Book cover of The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country

Book description

An ethnobiologist examines the world of the Papago Indians of Arizona and Mexico, drawing attention to the role of the desert and desert ecology in Papago Indian agriculture, culture, and mythology

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Desert Smells Like Rain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

My first birding trip to the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona caught my fancy. Then I read this book, in which Dr. Nabhan recounts lively details of his encounters with Indigenous communities at home in the Sonoran Desert and learns how they engage with the desert plants and animals in their lives.

Nabhan is an astute observer, an intensely sympathetic storyteller, and a highly knowledgeable student of local natural history. In this book, he visits Tohono O’odham (Papago) friends as they harvest saguaro fruits to make an intoxicating brew to “bring on the rain.” He tells us about fiery wild…

From Eugene's list on Indigenous Natural History.

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