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The Secret Knowledge of Water
- There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science & Engineering, Science
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Publisher's Summary
Deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to seasoned explorers. Craig Childs has spent years in the deserts of the American West, and his treks through arid lands in search of water reveal the natural world at its most extreme.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Secret Knowledge of Water
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Malcolm Childers
- 06-10-20
A masterpiece of writing and oral interpretation
if there is any benchmark of a total package of maximum excellence in both writing and expressing any piece of literature this is certainly one of the highest points.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jamesdcawley
- 04-09-20
This book is fantastic
I read, “House of Rain” which introduced me to this author (and it’s now one of my favorite books of all time) and was pleasantly surprised to see this book. I could not have been happier with the purchase of this book! Amazing amounts of knowledge mixed with adventures.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 05-01-20
Magical story
Thank you Craig for sharing your amazing stories in a beautiful balance between science and art. It was so moving I will definitely listen again and again.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 03-16-21
Decent
All around pretty good, near the end of the book the descriptions can get kinda wordy, near the start this is fine because it's describing new and unique areas, but when we've already covered deep descriptions of various forms of water in other parts of the desert, the last few chapters tend to drag with descriptions. That said this was an enjoyable listen and worth the time.
1 person found this helpful
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- Pamazon
- 12-22-21
Over written
Very interesting topic and much of the information and story are good, but I found the writing overdone. Felt a little like an over ambitious writer trying too hard. Maybe skipping the comparative descriptions in EVERY sentence you’d feel less fatigued and more enthralled.
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- J. H. Robinson
- 12-08-21
Like a nature walk through Dune
Long live the dry land ecologists. This is a wonderful narrative of the deserts in the American southwest. Highly worth the sale price paid for it. Big fan of the author's other work too.
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- Tim Sharp
- 06-23-21
Stunning
I read the print hardcover back when it was first published and thought then that it was one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I absolutely love the prose and the poetry of Mr. Childs`s descriptive writing, And this book has real suspense and consequence in its very pages.
I recently ordered the Audible version to revisit the desert wonderland and I found the experience truly remarkable. I love this book, The desert has not been written about with such passion since Abbey introduced us to Arches N.P.and the Cabeza Prieta in Desert Solitaire, or as Luis Alberto Urrea did in The Devils Highway.
The Secret Knowledge of Water stands as the very finest example of descriptive writing about the desert southwest and will remain in my heart forever.
Thank You Mr. Childs for this Masterpiece.