When you look at a map of the world, you see many large sand-colored patches that represent the world's deserts. They lie in two broad belts that circle the globe on either side of the equator. For centuries these strange dry areas have baffled the world's scientists. Yet all along they have lured explorers who have become fascinated with those sun-parched stretches of sandy wasteland.

How did these desert areas develop? Why are some deserts so different from others? How can plants and animals exist when there seems to be almost no water for them? For when you learn to know the desert, you become acquainted with an amazing assortment of plants and animals. There is a spadefoot toad, for example, who gets moisture only from the insects he can catch, and the kangaroo rat that survives without ever tasting a drop of water. And among the plants, there are fantastic specimens of cactus which have no leaves at all but which burst with brilliant bloom at certain seasons.

In All About the Desert Sam and Beryl Epstein give a fascinating report of the deserts of the world and a scientific explanation for the peculiarities of these sun-baked areas.

From the dust jacket