The Salton Sea; an Account of Harriman's Fight With the Colorado River

In the early 20th century, railroad magnate Edward Harriman embarked on a quixotic quest to divert water from the Colorado River to create a new inland sea in Southern California. The result was the Salton Sea, a massive, man-made body of water that has been the source of environmental controversy ever since. George Kennan's gripping account of this bold engineering project is a compelling look at the history of water management in the West.