The definitive work on the Wests 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 billiondollar 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 citys 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 Edenan 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 longterm impact of climate change and how the region can prepare for the future. show more