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Rating: 
Summary: A long-awaited new perspective
Review: "Where the Rain Children Sleep" has quickly become one of my most cherished desert books. When something as heavy a a hardback makes it into my list of necessary backpacking items, that says something. What I appreciate the most about Englehard's writing is his gift of a new persepctive to the reader. Some of us have frequented these desert places Englehard writes of, but with eloquence and a spiritual connectedness with the land, Englehard insight is like seeing the desert in new colors. To come upon these desert places again, I think of them differently--that is to say, more spiritually aware and culturally informed. This is a real treat for anyone who considers the Colorado Plateau a place of mind, body, and soul.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Gift
Review: Engelhard's developed and articulate voice proves to be a thoroughly competent guide for a literary journey to the nooks and crannies of the Four Corners region. He has weaved his interest in anthropology and his zest for adventure into a blend that offers readers a unique perspective on equally unique places. I recommend buying two copies of Where the Rain Children Sleep -- one to keep in good shape on your bookshelf, the other to tote around with you on your own adventures.
Rating:
Summary: More Than a Sacred Geography
Review: Through masterful prose, Michael Engelhard indelibly paints the landscape of the Colorado Plateau on the canvas of our hearts and minds. Those of us who, like him, love the southwestern desert and its magnificent canyons discover that, indeed, there ARE words to describe what we see, what we feel, and what we take with us from our encounters with this land. His descriptions give voice to our speechlessness in the face of the overwhelming beauty of the landscape. What began as a plan to hike 120 canyons in tribute to those lost to the damming of the Colorado River at Glen Canyon became, as his subtitle says, a "sacred geography." But it is so much more. It is also an adventure, a personal journey, and a love letter to the physical and spiritual forces that carved these canyons and to those in whose footsteps he walks. As a reader, I hiked beside him and listened to his heart. I paddled down the Green River with him and felt my shoulders ache from the effort. I marveled at the play of light and shadow on canyon walls. I saw again those canyons I knew, but I saw them with new eyes, and I understood more clearly my own fascination with this land. Even readers who have never set foot on the Colorado Plateau will be touched by the beauty and lyricism of Engelhard's style. They, also, will be drawn onto the rivers or into the Maze, losing themselves, like him, in order to find themselves.
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