The Great Divide

by Stephen Grace, Jim Havey (Photographer)

Overview

Written by Stephen Grace, the companion book to The Great Divide, a film by Havey Productions, is a sweeping, magnificently illustrated story of Colorado water from the region’s first inhabitants to the incoming settlers and developers to modern environmentalists. Times and places are covered from the archaeological remains of ancient Native American reservoirs, the first and longest operating water right in Colorado, important innovations in irrigated agriculture, the stunning dams that create reservoirs for storage and recreation, and the natural beauty of Colorado’s wild places. The book, based on the film, will be a natural source for viewers who seek additional knowledge beyond the film, but it will also stand alone for readers who desire a basic but engaging entrance into the world of Colorado water. A vast array of breathtaking photographs, both archival and contemporary serve as attractive illustrations and a supplemental way to tell the story, along with descriptive captions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442247253
Publisher:	TwoDot
Publication date:	08/03/2015
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

STEPHEN GRACE studied novel writing with Stratis Haviaras, founding editor of Harvard Review, while caretaking a house where the poet T.S. Eliot lived. After his first novel was published, Grace moved to a trailer park in Laramie, Wyoming, in the wake of the Matthew Shepard murder, to work with at-risk youth and research a novel. To publish a book about the historical cartography of Colorado, he collaborated with Library of Congress curators and with Vincent Virga, called “America’s foremost picture editor.” To research a narrative nonfiction book about China he sought out experiences as diverse as photographing skyscrapers in Shanghai and trail running in Tibet. To write Dam Nation: How Water Shaped the West and Will Determine Its Future, a Colorado Book Award finalist, he followed rivers west of the 100th meridian and charted currents throughout the region’s history. While writing Grow: Stories from the Urban Food Movement, he worked on a repurposed garbage truck in the alleyways of Denver and volunteered on a farm in Uganda. Grace served as a consultant for the film DamNation, which has won numerous national and international awards. He is an associate producer and the screenwriter for The Great Divide film. JIM HAVEY produces documentary films that reveal important people, places, and stories of the American West. From legacy films preserving the ideals of nonprofit institutions to television programs bringing history to life, the distinctive work of Havey Productions is featured nationwide in publications, museums, theaters, and television. Emmy Award-winning films include Centennial Statehouse: Colorado’s Greatest Treasure and Broomfield: Spirit of the American Dream. Production credits also include award recognition for films on Colfax Avenue, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Hope West Hospice, the Code of the West in Wyoming, and the Cable Television Legacy of Bill Daniels. Jim Havey is producer and director of The Great Divide film. thegreatdividefilm.com

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A fluid, eloquent, painstakingly researched and deeply intelligent rendition of one of the most complex and far-reaching subjects in the West. When it comes to water in Colorado, Stephen Grace is one of our most lucid and comprehensive expositors, a writer whose guidance, vision, and good sense are essential compass points for the rest of us. — Kevin Fedarko, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Emerald Mile Water is the lifeblood of Colorado, and Stephen Grace tells its story with clear vision and compelling prose.  More than ever, Colorado needs informed citizens as we seek to meet future water needs while preserving the rivers and farmlands that are central to our heritage and quality of life. The Great Divide is the right book at the right time. —David Nickum, Executive Director, Colorado Trout Unlimited We all require water … human, plant or animal …water gives life. In order to move forward and press for issues that matter to us, whether for wildlife habitat conservation, recreation, urban development, agriculture, and any combination thereof, we must understand how water and water issues have shaped our present-day outcomes—The Great Divide provides the reader with just that.    —Alison Holloran, VP and Executive Director, Audubon Rockies The Great Divide is a must-read for anyone interested in water issues in Colorado or the West. To truly understand Colorado, one must understand how water shaped its history. The Great Divide tells the story beautifully and also helps readers understand how the story is still evolving. It is a story in which we all have a role. —Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program Director, The Nature Conservancy The Great Divide is the most beautiful and best book on Colorado water I’ve ever read. —Tom Cech, Director, One World One Water Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship, Metropolitan State University of Denver For people who have said to themselves, “I really should know more about what’s going on with water,” and then wondered where on earth they should start, The Great Divide provides a first-rate action plan: trust Stephen Grace to write about complex matters with clarity, fairness, and (there is no avoiding the word!) grace, and, at the same time, prepare to benefit from remarkable, thought-provoking photographs. If The Great Divide gets the attention it deserves, the dream of an “informed citizenry” moves much closer to reality.    —Patty Limerick, Faculty Director and Board Chair, Center of the American West As The Great Divide illustrates, water has always been and will forever continue to be the lifeblood of Colorado. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the history and future of water in Colorado. —Ken Salazar, Former US Senator from Colorado, Former US Secretary of the Interior   It’s astonishing how lyrically beautiful, like Colorado, this book is. Colorado stands astride the great interstate watersheds of the Continental Divide. This book challenges each of us to preserve and share the precious waters well.  —Justice Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr., Colorado Supreme Court   Stunning illustrations, elegant prose, and accurate research make The Great Divide a must read for all who love Colorado.  —Jared Orsi, Associate Professor of History at Colorado State University and Author of Citizen Explorer: The Life of Zebulon Pike   For those who live in the West or even visit, water is the lifeblood that enables everything to continue. The Great Divide is a powerful journey with evocative visuals through the history and current state of affairs of western water: highlighting how we use it, cherish it, and abuse it. A must read for any Westerner. —Pete McBride, Author, Filmmaker and Photographer, National Geographic

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/25/2015
In this companion book to the documentary film The Great Divide, Grace (Dam Nation), a Boulder resident, investigates the precarious state of water in Colorado—who owns it and who is entitled to it—and the battles waged over its control. The “most coveted” water in the U.S. flows from the Centennial State to 18 other states and Mexico: “Tens of millions of people, billions of dollars of agricultural production, and trillions of dollars of economic activity all depend on rivers born in Colorado’s mountains.” The Continental Divide splits the state into unequal halves; “80 percent of the state’s water originates on the West Slope, but more than 80 percent of Colorado’s population resides on the East Slope.” Grace charts the substantial history of Coloradan water management, discussing pre-Columbian Ancestral Puebloans, gold miners who poured in after 1858, and post–Homestead Act (1862) pioneers who “found Colorado blessed with fertile soil and abundant sunshine but cursed with dryness.” He also details the construction of several dams in the West. Grace possesses deep insight and a strong sense of place; this presentation, coupled with Havey’s remarkable photos and occasional archival images, is exceptional. Color photos. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly