radio broadcasts in the US and Europe, and wrote a blog on all topics sandy.