Reviews:
“Lyrical ruminations on plant and animal life . . . witty and insightful, [Alcock] pries under rocks and peers around saguaro and brittlebush to explore a world teeming with activity and color. There is magic here, and Alcock conveys the wonder and mystery of seasonal change in a way that will appeal to newcomers and natives alike.”—The Journal of Arizona History
“The story of how a zoologist has made this particular place his laboratory for both ecological and philosophical inquiry.”—New York Times Book Review
“Depending on your perspective, you may view the rocky uplands of the northern Sonoran Desert as either a forlorn wasteland to assiduously avoid, or an intriguing realm teeming with biological puzzles to solve. Alcock, an insect behaviorist at Arizona State University, takes the latter view. . . . All readers . . . will undoubtedly appreciate the poignancy with which Alcock portrays his love of desert life and landscape.”—Bioscience
“Sonoran Desert Spring is about the evolutionary significance of behavior. . . . Holiday reading for all zoologists and a must for the desert specialist whose entomological knowledge is restricted to the performance of locusts and black beetles.”—Journal of Biogeography