Customer Reviews

Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This is an unusual book. Recommend to those interested in the region, in remediation, in conservation, and in the overwhelming challenges that only increase in this endless dance between humanity and nature. DeBuys illustrates so well, and quite frankly, so poetically, the true folly of human initiative, and our continual misunderstanding of both the laws of nature, and the law of the land. Myers' stark pictures in black and white capture the the dark humor of what we, as a species, continue to do to the very planet that supports us... A very unique and arresting read. Bravo.

Superlative read revealing the vast natural beauty of the desert and its inhabitants and man's irreversable errors in judging it as a fallen Eden. Together with Cadillac Desert it ranks as a southwest water classic. Beautiful writing and stunning photographs.

Both informative and beautiful book about California's only sea. The history and information is nicely balanced with Myers' great photographs. Anybody interested in California beyond the cities should buy this book.

Bravo! Salt Dreams is the first of its kind to wrap up all of the issues surrounding the Salton Sea and Colorado River delta in one volume. The best since Cadillac Desert in its cinematic portrayal of a complicated host of issues. Awesome writing on the heroism of US Fish and Wildlife staff. My only criticism is that Congressman George Brown is slighted; Sonny Bono often called him "Mr. Salton Sea". Certainly, a book Mr. Brown would have loved.

I visited the Salton Sea to photograph birds and found it impossible to describe, telling friends they had to go there themselves to experience the place and the people. Now I tell them to read this book. From the creation of the Sea to the creation of Salvation Mountain, deBuys tells it's colorful history in a prose that fills you with the sounds and smells and people of the Sea and Imperial Valley. Anyone with an interest in man's unlimited folly, vision, corruption, and the coming environmental train-wreck in southern California needs to read this book.

Salt Dreams is a wonderful book about the history and politics behind the creation and existence of the Salton Sea. Though it is a bit off the mark in its description of the Sea's current condition, especially as it applies to Mexico. However, for those that want to learn more about "California's Greatest Resource" this book should be first on the list!

*Winner of the 2000 Norris and Carol Hundley Award from The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association.

*Winner of the 1999 Western States Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction. *Winner of the 1999 Clements Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America.