The Gardens of their Dreams

This is a book of unusual scope on desertification and culture in world history that traces its theme from the earliest recorded times to the present day. The title refers to traditional stories of expulsion from Eden. The social costs of desertification are analysed in great detail along with the drivers of the process in terms of a dominating rather than partnership relationship with nature. Scarcity brings about competition and fragmentation along with an alienation from nature and a stream of environmental refugees; this process also affects human health, as we are intimately tied into a food chain.