On July 24, 1847, a band of Mormon pioneers who had crossed the Great Plains and hauled their wagons over the Rocky Mountains descended into the Salt Lake valley. They settled alongside the Indians there in an immense, self-contained region covering more than 220,000 square miles aptly named the Great Basin because its lakes and rivers have no outlet to the sea. Within ten years of their arrival, the Mormons had established nineteen communities extending all the way to San Diego, California. But theirs was not a story of splendid isolation. The Mormon way of life was under a constant strain from interactions with miners, solders, explorers, mountain men, Indians, the Pony Express, railroad builders, federal officials, and an assortment of other "Gentiles." This is the definitive, dramatic, and multifaceted study of the Great Basin, unifying its history with its geography.
On July 24, 1847, a band of Mormon pioneers descended into the Salt Lake Valley. Having crossed the Great Plains and hauled their wagons over the Rocky Mountains, they believed that their long search for a permanent home had finally come to an end. The valley was an arid and inhospitable place, but to them it was Zion. They settled on the edge of an immense, uncharted, and self-contained region covering over 220,000 square miles, or one-fifteenth of the area of the United States. The early-nineteenth-century explorer John Charles Fremont had just aptly named this region the Great Basin because its lakes and rivers have no outlet to the sea: its waters course down the mountains and disappear into the desert. Here, in a land that few others wanted, the Mormons hoped to live and worship in peace. Within ten years of their arrival, the Mormons had established nineteen communities, extending all the way to San Diego, California--a remarkable feat of colonization and one of the great successes of the westward movement. Desert Between the Mountains is by no means, however, a story of splendid and stoic isolation. Beginning with an explanation of the Great Basin's unique and enigmatic topography, Michael S. Durham delineates the region as a crucible for a complex and exciting narrative history. Tales of nomadic Indian tribes, Spanish ecclesiastics, intrepid furtrappers, and adventurous early explorers are brilliantly and thoroughly chronicled. Moreover, Durham depicts the Mormon way of life under the constant strain from its interaction with miners, soldiers, mountain men, the Pony Express, railroad builders, federal officials, and an assortment of other so-called Gentiles. Durham vigorously explores the dynamics of this important chapter of American history, capturing its epic sweep, its near biblical mayhem, and its unforgettable characters in an illuminating and provocative account. Desert Between the Mountains concludes with the joining of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869, an event that marked the end of the pioneer era. This is a dramatic, multifaceted, and definitive study of the Great Basin, demonstrating, for the first time, that it is a region unified in its history as well as its geography--that today includes all of Nevada, most of Utah, and parts of five other surrounding states.
Yilmaz Alimoglu's personal website wwww.desertsandmountains.com Follow the character of Ali Dogan as he embarks on a transformative emotional, physical and spiritual journey from east to west in Deserts and Mountains, the new philosophical novel by Yilmaz Alimoglu. Frustrated with his business, career and family, Ali Dogan, an expatriate Turk living in Canada, turns to his spiritual advisor for guidance. The sheikh counsels Ali to embark on a journey in an attempt to understand the war in his heart and to examine ever more deeply the meanings of the separation from his wife and children, and of his journey. Ali is also instructed to keep a journal of his experiences, a map of his heart; out of this journal is born Deserts and Mountains. Ali leaves his adopted home on a trip which will take him to five countries on two continents, with no fixed agenda other than to reflect on his life. He first makes his way back to his family in Turkey, a visit that raises mixed emotions for the protagonist. Having endured physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Turkish state secret agents and his father, he struggles to cope with the effects as an adult. Ali, prompted to examine his life more profoundly, seeks a broader understanding of its significance, while critically analyzing the cultural context from which he has emerged. Ali travels through Turkey, Spain and North Africa, places that bear the traces of ancient civilizations, where he experiences a dichotomy of emotions as he rediscovers love and struggles to make sense of the injustice, corruption and destitution that he witnesses. Through his observation and participation, Ali slowly begins to recognize the inherent similarities in the struggles of all humanity. The narrative shifts to a more philosophical tone as Ali begins to assimilate what he is learning and develops a fresh perspective on his own life, experiencing a spiritual renewal. “There are several themes woven into the text; friendship, loyalty, freedom, choice and its consequences; love and the individuals’ capacity both to love and be loved,” Alimoglu writes. “Aside from the journey Ali has undertaken in the physical world, an overarching theme putting all the others in context is Ali’s journey towards a deeper understanding of the spiritual tradition of Sufism.” Discover more in the pages of this engaging new book that will take you on a journey to create a map of your own heart as you explore with Ali how the difficulties of one’s past can bring a renewed understanding of possibilities for the future. “Deserts and Mountains is a remarkable volume of insight, beauty, poetic expression and spiritual development. I had to read parts of it very, very slowly so I could savor the beauty of the language and the majesty of the metaphors. I encourage you to pick it up, get through the first chapter which is like packing for a vacation, a routine task that gives way to some of the richest memories.”
Ten authors present an overview of the diverse natural environments in Arizona, including information on the state's climate, geology, soil and water resources, flora and fauna, and human impacts on the fragile ecosystems.
This is a collection of Wilfred Thesiger's greatest journeys - in the Empty Quarter of Arabia, the marshes of Iraq, the mountains of the Hindu Kush and Kurdistan, and the Yemen - illustrated with Thesiger's own photographs.
In this eagerly awaited follow up to Pakistani cookbook Summers Under the Tamarind Tree, food writer and cookery teacher Sumayya Usmani continues her journey of discovery through the exotic cuisine of her native Pakistan. Mountain Berries and Desert Spice introduces home cooks to Pakistani desserts and explores their unique significance in the country’s culture and traditions. The 70 authentic and family recipes travel from the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains in the north (where berries and fruits grow in abundance), via the fertile Punjab (with its rice- and grain-based desserts) to the Arabian sea in the south, where saffron- and cardamom-laced sweet recipes are a favourite. From the sweet snacks shared between friends over coffee to sumptuous desserts fit for lavish weddings, Sumayya tempts the reader with beautiful, easily achieved recipes that anyone can savour.
The Geometry of Desert explores the hidden complexity of moral desert. Using graphs to illustrate and contrast alternative views, it carefully investigates the various ways in which the value of an outcome varies when people get (or fail to get) what they deserve.
