The redshift interval 1.4 \lower 2.15 pt \hbox { $ \buildrel < \over { \sim } $ } z \lower 2.15 pt \hbox { $ % \buildrel < \over { \sim } $ } 2.5 
has been described by some as the ‘ redshift desert ’ because of historical difficulties in spectroscopically identifying galaxies in that range .
In fact , galaxies can be found in large numbers with standard broad-band color selection techniques coupled to follow-up spectroscopy with UV and blue-sensitive spectrographs .
In this paper we present the first results of a large-scale survey of such objects , carried out with the blue channel of the LRIS spectrograph ( LRIS-B ) on the Keck I telescope .
We introduce two samples of star forming galaxies , ‘ BX ’ galaxies at \langle z \rangle = 2.20 \pm 0.32 
and ‘ BM ’ galaxies at \langle z \rangle = 1.70 \pm 0.34 .
In seven survey fields we have spectroscopically confirmed 749 of the former and 114 of the latter .
Interlopers ( defined as objects at z < 1 ) account for less than 10 % of the photometric candidates , and the fraction of faint AGN is \sim 3 % in the combined BX/BM sample .
Deep near-IR photometry of a subset of the BX sample indicates that , compared to a sample of similarly UV-selected galaxies at z \sim 3 , the z \sim 2 galaxies are on average significantly redder in ( { \cal R } - K _ { s } ) , indicating longer star formation histories , increased reddening by dust , or both .
Using near-IR H \alpha spectra of a subset of BX/BM galaxies to define the galaxies ’ systemic redshifts , we show that the galactic-scale winds which are a feature of star-forming galaxies at z \sim 3 are also common at later epochs and have similar bulk outflow speeds of 200-300 km s ^ { -1 } .
We illustrate by example the information which can be deduced on the stellar populations , metallicities , and kinematics of “ redshift desert ” galaxies from easily accessible rest-frame far-UV and rest-frame optical spectra .
Far from being hostile to observations , the universe at z \sim 2 
is uniquely suited to providing information on the astrophysics of star-forming galaxies and the intergalactic medium , and the relationship between the two .