In Land of the Desert Sun, D. Gentry Steele explores this fascinating region with his camera, leading the reader to enjoy the Big Bend through the eyes of a naturalist and historian. Taken in black and white to emphasize light, shadow, and texture, Steele's photographs present the Big Bend in a way that appeals to the sense of awe at the grandeur of the region's geological scale and at the detail of life that hangs on determinedly in that harsh place. In addition to his fifty photographs, taken over a course of four years, Steele shares firsthand experiences and provides a brief natural and cultural history of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Big Bend National Park, placing the photographs in context.