Being a new to Arizona and visiting once, I loved this book. It made my recent trip to Bisbee wonderfully interesting. I searched for many of the points of interst mentioned in this book. Looked at the terrain and the people. All were true to the authors decribtion. I even experienced a few "that's Bisbee" moments. Thanks for a great book, I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

A DELIGHTFUL DIVERSION. WELL-WRITTEN AND WORTH IT TO BUY IT. A KIND OF VERBAL NATURALIST'S JOURNALING. This is an exceptionally well-written and engaging travel memoir describing in fluid, conversational, yet poetic language, the writer's travels in Arizona's Sonoran Desert and mountainous area. It uses the English language of the American style magnificantly. It conveys the moment to moment experiencing of Mr. Sheldon's drives and travels. YOu feel as if you are in Blue Boy (his van) with him. YOu can almost smell the greasewood right after a monsoon rain as if you were there. I'm reading this book to my 91-year old Mother who lived in Bisbee and Tucson as a child. It is a special treasure for her as it allows her to enjoy and reminisce about the special memories of her childhood. Thank you Mr. Sheldon for this delightful book. I am eternally grateful to you.

This book is a gem! Besides the fact that Bisbee is one of my favorite places to visit, the author makes the trip there so enjoyable, you have a hard time remembering you've been there already. I especially liked the story of the Christmas 'Tree' he brought in one year for Christmas. Get this book and take it to a quiet corner to read. You will be transported.

This book is a treasure. Mr. Van Dyke obviously has the soul of a poet, and within his graceful prose he paints vivid and soul-stirring pictures of some of the most beautiful places on earth. He describes in fine detail observations he made on a long trip, on horseback in 1898/99, over, around, and through the lower deserts of Arizona and California. He leaves no stone unturned as he describes the magnificence and beauty of each aspect of the desert, and pulls no punches in his criticism of man's destructive intrusions. To Van Dyke, the play of light and shadow, the star-pocked night skies, the ragged and jagged ranges of mountains, the perfectly adapted plants and animals, the sometimes shifting sands, and the silent river barrier known as the Colorado are each part of the unique sum which is, in its own harsh and angular way, a paradise of color, form, and life: "The Desert."

Speaking as one who has lived on and wandered through this same desert for nearly forty years, I can attest to the accuracy of Van Dyke's physical descriptions and, perhaps more importantly, I can note that I've found here both the magic and the majesty which he so ably describes. Still, this isn't a book for everyone. Those who prefer the gleam of glass towers and the roar of jet planes to flaming sunsets and yapping coyotes, save your money. Van Dyke wrote, "Not in the spots of earth where plenty breeds indolence do we meet with the perfected type. It is in the land of adversity ... that finally emerges the highest manifestation."

He was right, and he leaves us "The Desert" as evidence.

This book does a fantastic job of explaining the history of Engineering, and how it affected the civilizations that used it.

Lamberton's book, a literary work indeed! I am fishing for a word to describe it and the emotion it conveyed to me, but I cannot find a good word. It is a book filled with beauty and brokenness, arrogance and repentance, reel love and real love. It really is a story of the human condition, trying to walk a ridge line and not falling into the abyss. Some of us fall into the abyss due to our own stupidity and get caught up in all kinds of trouble for violating some cultural rules scripted as law. (Had Ken been in Kenya among the Luo people, the age of 14 is just right for marrying and he could have had as many wives as he could afford.) Others fall into the abyss due to illness which can be equally devastating. Still others would rather take their life on the ridge line before falling.

When someone takes a serous fall and survives it may take years for them to recover and all too often those who witness the fall are not there at the time of recovery. Karen, Ken's wife, was always there. An impressive part of this book is the story of a remarkable wife with her three children, committed to an intellegent man. She believed her love would return and again light up her life!

My sister who lives in Arizona heard about Ken's book in the newspaper and after reading it, she was certain that I would like it as well.

She was right. I read the book in several sittings. One of the reasons that it meant so much to me was because about 20 years ago, I took a 28 day survival class for one of my college credits. The experience took place in the southern desert of Utah. I learned to love and appreciate the desert. Ken has the words and the artistry to describe many of the things that I felt and experienced from participating in that Wilderness.

I also have a fascination for the prison system and how it changes a person's life. As Ken pointed out, prison certainly cannot be defined as rehabilitation. I like how he described the issue of doing time and how it weighed so heavily on his soul. He used his education and knowledge of the environment to lighten the burden of being in prison for 12 years. It was his escape and through his words he allowed us to escape with him.

My sister who lives in Arizona told me about this book after reading about it in the newspaper. She knew I had gained a great appreciation for the Desert after completing a 28 day survival trip in the southern desert of Utah about 20 years ago. Ken's book allowed me to regain some of the senses and feelings that I experienced while living in a world that has such a lack of appreciation. He certainly has an artistry for words that captured many of the experiences and emotions that were mine during those 28 days. I also have a fascination for the penal system and the affect that it has on a person. Ken validated how it is definitely not a place for rehabilitation but a place where time weighs on a person so heavily. I liked very much how he combined the Wilderness of the desert with the prison experience. It was an excellent book and I read it start to finish in one sitting.