Book Review - The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands - Princeton University Press

      Following on the success of The World Atlas of Trees and Forests, and The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries and Deltas, both of which I enjoyed immensely and benefitted from in myriad ways, I was both delighted and excited to receive The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands.

     This series is phenomenal! Each volume is the work of several experts who succeed in joining together as a single voice, providing comprehensive coverage of their subject, from antiquity to modernity, in a pleasing, flowing style which encourages interest and facilitates understanding.

     The accompaniment of a sensational selection of photographs furnishes magical enhancement - such is the gift of digital photography.

     Over my lifetime I have spent a considerable amount of time in some of the principal deserts of the world. I have always been mesmerized by the harshness and the beauty, the strategies for survival of flora and fauna, the daily struggle for life, and the sheer beauty of desert flowers in all their magnificent profusion. Who could fail to marvel at the ephemeral perfection of a Saguaro in bloom, a Cactus Wren nesting deep in a spiny Cholla? 

     Few of us would choose to live in a desert, but we are moved by it and relish its uniqueness. Linked by the common characteristics of scarcity of water and extreme temperatures, deserts around the world vary immensely and are found in the hottest and the coldest regions of the globe. I have trod the sands of the Kalahari, felt the scorching sun of the Mojave and experienced the chill winds of Patagonia. I have seen the shifting dunes of the Sahara. Every moment is etched on my brain.

     The book is a complete desert manual, beginning with the very origins of deserts based on the geology of the Earth. Throughout history deserts have not been static, at times harbouring a rich variety of life, with even the most arid regions experiencing periods of fertility. Deserts are now being affected by anthropogenic activity, as is every other habitat on Earth for that matter, often with catastrophic consequences. Of particular concern is the constant drawing down of subterranean sources of waters at a rate greater than replenishment. Scarcity and salination follow this unchecked profligacy, with land subsidence not far behind. Desertification around the world advances at a rate that should concern us all.

     Indigenous people, resourceful and knowledgeable, skilled in exploiting the riches of the desert and surviving by remarkable ingenuity, are being forced from their ancestral lands by what we incorrectly term "progress."

     The great, glaring, malevolent, rampaging elephant in the room is Global Warming. There are winners and losers in this scenario, but the overwhelming likelihood is that increasing global temperatures caused primarily by surging levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane, presage a terrifying future. We are already experiencing catastrophic weather events on a global scale with daunting frequency, and financial impacts that are off the charts. Every year is hotter than the previous year.

     There seems to be little universal will to tackle the problem, climate conferences routinely end in failure, and some leading politicians around the world actively deny that the problem even exists. 

     The final section of the book is devoted to Global Warming and its (mostly) predictable impacts. It is stomach-churning reading.

     In summary this is a terrific work, comprehensive, well planned and superbly executed. I cannot recommend it too highly.

The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands - Princeton University Press

Edited by David Thomas, with contributions by Nicholas Drake, Troy Sternberg, Sallie Burrough, and Marion Meyer

Hardcover - US$60.00 - ISBN: 9780691251974

400 pages - 9 x 12 inches (22.5 x 30 cm) - 250 Colour illustrations

Publication date: 07 January, 2025