The Great Basin: A Natural Prehistory

A very engaging read for a person that has explored most of the places mentioned in this book over the last 60 years.

This book is indispensable for anyone with a serious interest in the Great Basin, or indeed in the environmental and human prehistory of North America. A work of deeply impressive scholarship, The Great Basin: A Natural Prehistory synthesizes a staggering wealth of information about the geology, paleontology, natural history, and anthropology of this great region of the interior West. Grayson not only knows his diverse subjects, he loves this landscape, and writes with passion and grace about its past and possible futures. The Great Basin region, with its history of drought and (relative) abundance, has much to teach us as we enter a time of rapid climate change. Residents of Reno, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City would do well to read this book, and consider these lessons.

I wore Grayson's book "The Desert's Past" out and was thrilled when I heard he was doing a revised edition. This is not just for Great Basin enthusiasts but for anyone interested in the happenings west of the Rockies at the end of the Pleistocene.Grayson has an easygoing, sometimes-humorous manner of writing that makes "The Desert's Past" and "The Great Basin" not just educational but fun whether you are an expert or amateur.Grayson is also humble. He never makes judgmental comments and when the theories of others are disproven by time & trial, he never speaks harshly but reminds all of us that people are fallible and that knowledge can change over time.Both books are definitely a must for professional and amateur reader's libraries.

This is an excellent read featuring the latest research in the physiology, archeology and climatology of the Great Basin of the western United States during the past 25,000 years. It is written to be read by the casual student of this fascinating area and incorporates the latest in published studies as well as a history of studies before the advent of many of our technological breakthroughs such as Carbon 14 dating. I'll use this book as a reference many times over the years, I'm sure.

The best book I have ever read about Western Geology. Extremely informative and well worth the price for knowledge!

Very carefully written as a scientific document of record and also quite readable.

Wonderful book and very descriptive.

Well written, concise, and extremely informational. It exceeded my expectations.