"Beautifully written and meticulously researched."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This updated study of the economics, politics, and ecology of water covers more than a century of public and private desert reclamation in the American West.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The definitive history of water resources in the American West, and a very illuminating lesson in the political economy of limited resources anywhere. Highly recommended!
Review
A revealing, absorbing, often amusing, and alarming report. -- The New York Times Book Review
Reisner captures Western water history in Cinemascope and Technicolor. Cadillac Desert is timely and of national importance. Hurry up and read this book. -- The Washington Post
Reisner captures Western water history in Cinemascope and Technicolor. Cadillac Desert is timely and of national importance. Hurry up and read this book. -- The Washington Post
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 102 people found the following review helpful
By xaosdog
Format:Paperback
I am somewhat ashamed to have read this book only recently. I should have read this one years ago.
Well, better late than never, and I am pleased to report that it deserves its enduring reputation.
...But let me assume that I am writing this "review" for an audience that is neither familiar with Reisner's book nor aware of the role water development has played in every aspect of the history of the American West, particularly of California.
Briefly, the history of water development contains the whole story of the West, from start to present. Early modern irrigation worked miracles and opened to the plow land previously unavailable for agriculture -- land that now feeds the nation and much of the world. If it were not for these early, massive hydro-projects, not one of the great cities of the West would be even conceivable, millions upon millions of people would and could never have considered settling the western half of the continent. Of course, there was a massive cost accompanying all of these benefits, measurable in human as well as environmental terms, but in those days the cost-benefit analysis was easy.
Building upon early irrigation successes, two government agencies -- the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers, may they both live forever in infamy -- garnered unto themselves massive power and independence, which they used to keep on building dam after dam after dam. The problem was not so much (at the time the dams were built) that the environmental costs were higher with every dam, until there now remains no wild river beyond the hundredth meridian of any significance whatsoever, precious little habitat for migratory birds, mass extinctions, etc., etc., tragically etc.; the real problem (at the time the dams were built) was that the new dams brought no benefits whatsoever to stack up against their costs. Each new dam represented gratuitous environmental catastrophe, effected simply because water projects became the currency of pork barrel Congressional politics.
And that's not the worst of it. Except for the Egyptian (the Nile River being a very special case), every civilization founded upon irrigation has always ended -- abruptly -- almost certainly due to the sudden and permanent despoliation of irrigated agricultural soil through concentration of salts, which is the inevitable result of irrigation. No previous irrigation civilization has ever worked on such a grand scale, or with soil already so alkaline, as ours. Death by salinity is happening with alarming rapidity in the American West even now. The end of agriculture as we know it in the West is coming, and coming soon; all the experts know it; nothing is being done.
Reisner doesn't suggest much in the way of solutions. But as history -- explaining patterns of human settlement, the effects of that settlement on the region's geography, the patterns of flow and accumulation of wealth in the West, and what may be the greatest crisis our whole nation is facing and ignoring today -- Cadillac Desert can't be beat.
101 of 108 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enthusiastically told friends that I was reading a book about "water development in the West" and they blankly would stare back and ask "Why"? Well, I discovered that the story of moving people and water into the West where humans really have no natural right living is quite entertaining. Reisner is the perfect storyteller and he permeates this real drama of pure will, deceit, graft, engineering prowess and the pork barrel with a subtle sarcastic wit I could read all day. He makes a real effort to keep his personal views out of the picture and rely on interviews and statistics. Even though it seems that he likely sees most large water projects as foolhardy and boondoggles he presents both sides - for example highlighting how one of the massive Comubia River dams had the unexpected value of helping us win WWII through power generation. I read this for a book club and the four of us (all California natives) used it as a springboard for literally hours of conversation. This should be required reading for anyone who claims to be an informed citizen living in the American West.
There is also an excellent PBS companion 4 video series of the same name which I found available at my library (or sold through Amazon.com packaged with Chinatown) which I would HIGHLY recommend. It adds a lot thorough interviews, footage of a dam failing, and beautiful scenery that lets you appreciate the natural beauty at stake when considering these large water projects.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cadillac Desert should be required reading for every American. On the surface it tells the story of water development and conservation (or lack thereof) in the American west in particular and the nation in general. Throughout the book however, you are given an understanding of how our government actually works. I always wondered why a company in California will contribute heavily to a congressman from New York. Now I know. I also know why our government will spend so much tax money on seemingly wastful projects. Anyone interested in engineering will be fascinated by the construction of the huge dams. Marc Reisner also relates some of the disasters that resulted from poorly constucted or situated dams. This book is well researched and well written and for a book with so much technical information, quite easy and enjoyable to read. Anyone interested in water conservation, irrigation, American government, American history, engineering feats or development of the American west will love this book
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fantastic Page Turner -- Cannot Put This Down
Though I read all the time, it is rare to encounter a non-fiction title that is a page turner like this one. I read it late at night in bed, in the tub and on a plane on vacation. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Tom Hunter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
It is very interesting. It was recommended to me by my nephew.
My nephew sent me the PBS VCR tapes to view after I read the book.
My nephew sent me the PBS VCR tapes to view after I read the book.
Published 22 days ago by Bert R. Holfeltz
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Water flows towards power and money"
After a visit to Palm Springs, all I could ask is "where the heck do they get the water for all of this?" then, I visited the Owens Valley near Bishop, saw the Salton Sea. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John R. Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting
I never thought much about the water situation in the west, a good history book. The author has a quick wit as well, funny in places.
Published 2 months ago by a friend
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every western student should read this book!
Having lived most of my life in the American west, this book has caused me to look at my surroundings with new eyes. Read more
Published 2 months ago by D. Porter
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book with Historical Information about the Damming or the West...
I reorder this book after not being able to find my first copy. The author has put so much information in CD that it is overwhelming. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Charles A. Mcvey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cadillac Desert
I suggest this book to many of my landscape clients and others who are interested in how we got into our present situation as regards the environment and in particular, water. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Hermine Stover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opening reading
As a California resident, I've seen the signs on I-5 complaining that farmer's aren't receiving their due amount of water and to be honest I've never really given it much thought... Read more
Published 3 months ago by GDR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still relevant
While the book is already several years old, it is still - or even more - relevant today. The story it tells is an ugly one, but one that needs to be told. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marcello Malpighi
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dam You!
This is a classic and I was very excited to read this prior to finishing up my recent book because it is just loaded with those history-buff things that were meant to be buried... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter Filak
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 36
books:
See all 36 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- The Bureau of Reclamation by William E. Warne on 6 pages
- Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E.F. Schumacher in Front Matter, page 304, and Index
- Empires in the sun: The rise of the new American West by Peter Booth Wiley in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890-1920 (Harvard Historical Monographs) by Samuel P. Hays in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Washington, D.C: The World War II Years (DC) (Images of America) by Paul K. Williams in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 36 books this book cites
- Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams: Enlarged and Updated Edition by Patrick McCully on 7 pages
- Vision in the Desert: Carl Hayden and Hydropolitics in the American Southwest by Jack L., Jr. August on 6 pages
- Fire on the Plateau: Conflict And Endurance In The American Southwest by Charles F. Wilkinson on 5 pages
- America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of New Beginnings by David E. Nye on 4 pages
- Grand Canyon: Solving Earth's Grandest Puzzle by James Lawrence Powell on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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