"A first-rate natural history of the entire U.S.-Mexican border area. . . . [The reader] may profit greatly from the author"s readable style and his sense of what is environmentally appropriate."--Sierra " . . . a book to be savored and pondered. . . . a great service to a very special land."--John Tveten, Houston Chronicle " . . . deeply rewarding reading for those even mildly interested in the environment and the region from the south of the Rio Grande to California"s Imperial Valley."--Arizona Highways Mountains rise like islands from deserts and grasslands along the U.S.-Mexican border. The stunningly varied borderlands offer a laboratory for studying historical trends and ecological cycles, as well as a refuge in which to experience natural history firsthand. In this engaging personal narrative, biologist Fred Gehlbach describes the stability and changes of the past century in the Borderlands" climate, landforms, and natural communities and in its distinctive plants and vertebrates. Historical sketches, maps, and striking photographs richly amplify the text, and a preface updates developments in the region since the book"s original publication in 1981.