Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles

I enjoyed the book, but wish it was a bit more critical. It's a great description of an era in the growth of California where a single Great Man really could move mountains, or rivers at least, and guarantee the water supply Los Angeles needed to become a real city instead of a dusty desert town. Standiford is clearly an admirer of Mullholland and his accomplishments, in defiance of ongoing environmental criticism of the use of the Owens Valley water in LA. I have no problem with that stance. But at times it felt like the author was so busy protecting Mullholland's memory he didn't investigate enough things that might have been negative or critical. Particularly the crazy conflict-of-interesting dealings with Eaton and, to some extent, Lippincourt. There's a fascinating story there about how business was done in this era and I felt Standiford avoided what could have been an interesting story in his attempt to lionize Mullholland. Still definitely worth a read, it's well researched and pleasantly readable. Interesting moment of California history.