Rivers of Empire Water Aridity and the Growth of the American West by Donald Worster 1992 Trade Paperback-image

Rivers of Empire Water Aridity and the Growth of the American West by Donald Worster 1992 Trade Paperback

$ 3.16

Reviews: "Classic."--New Internationalist"Extremely wonderful and well-written."--Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young University"Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This important book, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of its most essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water has combined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of them carefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modern West."--Wallace Stegner"Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive through his mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideas with events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review"Many readers will disagree with [Worster's] conclusions, but they are so forcefully presented that they cannot be dismissed, and will likely shape the discussions for years to come....A language of exceptional poetry and power....He takes his place in a tradition of awed affectionate writing about the West that includes John Muir and Edward Abbey, Bernard De Voto and Wallace Stegner. That is distinguished company indeed, and Donald Worster stands tall init."--The New York Times Book Review"A brilliant book, clear in its argument, exceptional in its literary qualities."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review"Impassioned and lyrical."--The New York Times Book Review"An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the New Western History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton, Baylor University, "Classic."--New Internationalist"Extremely wonderful and well-written."--Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young University"Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This important book, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of its most essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water has combined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of them carefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modern West."--Wallace Stegner"Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive through his mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideas with events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review"Many readers will disagree with [Worster's] conclusions, but they are so forcefully presented that they cannot be dismissed, and will likely shape the discussions for years to come....A language of exceptional poetry and power....He takes his place in a tradition of awed affectionate writing about the West that includes John Muir and Edward Abbey, Bernard De Voto and Wallace Stegner. That is distinguished company indeed, and Donald Worster stands tall in it."--The New York Times Book Review"A brilliant book, clear in its argument, exceptional in its literary qualities."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review"Impassioned and lyrical."^--The New York Times Book Review"An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the New Western History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton, Baylor University, "Classic."--New Internationalist "Extremely wonderful and well-written."--Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young University "Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This important book, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of its most essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water has combined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of them carefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modern West."--Wallace Stegner "Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive through his mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideas with events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review "Many readers will disagree with [Worster's] conclusions, but they are so forcefully presented that they cannot be dismissed, and will likely shape the discussions for years to come....A language of exceptional poetry and power....He takes his place in a tradition of awed affectionate writing about the West that includes John Muir and Edward Abbey, Bernard De Voto and Wallace Stegner. That is distinguished company indeed, and Donald Worster stands tall in it."--The New York Times Book Review "A brilliant book, clear in its argument, exceptional in its literary qualities."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review "Impassioned and lyrical."--The New York Times Book Review "An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the New Western History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton, Baylor University, "Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This importantbook, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of itsmost essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water hascombined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of themcarefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modernWest."--Wallace Stegner, "Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive throughhis mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideaswith events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The LosAngeles Times Book Review, "Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This important book, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of its most essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water has combined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of themcarefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modern West."