Links are provided for purchase information through Amazon.com, except as noted.

Essential Reading:
Len Wilcox's list of desert books

"These are the books I can't do without. They belong on any desert rat's bookshelf."

Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey -- a classic. THE classic. One of, if not the, best "desert book" ever written. Buy this book

Land of Little Rain This is a wonderful book by Mary Austin. It is the definitive classic of life as it was along what is now the 395 corridor - the Owens valley area, the eastern range of the Sierra Nevadas. "EAST away from the Sierras, south from Panamint and Amargosa, east and south many an acounted mile, is the Country of Lost Borders..." Buy this book

The Voice of the Desert, Joseph Wood Krutch - another classic. It is out of print and hard to find. See if this book can be located

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert by Craig Childs. Mr. Childs knows. His books are superb. Buy this book

Desert Dancing, Of course I have to include my own book on this list! To order a signed copy click here

 The Mojave, David Darlington. Interesting and well researched. It seems to be out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon. Click The Mojave: A Portrait of the Definitive American Desert.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, William Mann - Okay, this isn't strictly a desert book, the topic is somewhat larger - like the whole of both North and South America, as it was before Columbus. This is a fabulous piece of work which puts much of what we've been taught as factual history in the trash. A must read - click here . He has a new book coming out in the fall, and I can't wait to read it.

Rosa May, by George Williams III -- George Williams wrote an outstanding book about Rosa May, a prostitute in the mining town of Bodie. A good job of research, this book reaches into the heart and mind of a 'soiled dove'. George has written several other books about mining camps, Mark Twain, and related topics. Order from here and visit his website.

Out from Las Vegas, by Florine Lawlor -- 4-wheeling tours within a day's drive of Las Vegas. Buy this book

Desert Lore of Southern California, by Choral Pepper -- Ms. Pepper is the former editor of Desert Magazine, and she brings her substantial knowledge and talents together in this book to tell wonderful stories about the Colorado desert. Buy this book

Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of California, Remi Nadeau -- Nadeau's family history makes him a natural voice for the Mojave. The book is well written, a fun and entertaining directory to the ghost towns of the mining camp era. My only reservation is that some of the legends and folklore of the desert are presented as facts, when careful research might prove otherwise. Buy this book

Adventuring in the California Desert, Lynne Foster -- A Sierra Club guide with a strong ecological slant, this book provides a tremendous amount of information. There is something on everything and every place in this book. Buy this book

High Mountains and Deep Valleys, Lew and Ginny Clark -- As with Remi Nadeau's book, the authority of this publication is in the family history of the author; Lew Clark was there, knew the prospectors, and traveled the trails. The book is out of print and hard to find. See if this book can be located