True stories of heroism, endurance & survival
June 2020
A True Story of Desert Survival in Joshua Tree
Los Angeles poet Ed Rosenthal’s hiking vacation turns deadly in soaring Mojave heat; his true survival story leaves you with chills.
Ed Rosenthal, “The Poet-Broker”, advocates for historic properties in downtown Los Angeles and negotiates to save them. In 2010, after closing his biggest deal, he skips town to Joshua Tree National Park, only to find himself inexplicably lost. Over six grueling days without water, food, or hope, snippets of his life and his hard-knock youth in Queens play over the inspiring yet deadly landscape in soaring 120-degree heat. The God of Random Chance has, despite his best efforts his whole life, finally caught up to him. He describes his ordeal and its setting in intimate, vivid detail: surreal visions mix with wayfinding and intuitive wisdom in a poet’s-eye view of the life-lessons and magic that the desert can hold.
Rosenthal’s shocking ordeal was covered on The Discovery Channel, local broadcast, The Weather Channel, in Los Angeles Magazine, and in an interview with Dick Gordon for “The Story” on National Public Radio, and by the Associated Press. In 2014 he was the subject of an episode of “Fight to Survive” with Bear Grylls on The Outdoor Channel. News of his ordeal was broadcast and published in Europe.