--Wallace Stegner, "Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive through his mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideas with events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review, "An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the NewWestern History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton, Baylor University, "Classic."--New Internationalist "Extremely wonderful and well-written."--Thomas G. Alexander,Brigham Young University "Worster is an eloquent, often passionate historian....This important book, sure to be furiously debated, is a history of the West in terms of its most essential resource, water....It examines how manipulation of water has combined with frontier myths, expectations, and illusions, some of them carefully cultivated by interested parties, to create the ambiguous modern West."--Wallace Stegner "Worster is capable of making the most prosaic facts come alive through his mastery of the language, his imagery, and his ability to weave his ideas with events and personalities into a fascinating historical record."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review "Many readers will disagree with [Worster's] conclusions, but they are so forcefully presented that they cannot be dismissed, and will likely shape the discussions for years to come....A language of exceptional poetry and power....He takes his place in a tradition of awed affectionate writing about the West that includes John Muir and Edward Abbey, Bernard De Voto and Wallace Stegner. That is distinguished company indeed, and Donald Worster stands tall in it."--The New York Times Book Review "A brilliant book, clear in its argument, exceptional in its literary qualities."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review "Impassioned and lyrical."--The New York Times Book Review "An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the New Western History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton,Baylor University, "An excellent choice for courses that include readings from the New Western History interpretations."--Thomas L. Charlton, Baylor University, "Many readers will disagree with [Worster's] conclusions, but they are so forcefully presented that they cannot be dismissed, and will likely shape the discussions for years to come....A language of exceptional poetry and power....He takes his place in a tradition of awed affectionate writingabout the West that includes John Muir and Edward Abbey, Bernard De Voto and Wallace Stegner. That is distinguished company indeed, and Donald Worster stands tall in it."--The New York Times Book Review, "A brilliant book, clear in its argument, exceptional in its literary qualities."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review ISBN-13: 9780195078060 Table Of Content: AcknowledgementsI. Introduction: Reflections in a DitchII. Taxonomy: The Flow of Power in HistoryIII. Incipience: A Poor Man's ParadiseIV. Florescence: The State and the DesertV. Florescence: The Grapes of WealthVI. Empire: Water and the Modern WestVII. Conclusion: Nature, Freedom, and the WestNotesIndex Illustrator: Yes LCCN: 91-046685 Language: English Item Width: 9.3 in Book Title: Rivers of Empire : Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West gtin13: 9780195078060 Number of Pages: 416 Pages Synopsis: When Henry David Thoreau went for his daily walk, he would consult his instincts on which direction to follow. More often than not his inner compass pointed west or southwest. "The future lies that way to me," he explained, "and the earth seems more unexhausted and richer on that side." In his own imaginative way, Thoreau was imitating the countless young pioneers, prospectors, and entrepreneurs who were zealously following Horace Greeley's famous advice to "go west." Yet while the epic chapter in American history opened by these adventurous men and women is filled with stories of frontier hardship, we rarely think of one of their greatest problems--the lack of water resources. And the same difficulty that made life so troublesome for early settlers remains one of the most pressing concerns in the western states of the late-twentieth century. The American West, blessed with an abundance of earth and sky but cursed with a scarcity of life's most fundamental need, has long dreamed of harnessing all its rivers to produce unlimited wealth and power. In Rivers of Empire, award-winning historian Donald Worster tells the story of this dream and its outcome. He shows how, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Mormons were the first attempting to make that dream a reality, damming and diverting rivers to irrigate their land. He follows this intriguing history through the 1930s, when the federal government built hundreds of dams on every major western river, thereby laying the foundation for the cities and farms, money and power of today's West. Yet while these cities have become paradigms of modern American urban centers, and the farms successful high-tech enterprises, Worster reminds us that the costs have been extremely high. Along with the wealth has come massive ecological damage, a redistribution of power to bureaucratic and economic elites, and a class conflict still on the upswing. As a result, the future of this "hydraulic West" is increasingly uncertain, as water continues to be a scarce resource, inadequate to the demand, and declining in quality. Rivers of Empire represents a radically new vision of the American West and its historical significance. Showing how ecological change is inextricably intertwined with social evolution, and reevaluating the old mythic and celebratory approach to the development of the West, Worster offers the most probing, critical analysis of the region to date. He shows how the vast region encompassing our western states, while founded essentially as colonies, have since become the