A white man known sometimes as Booker and sometimes as Anglo "searches for new identity and spiritual completeness among the Pueblo people." He learns how water is the very lifeblood of the People, and that they regard it as a "living being." A tribal elder sees the water drying up and dying, and trusts Booker with the mission of finding the source of the "sick water."

If the water is truly dying, then the dead water rites will be performed, and life will cease to exist.

As he searches for the sick water, Booker also continues his journey of spiritual growth. He meets a militant female environmentalist, and begins learning of some of the politics involved in water rights. He also learns that perhaps the celibate life isn't right for him after all.

A group of land developers with the philosophy that "any day is a good day to make money" are also looking at the water. They draw up a proposal for a gambling casino, replete with promises of economic security. Buried in the fine print are the clauses handing over all water rights.

A former real estate developer himself, Booker recognizes the true impact of the casino on the People. He explains this to the tribal elders, who say they will "continue to pray and seek a vision." Booker and the young woman are seriously injured in a car accident, from which it takes months to recover. The developers move ahead unhampered with their plans.

Dead Water Rites "is lucid and literary, an articulate and artful plea to cease our self-destructive exploitation of the environment and native people." Those who read it will gain a new respect for the liquid essential to all life on Earth, and a better understanding of those who seek to keep it alive.

This should be considered essential reading for anyone working in the areas of public health and occupational health. It is a modern but 'classic' occupational health story, which illustrates again, that when workers are repressed, forced by economic circumstances to accept their working conditions as their employers dictate, significant health problems follow.

And the long screw of history keeps on turning...

'The most widespread and cataclysmic change in the desert [of the United States] in modern times has resulted from unrestricted grazing . . . . The desert in many places is one-tenth as productive for livestock as it was when white men first came on the scene.' - David Costello

This book performs a valuable service: although it deals with ecology, it has been written not for ecologists but for Everyman-it's a book for people to read, to enjoy, and in the process gain an appreciation of the basic ecology of North America's Deserts.

In an easy and refreshing manner, the author tells what the desert is and why it is what it is. The reader becomes conscious of the inter-relationships between its climate, soil, and myriad life forms; he is rewarded with an insight into the desert's vastness, complexity, unity, and variety.

We were similarly quite lucky to find a copy of the first edition of Peggy Larson's Sierra Guidebook in a bookstore in Alpine, Texas. She presents the deserts of the American southwest (and northern Mexico) in a literate and educated fashion. She manages to discuss individual plants and animals in some detail while painting a large scale, beautiful portrait of the four major deserts of North America. Detailed ink drawings - landscape, geology, plants, and animals - are scattered throughout the narrative and add considerable value. She knows her subject and shares her knowledge in an intriguing fashion. She effectively uses scientific names of desert plants and animals interchangeably with common (but less unique) names without intimidating the reader. This is not a novel and it is quite possible to skip to selected chapters of personal interest, but I highly recommend exploring all chapters, all topics. Peggy Larson's style is really quite good.

If you are already familiar with the American deserts, you will find "The Deserts of the Southwest" a rewarding visit with an old friend. If you are somewhat new to the deserts and possibly have only sampled the deserts from a highway perspective, I suspect that after reading Peggy Larson's book you will likely change your travel plans to include a personal visit to an American desert.