The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created—William Mulholland’s Los Angeles aqueduct—a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man who’s vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today.In 1907, Irish immigrant William Mulholland conceived and built one of the greatest civil engineering feats in history: … feats in history: the aqueduct that carried water 223 miles from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles—allowing this small, resource-challenged desert city to grow into a modern global metropolis. Drawing on new research, Les Standiford vividly captures the larger-then-life engineer and the breathtaking scope of his six-year, $23 million project that would transform a region, a state, and a nation at the dawn of its greatest century.
With energy and colorful detail, Water to the Angels brings to life the personalities, politics, and power—including bribery, deception, force, and bicoastal financial warfare—behind this dramatic event. At a time when the importance of water is being recognized as never before—considered by many experts to be the essential resource of the twenty-first century—Water to the Angels brings into focus the vigor of a fabled era, the might of a larger than life individual, and the scale of a priceless construction project, and sheds critical light on a past that offers insights for our future.
Water to the Angels includes 8 pages of photographs.
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Grew up in LA and thought I understood the history of the place — oh no, there is so much more to the story of water and people and ambition …
Dry as dust. That pretty much sums up not only the water situation in Los Angeles 100+ years ago (and again recently, save for the recent rains), but Les Standiford’s account of one man’s personal mission to bring water to the city and ensure its future viability and prosperity.
Now, before I go any further, I must acknowledge that I did not …
A good balanced view of the Development of the Owens River Aqueduct.
Supplying a lot of details more usually carefully omitted by Authors with an axe to grind about the L.A. DWP and William Mulholland.
I’d always hear the story that DWP was rapacious in acquiring the rights to the Owens River Water. I learned that DWP paid better than the current …
Very readible history of the LA Dept of Water and Power. If you liked Chinatown, this is the real story without the melodrama but filled with the usual LA influence and corruption.
How a great was able to be. Very fine,
What a project! Loved this book!
If you grew up in Southern California like I did or you still live there, this would give you an appreciation of some of the events that have made living there even possible.
Great history of one man’s inspiration and dedication.
I rarely read this type of historical, informative book, but I have to say this was an incredible read! It’s amazing what an intelligent self-taught man Mr. Mulholland was and to read of all his accomplishments was incredulous! He was a man before his time and I truly believe if it wasn’t for his vision and problem-solving capabilities, Los …
Such an interesting read, hard to put down! I loved it so much that I read the rest of the author’s non-fiction titles and enjoyed them every bit as much.