The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California Hardcover – Deckle Edge, May 21, 2019

Poetic, prophetic, and so very readable. A great overview of the history of water in California and— in its telling— the revelation of the history of California itself.

An amazing non-fiction book that reads like fiction.Although it is about water abuses, water theft, water mismanagement and water rights in California, the book describes the collusion of state and federal government along with farmers, ranchers and just greedy people with deep pockets. The research is excellent and reaches back into the 1800s.It is a must read for everyone as water is a needed but disappearing resource. Water is really about survival but so many only use water to gain power and get rich. This book shows the specifics of how California's so called water rights bring wealth to just a few as they export 80% or more of the products that they grow with California water. Those products, such as rice and almonds, use enormous amounts of water to grow but the majority of these crops are sold outside of the United States as exotic California commodities. Cities which use about 10% of all California water are mandated to cut water usage while these agricultural robber barons use close to 80% of California's water supply to sell expensive food as "exotic" to other countries. Families who live around these hundreds of thousands of acres of thriving almonds and flooded rice fields often do not even have running water in their homes for drinking or bathing.The research by Mark Arax is compelling as he goes back generations to show how California obtained water to turn it's original desert landscape into richly producing agricultural earth. A native Californian who grew up in a Central Valley farming family, he travels all over California exposing the riches attained by a few who not only rely on California water but also completely depend on an illegal workforce from Mexico. It is amazing how clearly Mark Arax is able to write this story with so many detailed historic and current facts, numbers and names.This is a book for anyone to help understand water issues in California. It would be nice if government officials could actually read and acknowledge the outcome of a very seedy past when developing water contracts. Water use and appropriation needs to change to constant oversight, transparency, equity and reliability.

Okay I am a water geek live in California and work in the industry. I have studied the history of California water most of my adult life and learned much from this book that I did not know. Mr. Arax sometimes has an ax to grind and can be cynical and snarky, but with he and his families history in water he may well have earned the right. Its easier to read than a lot of books on the subject and is as important to the body of water history in the west as Cadillac Desert. I salute Mr. Arax, one native son to another. Water is life here and the west is as tough as ever when it comes to the allocation and distribution of this precious resource. He has done everyone a service in his telling of our history.

To understand California, one needs to understand water. California’s history is one of water, its management and its mismanagement. Its future will also be determined by water.Much of California is a desert or near desert. Yet, in spite of this fact, California is the nation’s most productive agricultural state. How? Because of the application of water. Without water, the state would look very different.In “The Dreamt Land”, Mark Arax has done a wonderful job slowly explain to the reader the history of California as it pertains to water. He goes back to the gold rush times when water was used to blast away mountains to reveal the gold beneath. He then proceeds to walk through the various water project that have come to define the state. Each of these projects, while undoubtedly boosting agricultural output, have come at the great cost of environmental devastation both in the past and in the future.The essence of California’s problems is a form of the tragedy of the commons. It’s a case where a shared resource is unable to withstand individual farmers seeking to maximise their personal benefits. There is certainly a strong argument to be made for better application of the pricing mechanism. Water has a price and so does environmental damage. Farmers must pay the appropriate price. And it is farmers who are the major players here. Most water in California is used agriculturally. City dwellers are bit players.Although “The Dreamt Land” is a large book, Arax walks the reader slowly through the issues involved. It’s a fascinating read. Recommended.

Fascinating book, it reads like a good and sad story! Livre fascinant qui se lit comme un roman beau et triste, qui retrace l'histoire de la Californie, de la conquête de l'eau et de la Central Valley. On ne quitte plus ce livre!

This is such a good book. So well written, masterfully paints pictures. It’s a whole experience of the valley.I don’t often finish books, let alone 520 page books. I read the entire thing and bought his California king one afterwards