Thirsty : William Mulholland, California Water, and the Real Chinatown

__Thirsty__ is an exploration of Los Angeles' storied history in regards to water. Starting with William Mullholland and his aqueducts, through the 1926 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, which killed hundreds, and on through to the profound implications Los Angeles' path has for today. Where Marc Reiser's seminal 1986 book __Cadillac Desert__ started, Marc Weingarten's __Thirsty__ continues. Illuminating the complexities of the Los Angeles aquaduct system, the politics behind supplying America's second largest city with water from hundreds of mile away, and the disaster that haunted William Mullholland until his final days. An exploration of Los Angeles' storied history in regards to water. Starting with William Mullholland and his aqueducts, through the 1926 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, which killed hundreds, and on through to the profound implications Los Angeles' path has for today. Where Marc Reiser's seminal 1986 book Cadillac Desert started, Marc Weingarten's Thirsty continues. Illuminating the complexities of the Los Angeles aquaduct system, the politics behind supplying America's second largest city with water from hundreds of mile away, and the disaster that haunted William Mullholland until his final days. --Publisher's description Thirsty is the history of Los Angeles and its fraught relationship with water. As a city on the make since the early twentieth century, Los Angeles resources fought hard to keep up with its unchecked growth. The citys water chief William Mulholland built an aqueduct to grab water over 200 miles away in Owens Valley, but it wasnt enough. Thirsty is the gripping tale of Los Angeles epic battles for water, the larger-than-life characters that shaped a citys destiny, and the man-made tragedy that killed 400 and forever changed the way water would be harnessed and allocated.