Salt Dreams: Land And Water In Low-Down California Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
In low places consequences collect, and in all North America you cannot get much lower than the Imperial Valley of southern California, where one town, 186 feet below sea level, calls itself the Lowest Down City in the Western Hemisphere, and where the waters of the Colorado River sustain a billion-dollar agricultural industry. The consequences of that industry drain from the valley into the accidentally man-made Salton Sea, California's largest lake and a vital stopping place for migratory waterfowl. Today the Salton Sea is in desperate environmental trouble.A second river also ends in the Salton Sea. It is a river of dreams, the remains of which may be seen in the failed real estate developments that sprawl beside the sea. As the ending point of both the real Colorado and this river of dreams, the Salton Sea has become emblematic of much of the history of the American West. Its troubling story is masterfully told here in William deBuys's narrative and Joan Myers's austerely beautiful photographs.The story of Southern California is fundamentally a story about the control of nature. Beginning with the Yuman-speaking tribes encountered by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, deBuys traces the subsequent exploration and development of the region through the Gold Rush of 1849, the government-sponsored surveys that followed, and the inept tinkering with the river by an assortment of irrigation and development interests that resulted in the floods that formed the Salton Sea nearly a century ago. He introduces us to a gallery of rogues and dreamers who saw a great future for this arid wilderness but could never refrain from interference with the forces of nature. The floods that produced the Salton Sea created a vast desert oasis, but the agricultural exploitation of the region, combined with evaporation, poisoned that paradise. The stark beauty of the desert, the engineering feats that have transformed the landscape, and the eerie spectacle of Salton City and its ruined beaches and abandoned yacht club are the subject of Myers's photographs, made over a period of more than ten years. In the last section of Salt Dreams, deBuys acquaints us with the human and avian denizens of the region, all struggling for survival as the twentieth century draws to a close. The history of chicanery and greed recounted in deBuys's narrative and his empathy with the desert dwellers he and Myers have come to know--hardworking laborers and entrepreneurs who live on both sides of the Mexicali border, eccentrics hiding out in the Salton Desert, pelicans dying of avian botulism--are crucial to an understanding of the border issues of today and the impassioned environmental debate on whether--and how--to save the Salton Sea.
Paperback: 407 pages
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; Revised ed. edition (March 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0826324282
ISBN-13: 978-0826324283
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 1 x 9.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #945,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #52 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems > Deserts #2604 in Books > Science & Math > Environment > Environmentalism #2781 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Ecology
This is an unusual book. Recommend to those interested in the region, in remediation, in conservation, and in the overwhelming challenges that only increase in this endless dance between humanity and nature. DeBuys illustrates so well, and quite frankly, so poetically, the true folly of human initiative, and our continual misunderstanding of both the laws of nature, and the law of the land. Myers' stark pictures in black and white capture the the dark humor of what we, as a species, continue to do to the very planet that supports us... A very unique and arresting read. Bravo.
Both informative and beautiful book about California's only sea. The history and information is nicely balanced with Myers' great photographs. Anybody interested in California beyond the cities should buy this book.
As I live in the Imperial Valley, this is a subject very dear to my heart. The history and current state of the Salton Sea is treated with respect and well researched knowledge. I would like to have seen more photographs of the region - in part to see how others view us, but also to show (as well as telling) outsiders how this place and its people are. Nevertheless this will be a very well read copy before is bequeathed - or falls apart!If you enjoy this book, you will also enjoy meeting some of the people currently here in Portraits and Voices of the Salton Sea. Norm Niver, as expected, gets to be in both books!
Superlative read revealing the vast natural beauty of the desert and its inhabitants and man's irreversable errors in judging it as a fallen Eden. Together with Cadillac Desert it ranks as a southwest water classic. Beautiful writing and stunning photographs.
I visited the Salton Sea to photograph birds and found it impossible to describe, telling friends they had to go there themselves to experience the place and the people. Now I tell them to read this book. From the creation of the Sea to the creation of Salvation Mountain, deBuys tells it's colorful history in a prose that fills you with the sounds and smells and people of the Sea and Imperial Valley. Anyone with an interest in man's unlimited folly, vision, corruption, and the coming environmental train-wreck in southern California needs to read this book.
Bravo! Salt Dreams is the first of its kind to wrap up all of the issues surrounding the Salton Sea and Colorado River delta in one volume. The best since Cadillac Desert in its cinematic portrayal of a complicated host of issues. Awesome writing on the heroism of US Fish and Wildlife staff. My only criticism is that Congressman George Brown is slighted; Sonny Bono often called him "Mr. Salton Sea". Certainly, a book Mr. Brown would have loved.
Salt Dreams is a wonderful book about the history and politics behind the creation and existence of the Salton Sea. Though it is a bit off the mark in its description of the Sea's current condition, especially as it applies to Mexico. However, for those that want to learn more about "California's Greatest Resource" this book should be first on the list!
*Winner of the 1999 Western States Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction. *Winner of the 1999 Clements Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America.
Low salt. Low salt cooking. Low salt recipes.: Saltless: Fresh, Fast, Easy. (Saltless: NEW fresh, fast, easy low salt, low sodium cookbook) (Volume 2) Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California Low Carb Dump Meals: 25 Easy, Delicious and Healthy Dump Dinner Recipes You Won't Believe Are Actually Low Carb!: (low carbohydrate, high protein, low ... Ketogenic Diet to Overcome Belly Fat) Salt Block Cooking: 70 Recipes for Grilling, Chilling, Searing, and Serving on Himalayan Salt Blocks (Bitterman's) Living Well Without Salt: No Salt, Lowest Sodium Cookbook Series Low Carb Aroma Rice Cooker: 50 Easy, Low Carb and Paleo Recipes with Your Rice Cooker for Busy People (Low Carb Meals & Rice Cooker) Low Carb: The Low Carb Dessert BIBLE© with over 200+ Decadent Recipes (The Ultimate Low Carb Dessert CookBook for Rapid Weight Loss) Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea 500 Low Sodium Recipes: Lose the salt, not the flavor in meals the whole family will love Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza Fishes: A guide to fresh and salt-water species The Salt Lick Cookbook: A Story of Land, Family, and Love Dreams: The Hidden Meaning And Interpretations Behind Your Dreams: Dream Interpretation - Learn About What Goes on Inside Your Head While You Sleep Forever Fat Loss: Escape the Low Calorie and Low Carb Diet Traps and Achieve Effortless and Permanent Fat Loss by Working with Your Biology Instead of Against It Reflections & Dreams: Reflections, Dance of Dreams Homemade Sweet and Savory Pies: Traditional Recipes Plus Low Carb, Ketogenic, Paleo, Vegetarian Pies and All You Need to Know about Baking (Low Carb Desserts & Homemade Pies) Weight Loss Stir-Frying: 48 Low Carb, Low Fat Recipes for Quick and Easy Wok and Cast Iron Cooking (Wok & Stir-Frying) Easy Low Carb Slow Cooking: A Prep-and-Go Low Carb Cookbook for Ketogenic, Paleo, & High-Fat Diets Low Carb Living Cookbook Box Set: Low Carb Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, Desserts And Slow Cooker
