Sauder (geography, U. of New Orleans) examines the Yuma Reclamation Project, authorized in 1904, which was one of the government's earliest federal irrigation projects in the western US. He explores the literature on water resource development in the West, government policies, and indigenous versus industrial irrigation, and the history of settlement along the lower Colorado River, including the farming of local Quechan people and the impact of Spanish colonization and the establishment of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. He also discusses various challenges the government faced, including the impact on the Native population of the region, and the Bard unit of the project. He considers the problems associated with delivery of water to settlers, the eventual successful irrigation, and the influence on later projects like Hoover Dam. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)