The greatest 'unsolved mystery' of the American Southwest relates to the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the 11th century converged on Chaco Canyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments - in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture and engineering - were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished. What was it - drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder or suicide? Craig Childs draws on scholarly research and a lifetime of adventure and exploration in the American Southwest, to pursue the mystery of their disappearance. Considering many possibilities - drought, suicide - he points the way to a new understanding of how a vibrant civilization collapsed.HOUSE OF RAIN is a landmark work in the literature of ancient Native American culture, a key to a fascinating and mysterious lost civilization.

'And adventure story, a history, and a cultural analysis all wrapped in exceptional writing.' - Pete Warzel, Rocky Mountain News 'Craig Childs succees in translating a good hunk of Southwestern archaeology while providing us with the kind of inductive visceral experience he does better than any other naturalist.' - Katharine Niles, Denver Post 'Childs excites the imagination and creates a haunting portrait of a people and a way of life that will last long after the reading is finished.' - Clay Reynolds, Dallas Morning News

Craig Childs is also a river guide, a field instructor in natural history, an adventurer, and a writer. He camps in the wilds of the American West several months of the year, usually living in the back of his truck, out of a river vessel, or from his backpack.