The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest [Paperback]

An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. An utterly fascinating, beautifully written and elegiac exploration. Stimulating, provoking, mournful&[Roberts] has a deep and infectious passion for the landscapes, history and people of the Southwest. Roberts captivates the reader with the thrill of finding artifacts&Full of insights. Engaging&enjoyable reading. A funny, witty and highly personal account. Part ethnographer, part archaeologistwith healthy doses of skeptical enquirer, curiosity seeker, and professional mountain climber mixed inthis talented writer navigates the secret canyons and hidden watercourses of the American Southwest in search of a lost civilization. With the verve of his great mountaineering books, David Roberts takes us inside a lost genius climber civilization and its mysteries, introducing the looters, ruin baggers, warring academics and wary tribal descendants who frame the ethical conflicts of modern archeologywhile never losing his own explorers energy and thirst for the thrill of wilderness discovery. These tales should be told around a campfire. The rare sequel that stands alone yet also takes its rightful place as a classic alongside its predecessor volume. [H]as the pull and excitement of a suspense novel and appeals to a wide range of readers interested in this regions deep past and great beauty. Fascinating&While the book is historical and biographical, it reads more like an intense novel with an invitation to explore the canyons that share the lives of these ancient peoples. US