Transforming California : a political history of land use and development /

Land and water, and the human struggle to control each, is the central theme of the American West. Once thought to be unlimited, these resources, along with the habitat of indigenous flora and fauna, have deteriorated; cities have grown, concomitant with urban sprawl. Such matters are of concern to Pincetl (Univ. of Southern California), who argues that for some time the state has fostered rampant economic development with environmental concerns on back burners. From the 1850s through the early 1990s, Pincetl maintains, government agencies have often worked in concert with developers. "The state's well-being," she writes, "has been reduced to the single issue of creating a good business climate.... This does not make for a coherent society where people feel they are meaningful participants...." Only with a new citizenry, educated about environmental issues and for whom public interests equal other interests, will the future be transformed and humankind be at peace with nature. A thought-provoking work for environmental, urban, social, state, and regional historians; one might wish to read Stephen Johnson, Gerald Haslam, and Robert Dawson's The Great Central Valley: California's Heartland (CH, Nov'93) to augment Pincetl's fine research. Maps; photos, notes. All levels. P. D. Travis; Texas Woman's University