Nature versus Technology
The emerging trend of revisionist history represents a transformation in how historical narratives are conceptualized. Rather than adhering to a chronological grand narrative, this genre explores thematic structures of both the past and present, reinterpreting events through chosen lenses, such as technological advancement and theory. Reisner's book, a key example of this approach, showcases this method by selecting thematic events to craft a new historical account of the West. The theme of nature versus technology is prominently featured, particularly from an environmentalist standpoint.
The title of Cadillac Desert itself encapsulates an ideological dualism that Reisner examines throughout his work. It juxtaposes a car brand, symbolizing American transportation and exploration, with nature's harshest environment for humans—a desert that is challenging to adapt for human use. The book critiques the transformation of the Great American Desert to meet human needs, aligning with a growing environmentalist movement. Reisner argues against subduing the desert and altering nature, asserting that such actions inevitably lead to significant harm to both the landscape and the society striving to live beyond its environmental capacity.
Despite its critique of human attempts to harness the West's vital resources, Cadillac Desert identifies dams as the most prominent battleground between nature and technology. In detailing the water projects in the West, Reisner describes them as both awe-inspiring and grotesque: "When visitors were led to the canyon rim to watch Boulder Dam on the rise, there was usually a long moment of silence . . . that expressed proper awe and reverence for the dazzling, half-formed monstrosity they saw. The dam defied description; it defied belief."
While acknowledging the advantages of water systems, such as the contribution of hydroelectric power plants to winning World War II, Reisner places greater focus on the detrimental impacts these developments have on ecosystems and the land itself. In the Afterward, he discusses recent "natural" disasters in the West, noting that they were either exacerbated by human actions or entirely created by them.
American Dream
In his analysis of Western history and its water resources, Reisner critiques the American Dream by highlighting the flaws in American mythology when applied to the West's development. The media played a crucial role in shaping this Dream politically: Reisner exposes how public opinion was influenced and manipulated to lure settlers to the dry West. For instance, newspapers published editorial pieces and stories that bordered on the fantastical. These publications declared the new frontier a paradise for farmers; some even "promptly published a map of Desert that contained an inset map of Palestine ('The Promised Land!'), calling attention to their 'striking similarity.'"
Reisner also details how the U.S. government "discovered" and subsequently destroyed lands already inhabited by Native Americans, all while promoting westward expansion as a venture into unexplored, "virgin" lands. Contrary to the American Dream narrative, the land was already occupied when settlers began arriving. The injustices against native tribes are epitomized by the government's acquisition of 155,000 acres of prime land from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. During the signing of the document in 1948, the chairman of the Tribal Council was moved to tears, stating: "The members of the Tribal Council sign the contract with heavy hearts . . . Right now, the future does not look good to us." These truths had little chance of being included in the American story because they contradicted the American myth's ideals.
In the chapter "Red Queen," Reisner explores the irony of the concept of taming the West, noting that the new society must constantly strive just to maintain its existence—or continue developing new water projects to support the unsustainable but densely populated oasis in the Great American Desert. The cost of transforming a desert into a paradise through the conquest of nature eventually poses a significant threat to those living there, as nature reclaims its territory at a great expense to society. Thus, the dream of relentless and unthinking conquest ultimately turns against the conqueror; as Reisner observes, "the West’s real crisis is one of inertia, of will, and of myth."
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