Mills College Professor of Biology Bruce Pavlik takes the reader on an ecological exploration of the arid regions of the Golden State. From the Ice Age to the present, you'll see how various animal, reptile, and plant species adapted to an area that became hotter and dryer over the centuries.

Of course, the ever changing human desert experience over 12,000 years is also discussed, as are the current issues of conservation, management and restoration in these areas.

Filled with informative sidebars, graphs, diagrams and color photos, this volume not only gives the reader a sense of the past but also brings him or her up to speed on what is happening now and what the future may hold for California's deserts.