{"product_id":"vision-or-villainy-origins-of-the-owens-valleylos-angeles-water-controversy-environmental-history-series-9780890961124","title":"Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy (Environmental History Series)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSeventy-five years ago the growing city of Los Angeles  amid considerable conflict  appropriated water from a rural area 250 miles away. Still unresolved  the controversy surrounding the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Aqueduct has long since moved from the personal  even violent level fictionalized in the movie Chinatown to the dry realm of court proceedings  injunctions  and environmental impact reports. But water remains a problem in California  and the questions raised by these eventsthe rights of a rural area versus a growing metropolitan area  environmental issues  and levels of government responsibilityare of recognized national importance today.  Much of the history of the controversy has been incompletely or imperfectly reported. Conventional accounts have focused on city versus valley  overlooking the role of the federal government. Others espouse the \"conspiracy\" theory popularized in Chinatown  dealing in plots and personalities. Relying on primary sources  many unused until now  Dr. Hoffman demonstrates how the utilitarian views of Theodore Roosevelt and his agents in the Geological Survey  the Reclamation Service  and the Bureau of Forestry helped determine the future of Los Angeles and the fate of Owens Valley. A model of historical reporting  this book redresses the balance in a record that too often has been oversimplified  usually at the expense of the city and often in terms of heroes and villains.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45953261469749,"sku":"ByrdShop_0890961123","price":649.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780890961124.jpg?v=1788183308","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/vision-or-villainy-origins-of-the-owens-valleylos-angeles-water-controversy-environmental-history-series-9780890961124","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}