The book's central thesis is that the settlement of the West was largely a mistake, creating a "beachhead" civilization that is ecologically unsustainable.
The quest for water led to the systematic displacement of rural and indigenous communities, such as the diversion of water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles and the flooding of tribal lands for the Garrison Dam . 'Cadillac Desert' Reconsidered - The American Prospect Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disa...
Reisner argues that the West's hydroclimate is inherently incapable of supporting the vast cities and industrial agriculture established there. The book's central thesis is that the settlement
Water development was driven less by necessity and more by political capital, bureaucratic rivalry (specifically between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers ), and class interests. and class interests.