A fascinating dive deep into the environmental history of an ancient inland sea, this is a unique addition to Mono Lake's human story, revealing little-known local water battles that preceded today's threats from stream diversions by Los Angeles. Especially welcome is the history of the Kootzaduka'a, Mono Lake's native people, who are too often erased in chronicles of the region.--David Carle, author of Introduction to Water in California Like a provocative and powerful Chinatown sequel, Robert Marks's bioregional 'big history' of the Mono Lake Basin is an ambitious, unflinching, and ultimately hopeful examination of the long-term relationship between people and nature in this ancient and arid setting. Far from being a story apart, it is, in fact, the story of the American West.--Sara Dant, author of Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West In clear prose, anchored by his characteristically careful research, Marks tells a compelling and instructive tale of 10,000 years of interplay among land, water, plants, animals, and humans in and around Mono Lake. A big history of a small place--and exemplary environmental history.--J.R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World
