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The Desert, Further Studies in Natural Appearances

Gelesen von Sue Anderson

(4,056 Sterne; 9 Bewertungen)

The Desert by John Charles Van Dyke, published in 1901, is a lush, poetic description of the natural beauty of the American Southwest. "What land can equal the desert with its wide plains, its grim mountains, and its expanding canopy of sky!" Van Dyke, a cultivated art historian, saw "sublimity" in the desert's "lonely desolation," which previous generations had perceived only as a wasteland, and his book has a conservationist flavor which seems distinctly modern. "The deserts should never be reclaimed," he writes. "They are the breathing spaces of the west and should be preserved for ever." The changing colors of the sky, hills, and sand impress Van Dyke, as do the mirages. He celebrates the "long overlooked commonplace things of nature"-- cactus and grease wood, desert animals, and "winged life," the birds and insects. His writing has a philosophical undertone. "Not in vain these wastes of sand ... simply because they are beautiful in themselves and good to look upon whether they be life or death." Anyone who views with equal awe fiery sunrises and weeds growing out of pavement cracks will enjoy this reading of Van Dyke's The Desert.(Summary by Sue Anderson) (5 hr 56 min)

Chapters

00 - Dedication-Preface

7:57

Read by Sue Anderson

01 - The Approach

32:05

Read by Sue Anderson

02 - The Make of the Desert

32:04

Read by Sue Anderson

03 - The Bottom of the Bowl

28:37

Read by Sue Anderson

04 - The Silent River

20:05

Read by Sue Anderson

05 - Light, Air, and Color

26:06

Read by Sue Anderson

06 - Desert Sky and Clouds

20:49

Read by Sue Anderson

07 - Illusions

28:53

Read by Sue Anderson

08 - Cactus and Greasewood

34:08

Read by Sue Anderson

09 - Desert Animals

35:26

Read by Sue Anderson

10 - Winged Life

30:00

Read by Sue Anderson

11 - Mesas and Foot-Hills

28:36

Read by Sue Anderson

12 - Mountain - Barriers

31:32

Read by Sue Anderson