Desert Time

New Englander Diana Kappel-Smith explored the great deserts of the American West over an 18-month period. Traveling largely alone through the Southwest and parts of Idaho and Oregon, she logged 25,000 miles and discovered facets of the desertÑand its human inhabitantsÑthat may surprise even long-time residents.

"You come to trust her company and to savor her observations: she is the sort of guide who gestures at what you would otherwise step acrossÑor onÑwithout noticing. She calls her collection 'an introduction to particulars.' These she infuses with radiance." ÑLos Angeles Times Book Review

"With prose that is both lyrical and down-to-earth, Kappel-Smith makes readers aware of the fragility of the desert and the necessity to preserve these wonderful, alien and mysterious places." ÑSan Francisco Chronicle

"We glimpse moments of experience, rendered both in words and in conscientious line drawings. The book has a gentle, meandering tone. It consciously refuses to manufacture dramatic events." ÑChristian Science Monitor