Scan barcode
jansbookcorner's review against another edition
3.0
I would not be interested in this book if it weren't for a connection to the Central Valley. I did learn a lot about the history of water out west and a lot about water usage and conservation. Left me wondering "what if..."
ethanyan's review against another edition
i think i just don’t like non fiction for the most part
waynediane's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fascinating and very current to the politics of water (rights), farming(supposedly life resources), and billionaires who are the corporate farmers. Most of the farms are owned by a few individuals and their corporations,millions of acres of Almond trees, etc. The fight over water rights (who should get what) going back several hundred years, so prevalent to today's desperate thirst over who should get what. If you are a Californian this should be a required read in high school and above. The challenge of this book is it is very, long, but GREAT!
cindyjac's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing look at the history of water in California. To quote the author, "Our staying dumb to our essential nature is such a shared trait that even among the most enlightened citizens of Los Angeles and San Francisco there exists a profound ignorance about where our water comes from. It comes from someplace else..." We have destroyed rivers, drained lakes, and emptied ground water without understanding that we can't sustain what has been built and planted at the rate we are building and planting. I honestly could read this book only is short chunks because it is so upsetting. If you are a citizen of California, especially the Central Valley, you should read this book.
annmeyer's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the most important books ever written about California and its history. It’s long and at times requires mental labor, but it is well worth all the time spent on it.
I’m grateful to Arax for investing so much of himself in writing it. These are all stories that needed to be told critically but empathetically, and I think he’s created something that may inspire change (in perspective, in action, in communication), one reader at a time.
I’m grateful to Arax for investing so much of himself in writing it. These are all stories that needed to be told critically but empathetically, and I think he’s created something that may inspire change (in perspective, in action, in communication), one reader at a time.
michellemjeffers's review against another edition
5.0
I know, I know, a 500+ page book about water, what was I thinking? But, Fresno girl that I used to be, I had to dive in. And wow, this book is so good, touching on the history and politics of California and all the ways that agriculture is really driving (or not) the state's long term sustainability. Even at 500 pages, it's a fast read and tells a compelling and heartbreaking story. Bravo, Mark Arax for your masterful storytelling.
curioso98's review against another edition
5.0
This book is an extremely detailed account of California's history and relationship with agriculture and water.
Mark is obviously very knowledgeable about the current state of affairs and the details of the recent past considering that his family moved to the Central Valley of CA in the early part of the 20th century and has been in the agricultural business since then. However, Mark goes beyond the history of CA in the past 100 years and goes all the way to the beginning of CA and explains the various changes in the ownership of the land including during the American-Mexican War. What was evident throughout history is the scant respect that people (apart from Native Americans) have had for the resources that CA has provided to the people of the land.
Water has always been a precarious resource in CA considering that there are "wet" and "dry" years depending on the weather patterns of that year. The farmers of the area dealt with the vagaries of these patterns by systematically building dams over the years to handle the "dry" years but with the technological advances in drilling (that can drill deeper), farmers no longer depend exclusively on dam water but just drill indiscriminately deeper and deeper to find the water to irrigate their ever-expanding farms.
We need to acknowledge a few facts about the state of water in CA:
- Central/Southern CA is technically a desert and stuff grows there purely due to flooding the land with water
- Water is pumped from Northern CA to Southern CA via a collection of aqueducts and Canals to try and quench the thirst of luxury water-hungry crops like Almonds, Pistachios, Alfalfa, and Citrus.
- Water is drilled from the ground in an unregulated manner to fill the gaps where the aqueduct water cannot. This lowers the water table/aquifer and the ground level along with it
- Big Nut farms (Resnicks, "Wonderful" etc) are ever-expanding enterprises trying to create arable land out of deserts with hordes of undocumented workers from across the border and unsustainable water-extracting practices.
As you drive from the bay-area to anywhere close to Central Valley, you will notice huge signs which say "This water is being used for the food you eat" which is supposed to guilt us into thinking that any cuts to the water supply to these behemoths farms will affect our tables but the fact is that these farms are growing luxury crops like almonds/pistachios/alfalfa which is definitely not "food" in the regular food terms but is also mostly exported and Americans will never taste them.
Every year, we see news stories of CA facing another year of "drought" but now it's clear that it's not really a drought in the true sense since we HAVE enough water for our "needs" but we clearly do not have enough water to satisfy the "greed" of the nut farmers. 80% of usable water in the state is diverted to these farms whereas only 20% is used for residential/commercial purposes.
This book is amazing and an eye-opener in a sense since it explains what we know (Big Ag's insatiable greed for water) but gives more details such as names and the history/future of those firms. Mark has done the people of CA/US service by detailing how CA is using it's a very precious and limited supply of water to satisfy the greed of a few big nut farmers. I'll avoid any "cuties", "Sunkist", and "wonderful" brands in the supermarket in the future along with almonds,pistachios, and other nuts grown in CA to do my part.
