socraticgadfly's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent complement to "Cadillac Desert," with the vantage of writing after the effects of climate change were becoming clearer.
The title itself should tell you part of what you're in for. It was an empire of manifest destiny, believing that the American world could override problems, from ignoring John Wesley Powell on.
The title itself should tell you part of what you're in for. It was an empire of manifest destiny, believing that the American world could override problems, from ignoring John Wesley Powell on.
shakespeare_gurl's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a fascinating perspective on the history of the American West. It's a classic of environmental history, and I can certainly see why. That said, I'm not entirely sure what I think of his narrative style. I love that environmental history tells stories, be Worster quite often goes off on extended metaphors that are sometimes incredibly helpful and sometimes just tiresome. And sometimes his use of tense and narration make it difficult to understand who or when exactly he is talking about and if whatever suppositions he is narrating were actually true or came to pass or what. So I'm ambivalent about how much I enjoyed this book, a good part also because I really get riled up reading US histories.
Other than that, the frustration of reading victory after victory for a small group of people using federal money and the slighting of minorities, broken treaties, and single-minded pursuit of gain and conquest was exhausting. It is essentially a story of a few wealthy speculators and government corruption. I appreciated the analysis of the depression-era writers like Steinbeck that was included. Overall, it's not just a history of the 'natural' environment of the American West. It uses the history of rivers and irrigation as a means to talk about the social, economic, and political history of the region.
Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in 20th century political/economic history, history of the American West from the mid 1800s, or historical and contemporary uses of rivers and ground water.
Other than that, the frustration of reading victory after victory for a small group of people using federal money and the slighting of minorities, broken treaties, and single-minded pursuit of gain and conquest was exhausting. It is essentially a story of a few wealthy speculators and government corruption. I appreciated the analysis of the depression-era writers like Steinbeck that was included. Overall, it's not just a history of the 'natural' environment of the American West. It uses the history of rivers and irrigation as a means to talk about the social, economic, and political history of the region.
Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in 20th century political/economic history, history of the American West from the mid 1800s, or historical and contemporary uses of rivers and ground water.
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