true seat of the American "Empire." How this imperial West rose out of desert, how it altered the course of nature there, and what it has meant for Thoreau's (and our own) mythic search for freedom and the American Dream, are the central themes of this eloquent and thought-provoking story--a story that begins and ends with water., The American West, blessed with an abundance of earth and sky but cursed with a scarcity of life's most fundamental need, has long dreamed of harnessing all its rivers to produce unlimited wealth and power. In Rivers of Empire, award-winning historian Donald Worster tells the story of this dream and its outcome. He shows how, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Mormons were the first attempting to make that dream a reality, damming and diverting rivers to irrigate their land. He follows this intriguing history through the 1930s, when the federal government built hundreds of dams on every major western river, thereby laying the foundation for the cities and farms, money and power of today's West. Yet while these cities have become paradigms of modern American urban centers, and the farms successful high-tech enterprises, Worster reminds us that the costs have been extremely high. Along with the wealth has come massive ecological damage, a redistribution of power to bureaucratic and economic elites, and a class conflict still on the upswing. As a result, the future of this "hydraulic West" is increasingly uncertain, as water continues to be a scarce resource, inadequate to the demand, and declining in quality., When Henry David Thoreau went for his daily walk, he would consult his instincts on which direction to follow. More often than not his inner compass pointed west or southwest. "The future lies that way to me," he explained, "and the earth seems more unexhausted and richer on that side." In his own imaginative way, Thoreau was imitating the countless young pioneers, prospectors, and entrepreneurs who were zealously following Horace Greeley's famous advice to "go west." Yet while the epic chapter in American history opened by these adventurous men and women is filled with stories of frontier hardship, we rarely think of one of their greatest problems--the lack of water resources. And the same difficulty that made life so troublesome for early settlers remains one of the most pressing concerns in the western states of the late-twentieth century. The American West, blessed with an abundance of earth and sky but cursed with a scarcity of life's most fundamental need, has long dreamed of harnessing all its rivers to produce unlimited wealth and power. In Rivers of Empire , award-winning historian Donald Worster tells the story of this dream and its outcome. He shows how, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Mormons were the first attempting to make that dream a reality, damming and diverting rivers to irrigate their land. He follows this intriguing history through the 1930s, when the federal government built hundreds of dams on every major western river, thereby laying the foundation for the cities and farms, money and power of today's West. Yet while these cities have become paradigms of modern American urban centers, and the farms successful high-tech enterprises, Worster reminds us that the costs have been extremely high. Along with the wealth has come massive ecological damage, a redistribution of power to bureaucratic and economic elites, and a class conflict still on the upswing. As a result, the future of this "hydraulic West" is increasingly uncertain, as water continues to be a scarce resource, inadequate to the demand, and declining in quality. Rivers of Empire represents a radically new vision of the American West and its historical significance. Showing how ecological change is inextricably intertwined with social evolution, and reevaluating the old mythic and celebratory approach to the development of the West, Worster offers the most probing, critical analysis of the region to date. He shows how the vast region encompassing our western states, while founded essentially as colonies, have since become the true seat of the American "Empire." How this imperial West rose out of desert, how it altered the course of nature there, and what it has meant for Thoreau's (and our own) mythic search for freedom and the American Dream, are the central themes of this eloquent and thought-provoking story--a story that begins and ends with water., Donald Worster examines the development history of the American West, identifying the élite of technology and wealth who have controlled its most essential resource: water. Topic: United States / State & Local / West (Ak, CA, Co, Hi, Id, Mt, Nv, Ut, WY), Ecosystems & Habitats / Rivers, United States / General, Natural Resources, Agriculture / Irrigation Genre: Nature, Technology & Engineering, History Dewey Decimal: 333.91/00978 Format: Trade Paperback brand: Oxford University Press, Incorporated ISBN-10: 0195078063 Item Length: 6.1 in Dewey Edition: 19 Author: Donald Worster Item Weight: 20.5 Oz Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated Publication Year: 1992 Item Height: 1.1 in Intended Audience: Trade

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Used Like New, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. Payment due within 24 hours or items will be closed and relisted. Immediate payment required.

  1. This book arrived in perfect condition, just as described—no missing pages or binding issues, barely even a sign it's used! Fast shipping and great packaging made the experience smooth. Worster's insights on water and the American West are eye-opening, a must-read for history and environmental enthusiasts. Highly recommend this seller for their honesty and top-notch service!

    Agnes Jonsson

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