The Land of Little Rain (Dover Thrift Editions) - Softcover

Austin, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486290379 ISBN 13: 9780486290379

Publisher: Dover Publications Inc, 2003

Synopsis

The enduring appeal of the desert is strikingly portrayed in this poetic study, which has become a classic of the American Southwest. First published in 1903, it is the work of Mary Austin (1868–1934), a prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, who was also an ardent early feminist and champion of Indians and Spanish-Americans. She is best known today for this enchanting paean to the vast, arid, yet remarkably beautiful lands that lie east of the Sierra Nevadas, stretching south from Yosemite through Death Valley to the Mojave Desert.
Comprising fourteen sketches, the book describes plants, animals, mountains, birds, skies, Indians, prospectors, towns, and other aspects of the desert in serene, beautifully modulated prose that conveys the timeless cycles of life and death in a harsh land. Readers will never again think of the desert as a lifeless, barren environment but rather as a place of rare, austere beauty, rich in plant and animal life, weaving a lasting spell over its human inhabitants.

About this title

Review:

"Mary Austin was a poet, a pioneer, and a patriot." --Terry Tempest Williams

About the Author:

A prolific author of fiction, poetry, and plays, Mary Hunter Austin (1868–1934) was a noted defender of the rights of women, Native Americans, and Spanish-Americans. One of the American Southwest's earliest nature writers, she collaborated on a book with photographer Ansel Adams, Taos Pueblo, and was active in community theater.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications Inc
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0486290379
• ISBN 13: 9780486290379
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80