Canadian independent booksellers near you

Our shopping cart is currently down. To place an order, please contact our distributor, UTP Distribution, directly at utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca

Organ Pipe
89 pages, 6 x 7
Paperback
Release Date:01 Sep 2004
ISBN:9780816523849
CA$18.95 add to cart button Back Order
Ships in 4-6 weeks.
Shop Local
GO TO CART

Organ Pipe

Life on the Edge

By Carol Ann Bassett; By (photographer) Michael Hyatt
The University of Arizona Press
Deep in the heart of the Sonoran Desert lies an oasis of ebony mountains, golden poppies, stately saguaros—and the organ pipe cactus, "a prickly octopus turned on its head."

A terrain where one learns to pay attention to the details: the tracks of a sidewinder in the sand, the tiny eggs of a cactus wren, the flash of a vermilion flycatcher against the azure sky.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument lies in southwestern Arizona on the Mexican border. It is an isolated park that for Carol Ann Bassett has long been a place of solitude—a silent refuge where she often camped out alone to capture the natural rhythms of the desert. Photographer Michael Hyatt hiked through Organ Pipe to visually document its subtle beauty in the Ajo Mountains and the valley of the Ajo, and at Quitobaquito, a rare desert oasis.

Few visitors may brave Organ Pipe during summer, when the temperature can reach 120 degrees, but for Bassett and Hyatt the searing heat is but a harbinger of rain, when normally dry arroyos surge with rust-colored water and desert tarantulas come out to mate. Bassett introduces readers to Organ Pipe’s cultural heritage as well: Spanish missionaries, Anglo settlers, and the Tohono O’odham and the Hia Ced O’odham people who still travel there to gather cactus fruit during Hasan Bakmasad, "saguaro moon." She also considers the changes taking place throughout the park, including the onrush of immigrants passing through in search of better lives in the United States.

This small, lyrical book is a sensitive reflection on the heart of the Sonoran Desert. It reminds us of the beauty to be found in unexpected places—and of our intimate connection with the wild.
This is the monument's ultimate guide for nature lovers...it will enhance your vision into the core of the desert's soul.'—Southwest Book Views
Carol Ann Bassett is the author of A Gathering of Stones: Journeys to the Edges of a Changing World, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction. She teaches writing at the University of Oregon. Michael Hyatt’s photographs have been featured in the books Beyond and Back and The Pleasures of Jazz. He lives in Tucson.
Find what you’re looking for...
Stay Informed

Receive the latest UBC Press news, including events, catalogues, and announcements.


Read past newsletters

Free shipping on online orders over $40

Publishers Represented
UBC Press is the Canadian agent for several international publishers. Visit our Publishers Represented page to learn more.