{"product_id":"2940169943054","title":"The Desert, Further Studies in Natural Appearances","description":"\u003cem\u003eThe Desert \u003c\/em\u003eby John Charles Van Dyke, published in 1901, is a lush, poetic description of the natural beauty of the American Southwest. \u003cem\u003e\"What land can equal the desert with its wide plains, its grim mountains, and its expanding canopy of sky!\" \u003c\/em\u003eVan 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. \u003cem\u003e\"The deserts should never be reclaimed,\" \u003c\/em\u003ehe writes.\u003cem\u003e \"They are the breathing spaces of the west and should be preserved for ever.\"\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003cem\u003e \"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.\" \u003c\/em\u003eAnyone who views with equal awe fiery sunrises and weeds growing out of pavement cracks will enjoy this reading of Van Dyke's \u003cem\u003eThe Desert.\u003c\/em\u003e(Summary by Sue Anderson)","brand":"DISCOS PALMAS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47156564394224,"sku":"2940169943054","price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169943054_p0.jpg?v=1772801633","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169943054","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}