cover image The Mojave: A Portrait of the Definitive American Desert

The Mojave: A Portrait of the Definitive American Desert

David Darlington. Henry Holt & Company, $25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-1631-4

The Mojave Desert is the realm of the Joshua tree, the desert tortoise, the high-speed jet fighter and the car. Once regarded as a vast wasteland and dumpsite, it is now seen as a refuge and recreation area; recently, it has become an environmental battleground. Darlington (In Condor Country) finds the Mojave overwhelming, both physically and psychologically, because of its sheer visual scale. He has written a sparkling narrative of the desert past and present, from the exurbs of Los Angeles to the fringes of Las Vegas. Darlington notes that 95% of the Mojave lies within three miles of some kind of road. Here is Death Valley, Edwards Air force Base, the Army's National Training Center, Joshua Tree National Park. Darlington writes about secret drug labs, UFO observers, nuclear waste dumps, miners and ranchers, endangered tortoises and dirt-bike racers. He gives a detailed account of the fight to limit the use of off-road vehicles, concluding with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act in 1994. Readers who enjoy the outdoors will find The Mojave a gem. (Apr.)