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Marc Reisner

Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition Paperback – January 1, 1993

by Marc Reisner (Author)

747 ratings

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"The definitive work on the West's water crisis." --Newsweek

The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruption and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecological and economic disaster. In his landmark book, Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the competition to transform the West. Based on more than a decade of research, Cadillac Desert is a stunning expose and a dramatic, intriguing history of the creation of an Eden--an Eden that may only be a mirage.

This edition includes a new postscript by Lawrie Mott, a former staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, that updates Western water issues over the last two decades, including the long-term impact of climate change and how the region can prepare for the future.

Print length

582 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

January 1, 1993
Grade level

12 and up
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

8.36 x 5.52 x 1.09 inches
ISBN-10

0140178244
ISBN-13

978-0140178241
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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

"Masterful. . .Among the most influential environmental books published by an American since Silent Spring."
--San Francisco Examiner

"Essential background reading for anyone who cares about the drought ravaging the West and the region's prospects for changing course before it is too late."
--Mark Hertsgaard, The Daily Beast

"Timely and of national interest. . . . Resiner captures Western water history in Cinemascope and Technicolor. . . . lawmakers, taxpayers, hurry up and read this book."
--The Washington Post

"The scale of this book is as staggering as that of Hoover Dam. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, it spans our century-long effort to moisten the arid West. . . . Anyone thinking of moving west of the hundredth meridian should read this book before they call their real estate agent."
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A revealing, absorbing, often amusing and alarming report on where billions of [taxpayers'] dollars have gone-- and where a lot more are going . . . [Reisner] has put the story together in trenchant form."
--The New York Times Book Review

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 2nd edition (January 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 582 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140178244
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140178241
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.36 x 5.52 x 1.09 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #9,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Water Supply & Land Use (Books)
- #2 in Water Quality & Treatment
- #6 in Geology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
747 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		14%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Too much editorializing for a history book

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

The author writes like a conservationist who seems to consider the settling of the American southwest a tragic, evil confluence of greed and selfishness. Okay, I get it. But painting historical figures with almost comic bookish hues of good and evil cheapens the obvious deep level of research. It's also inconsistent. Early on the author agrees with William Mulholland that the LA River cannot sustain a six-figure population over time, yet later on in the same chapter he implies Mulholland exaggerated the water crisis in the LA Basin. It concludes the Red Queen chapter with a characterization that borders on a hatchet job. In general I first myself wanting to read Reisner's source books to see what he cherrypicked and what he ignored. The author undercuts his own arguments by drawing overwrought conclusions that contradict other historical accounts. Too bad, I was enjoying the read but now I find myself questioning its accuracy.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

James T Dakin

Western US water history and issues -- a classic must-read

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

This 1986 tour de force examines water and dams in the mostly arid Western US. Topics addressed in detail include, but are not limited to, the Army Corp of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, California Aqueduct, California Water Wars, Central Arizona Project, Colorado River, Grand Coulee Dam, Glen Canyon Dam, Hoover Dam, John Wesley Powell, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Mono Lake, Ogallala Aquifer, Owens Valley, Teton Dam, and William Mulholland.

Underlying the encyclopedic scope of “Cadillac Desert” are two basic themes.

First, the settlers lured to the arid West by the railroads and the US Federal Government in the 19th century needed cheap water to support agriculture on their 160 acre parcels of land, and also for their growing cities such as Los Angeles. Cheap hydroelectric power was often a secondary need, essential to pumping water. This need was met by projects of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers. The projects were generally promoted by local congressmen, who supported each other’s projects. In the long term this endeavor has been subsidized by US taxpayers since return revenues from the projects have generally fallen fall far short of plan.

Second, the projects and dams have been an escalating source of controversy. For the most part the projects have not been economically justifiable, especially the irrigation projects, and especially the more recent projects. Also, the dams have created lasting problems -- salination of irrigated soil; silt accumulation behind the dams; environmental devastation to streams, salmon fisheries, and migratory birds; an overstretched US Federal budget, etc. Cheap hydroelectric power has also enabled groundwater pumping which is depleting aquifers. The taxpayer subsidized benefits of cheap water have often gone to large corporate agriculture, not the small farmers for whom the water was intended. By the later part of the 20th century the public sentiment had largely turned away from building ever more dams, and indeed toward removing some of the existing ones.

The individual chapters of “Cadillac Desert” are often mesmerizing, instilling a sense of outrage in the civic and history minded reader. The chapter on the 1976 Teton Dam failure is a great example. If the leaders and promoters had thoughtfully considered the economics of the dam, or the geology of the site, the dam would never have been built in the first place. But built it was and fail it did. The spectacularly devastating failure is now used as a case study in engineering courses, providing an example of mistakes at all levels and by all of those involved.

While Reisner does seem long winded at times, it is worthwhile staying with “Cadillac Desert” to the end. On one hand, it provides many interrelated perspectives on water and the West. It also ends on a somewhat positive note as the many constituencies involved seem to be converging on a more rational approach to future water usage in the West.

36 people found this helpful

Helpful

Earl

Growing cotton in California!?

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

A lot of important information, particularly the political maneuvering of the last century to enable the rerouting of the West's water to the California deserts. I was well aware of some of the issues, having written a paper on the Colorado River in college, but he took the research to a much more in-depth level. I like the title, but he could have easily titled it something like, "How California Uses Its Stolen Water" (note that California contributes nothing to the Colorado or Lake Mead, yet take the lion's share of the water). The other issue that has stayed with me is the sediment building up behind these dams, including specifically Hoover, the key to water distribution in the Lower Basin. For both California and Hoover, a reckoning is coming.

2 people found this helpful

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RH3

A Classic History on US and Water

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

Even though this book was originally published in 1986, it is still timely. Marc Reisner's book is well put together and engaging. It focuses on the use of dams, canals, aqueducts, and other ways that developers and politicians rerouted water over the 20th century. It should be required reading for high school students. The newest edition of the book contains an afterward written by Reisner in 1992 and a Postscript written by Laurie Mott in 2017. Water is already an issue in many states and developers aren't disclosing water issues that will arise for those who buy in some developments. this book brings to mind the admonition that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. There are several newer books on the Colorado River -- Where The Water Goes is quite good.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

David V

Brilliant factual account of the development of the American mid-West ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

Brilliant factual account of the development of the American mid-West and the various players and forces at play. Well worth a re-read.

margaret Cuddihy

Read this and be warned

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

I read this because it was mentioned in The Water Knife. Found it excellent and I learned a lot about American history. Highly recommended.

Michael Robinson

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

A very interesting history of water mismanagement in the States.

Peter

written in fine

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

A fascinating insight, written in fine style

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

Geat book

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