{"product_id":"unreal-city-judith-nies-9781568587486","title":"Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West","description":"An epic struggle over land, water, and power is erupting in the American West and the halls of Washington, DC. It began when a 4,000-square-mile area of Arizona desert called Black Mesa was divided between the Hopi and Navajo tribes. To the outside world, it was a land struggle between two fractious Indian tribes; to political insiders and energy corporations, it was a divide-and-conquer play for the 21 billion tons of coal beneath Black Mesa. Today, that coal powers cheap electricity for Los Angeles, a new water aqueduct into Phoenix, and the neon dazzle of Las Vegas. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Journalist and historian Judith Nies has been tracking this story for nearly four decades. She follows the money and tells us the true story of wealth and water, mendacity, and corruption at the highest levels of business and government. Amid the backdrop of the breathtaking desert landscape, \u003ci\u003eUnreal City\u003c\/i\u003e shows five cultures colliding -- Hopi, Navajo, global energy corporations, Mormons, and US government agencies -- resulting in a battle over resources and the future of the West. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Las Vegas may attract 39 million visitors a year, but the tourists mesmerized by the dancing water fountains at the Bellagio don't ask where the water comes from. They don't see a city with the nation's highest rates of foreclosure, unemployment, and suicide. They don't see the astonishing drop in the water level of Lake Mead -- where Sin City gets 90 percent of its water supply. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Nies shows how the struggle over Black Mesa lands is an example of a global phenomenon in which giant transnational corporations have the power to separate indigenous people from their energy-rich lands with the help of host governments. \u003ci\u003eUnreal City\u003c\/i\u003e explores how and why resources have been taken from native lands, what it means in an era of climate change, and why, in this city divorced from nature, the only thing more powerful than money is water.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Judith Nies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1568587481\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781568587486\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bold Type Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/08\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/24\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Best Nonfiction\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2014 pg. 39","brand":"Judith Nies","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43939683664127,"sku":"9781568587486","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_14a8ab5d-b5ef-49fb-a48a-b9c544907acf.jpg?v=1681442907","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/unreal-city-judith-nies-9781568587486","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}