Reviews

Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time by Ben Ehrenreich

ephofmann's review

slow-paced

3.75

Less "A Road Map for..." and more "A Road Map of...". Interesting nonetheless.

natmcgill's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

heavenlyspit's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

rainbowbookworm's review

3.0

I did not think I would enjoy this book when I first picked it up. It did not seem cohesive. It seemed to be made up of ruminations inspired by the desert and the encounters the author had there. Ultimately, I started to appreciate the book as a tapestry with threads about the authors experiences with the natural world, threads about literature and writing, and threads about politics where the 45th president of the United States appears as a rhino to create a bigger picture about climate change and where we are headed.

rinaazell13's review

1.0

I cannot believe I read this whole book. It had such promise at the beginning with several interesting threads of thought, and I kept waiting to see where it all lead, and by the time I realized the answer was "

littledot's review

4.0

Unexpected. Parts of this were amazing, parts were annoying, but overall I think this is an important book and a good reminder of how all civilizations decline and knowledge is easily lost. Also totally devastating and sad, so don’t read if you aren’t in the mood to deal with dread.

laurazdavidson's review against another edition

3.0

I listened to the audiobook as I went on my daily walks on the trails surrounding Santa Fe. Sounds perfect, right? I wanted an ode to the desert... but somehow that got a bit lost in Ehrenreich's historical details and political ruminations. Still interesting but really not what I was expecting.

richardwells's review

4.0

Almost fantastic, and on my list for a second read sometime down the road. Mr. Ehrenreich writes from and of two locales, Joshua Tree, and Las Vegas, with Las Vegas taking up the bulk of the book, but with Joshua Tree being the most cogent and interesting of the two. The leitmotif of the book is the author's relationship with owls, and they create the primary metaphors in both sections, though they get pretty short shift in the second, and seem to be brought back for the sake of cohesiveness more than importance. The notebook title is apt, as it's written as brief entries that wander through subjects and meditations. Reminded me a little bit of reading Eduardo Galleano - but just a little.

I found the Joshua Tree section to be an absolutely fascinating dip into desert ecology, the myth and metaphor of owls, the science of climate change, eschatology, and personal history. I was sure I had a five star book in my hands, but then came Vegas. Part Two wandered, and at times I felt I was reading various Wiki entries as the author laid out a lot of info without the glue of personal reflection that he gives in part one. For awhile, it became a slog, but I must say, when Mr. Ehrenreich writes nature description, and contrasts it with the day and nightmare of Las Vegas, he shines.

So a lot of stars, as in the night sky of Joshua Tree, but not Vegas, but a lukewarm review, and a desire to re-read, especially the first section because it was so good, and possibly the second to see if I'm off, and because there is good stuff there. Mixed, then, but...

So close...

bill1955's review

challenging informative sad slow-paced

2.75

specimenstoriesjr's review

2.0

DNF. Not at all what I hoped it would be. Hoped it would be ruminations on the grandeur or history or people of the desert, that might comfort and distract from 2020 news cycle and dreams of travel that can't happen. But this isn't that. It's more of a litany of world political and environmental problems I already know too well and memoir of hopelessness. Maybe it turns around partway through, but I'm not in a place where I should be that patient to find out.