The Negev: The Challenge of a Desert

In December 1966, the New York Times reported, "An experimental farm in the middle of Israel's arid southern desert proved its success in an unusual way this year. It had a surplus problem." This happy surplus was the outcome of two decades of scientific study of ancient desert agriculture, which had been motivated initially by the realization that the state of Israel would always be confronted with the challenge of living in a desert environment.

In this lively, richly illustrated book, three of the experimenters describe the challenges of the Negev desert to man, plant, and animal, past and present. Theyexplain hew botanists joined forces with geologists, archaeologists, agronomists, engineers, photogrammetrists, soil scientists, and historians toanswer these challenges by reconstructing an ancient farming system. Making full use if the low annual rainfall, they were able to produce excellent crops in both fields and orchards.