"Here, for the first time in one volume, are two of Lopez's masterpieces, River Notes and Desert Notes. From the thundering power of the river's swift current, to the stillness of clear freshwater pools to desert springs, birds and wind, and rattlesnakes... and the terrible intrusion of man, Lopez allows us to share moments of intense personal experience as man tries to come to terms with the Earth's landscape, and with his own existence."--Back cover.