7 Best Joshua Tree Books You Have to Read!

If you’re visiting Joshua Tree, or just dreaming about it, you’ll want to check out some of these Joshua Tree books! These funky trees, the incredible desert landscape, and the strange things the desert attracts all make for fantastic stories. Whether you like harrowing true stories, UFO tales, or are looking for some beautiful desert design inspiration – we have a book for you!

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Table of Contents

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1. Things I learned From Falling

Written by Claire Nelson

This book will have you on the edge of your seat the ENTIRE TIME. It’s the story of when Claire went on a solo hike in Joshua Tree National Park and found herself in a very bad situation. I read the whole book in 2 days and couldn’t put it down. It’s also a good reminder of all the safety precautions you should take when hiking, especially alone!

Get your copy here!

2. At Home in Joshua Tree

A Field Guide to Desert Living

Written by Sara and Rich Combs

As someone who loves home design, cherishing the small special moments at home, and the desert – I loved this book. Sara and Rich combs are the owners of the STUNNING Joshua Tree Home, a beautiful vacation rental in Joshua Tree. In this book, you’ll also find beautiful photographs of the desert, and of their thoughtfully and beautiful designed home.

The book will walk you through a complete day from sunrise to nighttime and how to design your home while blending the indoors and outdoors, designing for ordinary experiences, and adding plants! It’s obvious that they love the desert and they give great tips on how to live a peaceful life immersed in desert life.

Grab your copy here!

3. Before They’re Gone

A family’s year-long quest to explore America’s most endangered national parks

Written by Michael Lanza

Before They’re Gone chronicles the adventures of a family as they visit several US National Parks that are in danger because of climate change. They highlight the beautiful and wild places and describe the specific challenges that each park faces. This book will give you a new reason to support our parks and to visit before it’s too late. Joshua Tree is one of the several parks featured in this book.

Grab your copy here!

4. Joshua Tree Complete Guide

Written by James Kaiser

I’m usually not a huge fan of guide books because they can be quickly outdated and you can find a lot of the info online. However, that is NOT the case with this guide to Joshua Tree National Park. In this Joshua Tree book you can find digestible stories about the history of the area, the classic hikes, and some of the animals and plants you may encounter when in the park. I highly recommend getting a copy before your trip to Joshua Tree!

Grab your copy here!

5. Desert Oracle

Written by Ken Layne

Desert Oracle is a collection of stories about all kinds of strange things that have happened, or are thought to have happened, in the desert. The tales are focused in the American Southwest and cover a variety of topics including Yucca Man, UFOs and other alien sightings, haunted petroglyphs and so much more. The stories are easy to read, and give you a true sense of how weird the desert really is. If you read it before you go, you’ll be on high alert for some of the legendary creatures or spirits that haunt Joshua Tree.

Grab your copy here!