Description
Book SynopsisProvides an environmental history and historical geography that tells the story of human defiance and human commitment within the Ogallala region. It describes the Great Plains' natural resources, the history of settlement and dryland farming, and the remarkable irrigation technologies that have industrialized farming in the region.
Trade Review“Thorough, balanced, thoughtful, and certainly thought-provoking. . . . A ‘must read.’”—
Journal of Sustainable Agriculture “Opie’s answers, marvelously multi-faceted and unbiased . . . could serve elsewhere as a sane, scholarly model for addressing local enviro-crises.”—
Booklist"This book should be read by every Plains political aspirant, policy maker, educator, landowner, farmer and rancher, and indeed every citizen."—Michael J. Smith,
Nebraska History"When John Opie first published
Ogallala in 1993, it was a major contribution to the fields of environmental, agricultural, and economic histories besides that of the American West. This current revision, ably assisted by Char Miller and Kenna Lang Archer, both exceptionally accomplished environmental historians, is no less a contribution."—James E. Sherow,
Environmental HistoryTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface to the Third Edition
A Note on Editorial Method
Introduction: Learning to Think about the Ogallala
1. The First Half-Billion Years
2. Finding the Water: Boom and Bust, 1870–1940
3. From Dryland to Dustbowl: Not a Good Place to Farm
4. Windmills, Center Pivots, Feedlots, and Porkers
5. A Tale of Seven Water Conservation Districts
6. Making Irrigation Work for a Family Farm: Phil and Linda Tooms on the Moscow Road
7. The Future of Plains Irrigation: A New Gospel of Efficiency
8. Thinking the Unthinkable: Climate Change Hits the Vulnerable Plains
9. A Final Look
Notes
Index