Mark is obviously very knowledgeable about the current state of affairs and the details of the recent past considering that his family moved to the Central Valley of CA in the early part of the 20th century and has been in the agricultural business since then. However, Mark goes beyond the history of CA in the past 100 years and goes all the way to the beginning of CA and explains the various changes in the ownership of the land including during the American-Mexican War. What was evident throughout history is the scant respect that people (apart from Native Americans) have had for the resources that CA has provided to the people of the land.
Water has always been a precarious resource in CA considering that there are "wet" and "dry" years depending on the weather patterns of that year. The farmers of the area dealt with the vagaries of these patterns by systematically building dams over the years to handle the "dry" years but with the technological advances in drilling (that can drill deeper), farmers no longer depend exclusively on dam water but just drill indiscriminately deeper and deeper to find the water to irrigate their ever-expanding farms.
We need to acknowledge a few facts about the state of water in CA:
- Central/Southern CA is technically a desert and stuff grows there purely due to flooding the land with water
- Water is pumped from Northern CA to Southern CA via a collection of aqueducts and Canals to try and quench the thirst of luxury water-hungry crops like Almonds, Pistachios, Alfalfa, and Citrus.
- Water is drilled from the ground in an unregulated manner to fill the gaps where the aqueduct water cannot. This lowers the water table/aquifer and the ground level along with it
- Big Nut farms (Resnicks, "Wonderful" etc) are ever-expanding enterprises trying to create arable land out of deserts with hordes of undocumented workers from across the border and unsustainable water-extracting practices.
As you drive from the bay-area to anywhere close to Central Valley, you will notice huge signs which say "This water is being used for the food you eat" which is supposed to guilt us into thinking that any cuts to the water supply to these behemoths farms will affect our tables but the fact is that these farms are growing luxury crops like almonds/pistachios/alfalfa which is definitely not "food" in the regular food terms but is also mostly exported and Americans will never taste them.
Every year, we see news stories of CA facing another year of "drought" but now it's clear that it's not really a drought in the true sense since we HAVE enough water for our "needs" but we clearly do not have enough water to satisfy the "greed" of the nut farmers. 80% of usable water in the state is diverted to these farms whereas only 20% is used for residential/commercial purposes.
This book is amazing and an eye-opener in a sense since it explains what we know (Big Ag's insatiable greed for water) but gives more details such as names and the history/future of those firms. Mark has done the people of CA/US service by detailing how CA is using it's a very precious and limited supply of water to satisfy the greed of a few big nut farmers. I'll avoid any "cuties", "Sunkist", and "wonderful" brands in the supermarket in the future along with almonds,pistachios, and other nuts grown in CA to do my part.
sethsb's review against another edition
5.0
"Drought is California. Flood is California. The lie is the normal. No society in history has gone to greater lengths to deny its fundamental nature than California. The Netherlands figured out long ago its arrangement with the sea. California, for a century and two-thirds now, keeps forgetting its arrangement with drought and flood. The repeat of each new cycle is greeted by the populace as a spectacle. Our staying dumb to our essential nature is such a shared trait that even among the most enlightened citizens of Los Angeles and San Francisco there exists a profound ignorance about where our water comes from. It comes from someplace else. The blankness runs deep and is self-justifying to the point that big city residents feel something close to righteous indignation as they rip into the Fresno almond grower for drawing upon water swindled not from hundreds of miles away, like their water is, but from right beneath his feet."
Arax pulls no punches in reporting the entire history of California, telling the story of how it became a contentious battleground in the war for water. The author wades into the complexities of agriculture, legislature, and residential development.
He brings together stories with notorious figures like Sutter, Miller, Burbank, Boswell and Resnick. Riding from mountain range to desert horizon and dusty vineyard, he not only focuses on great men, but also gives profiles of the common men and women working to stock the lakes with fish, measure soil subsidence, and deliver food to our table.
The author is a reporter through and through. He has asked the hardest questions to the most powerful people. He has spent time with the poorest to see what life is like in tenant dwellings. He carried the story for years, developing it into a solid, compelling argument.
I would keep this book on my shelf as a reference for state history. I probably would not display it at work. Parents, be advised that there are some snippets that are not appropriate for young readers.
Arax pulls no punches in reporting the entire history of California, telling the story of how it became a contentious battleground in the war for water. The author wades into the complexities of agriculture, legislature, and residential development.
He brings together stories with notorious figures like Sutter, Miller, Burbank, Boswell and Resnick. Riding from mountain range to desert horizon and dusty vineyard, he not only focuses on great men, but also gives profiles of the common men and women working to stock the lakes with fish, measure soil subsidence, and deliver food to our table.
The author is a reporter through and through. He has asked the hardest questions to the most powerful people. He has spent time with the poorest to see what life is like in tenant dwellings. He carried the story for years, developing it into a solid, compelling argument.
I would keep this book on my shelf as a reference for state history. I probably would not display it at work. Parents, be advised that there are some snippets that are not appropriate for young readers.