Gila: The Life and Death of an American River

Rating:
Summary: Wide ranging historical survey -- intense final chapters
Review: As a recent arrival in Southwest New Mexico and an occasional hiker along the Gila River and its watershed, I had high hopes for this book. Seeking it out (it's out of print) also provided a chance to discover all the used book stores in a 150 mile radius. But here the river is, at first, only an organizing principle. Ancient geology, Native American history, early European exploration and settlement, the rise and ebb of mining, wild west tales - all merit more than peripheral mention in this slim volume. If a concise, somewhat arbitrary visiting of all these topics in a readable style is what you're looking for, this book will satisfy. The title makes clear the author's environmental concerns, but these dominate only in the final chapters.

Those final chapters make up a damning indictment of those who have caused and/or contributed to the drying up of the lower Gila. Blame is laid at the foot of personalities from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles Keating. The writing picks up steam and has visceral impact. A series of paragraphs dealing with government subsidies to ranching interests packs the greatest punch.

I had already made myself somewhat conversant in Southwest history. So I found the reexamination of the related topics unnecessary, even if well-done. I would have liked one summary chapter on the more distant history, then more details and evaluation of the environmental impact wrought by 20th century development. Whether you will agree depends of course entirely on your own expectations and prior knowledge of the background.

The book is well-illustrated and has a comprehensive (if now somewhat out-of-date) bibliographical essay. Perhaps his publisher will allow McNamee to reissue this volume with an updating of the Gila's fortunes and outlook.