The Lessening Stream: An Environmental History of the Santa Cruz River
Author: Michael F. Logan
List Price: $35.00
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ISBN: 0816515867
Publisher: University of Arizona Press (April, 2002)
Sales Rank: 793,752
Average Customer Rating: 5 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
The right book at the right time
There is increasing interest in, and concern for, the status of water not only in the U.S.but throughout the world. Some scholars contend that water could well be the flash point for a world war in this century. A cascade of books are arriving in stores that del with the issue, but most discuss the current threat of dwindling water supplies and the impact such scarcity is having on various locales throught the world.
This book is different. Michael Logan, an Associate Professor of History at Oklahoma State University, has written an important book that is the first to review the history of a river with a focus on the place within which it runs. That is, he has written a history of the entire Santa Cruz River rather than focusing on any particular segment within which the river flows. To be sure there is much discussion on the Tucson Basin, which contains the greatest population in the river valley and where significant changes have occurred during modern times. But the emphasis is on the entire river and its watershed and the social, cultural and political history that have all contributed to making it a "Lessening Stream."
Using three eras-archaic, modern and postmodern-Logan combines hydrology, anthropology, geology, archaeology and history to argue the relationship between fresh water and humans that is applicable to this particular watershed also has significance to national and international water issues.
The lessons learned from diverting surface flow to pumping down aquifers and the never-ending quest for economic development in the Tucson Basin will be ignored at great risk by other locales similarly situated.
There is also an interesting discussion of the effects of the Central Arizona Project and the continuing efforts to divert more water from the Colorado River than is available.
This is an unusual book. It is a scholarly, meticulously researched environmental history that is highly readable and will be of interest to readers regardless of scientific backgroung or training.
Highly recommended for those interested in what some consider to be "blue gold."
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