A Thirsty Land Audiobook By Seamus McGraw cover art

A Thirsty Land

The Making of an American Water Crisis

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A Thirsty Land

By: Seamus McGraw
Narrated by: Fred Filbrich
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About this listen

As a changing climate threatens the whole country with deeper droughts and more furious floods that put ever more people and property at risk, Texas has become a bellwether state for water debates. Will there be enough water for everyone? Is there the will to take the steps necessary to defend ourselves against the sea? Is it in the nature of Americans to adapt to nature in flux?

The most comprehensive—and comprehensible—book on contemporary water issues, A Thirsty Land delves deep into the challenges faced not just by Texas but by the nation as a whole, as we struggle to find a way to balance the changing forces of nature with our own ever-expanding needs. Part history, part science, part adventure story, and part travelogue, this book puts a human face on the struggle to master that most precious and capricious of resources, water. Seamus McGraw goes to the taproots, talking to farmers, ranchers, businesspeople, and citizen activists, as well as to politicians and government employees. Their stories provide chilling evidence that Texas—and indeed the nation—is not ready for the next devastating drought, the next catastrophic flood. Ultimately, however, A Thirsty Land delivers hope. This deep dive into one of the most vexing challenges facing Texas and the nation offers glimpses of the way forward in the untapped opportunities that water also presents.

The book is published by University of Texas Press.

"A timely, important book that manages to be a romp, too." (Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River)

"Thorough and insightful history of the [Texas] water wars..." (Nate Blakeslee, author of American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West)

©2018 Seamus McGraw (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks
Conservation Environmental Nature & Ecology Real Estate United States Texas Natural Disaster Ecosystem Natural Resource Habitat
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A deep dive into our most vital resource—water

I just finished listening to Seamus McGraw's A Thirsty Land. What a fascinating, complicated epic Western. With water pistol packing judges, catfish urine and he-who-has-the-biggest-pump-wins, water rights justice. As a layperson who only drinks the stuff by miracle of faucet, it was easy to follow, absorbing, and deeply concerning. What a world. Too many fires and not enough water to put them out. Great work Seamus McGraw.

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