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The 1921 flood that put a spotlight on environmental and social inequality in a southwestern city
List of contents
Introduction: “Culebra de Aqua”
Prologue: 1819
1. “Death Rides on Waters of Three Streams”
2. Rescue Mission
3. Military Intervention
4. Dam the Olmos!
5. Construction Projects
6. Uprising
Aftermath
Names of the Dead, Missing, and Injured
Notes
Acknowledgments and Credits
Index
About the author
Char Miller, formerly a professor of history at Trinity University, is the W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College. He is the author of the award-winning
Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, Deep in the Heart of San Antonio: Land and Life in South Texas, and
Public Lands/Public Debates: A Century of Controversy, as well as the editor of
On the Border: An Environmental History of San Antonio and
Fifty Years of the Texas Observer. His most recent books for Trinity University Press are
Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream and
On the Edge: Water, Immigration, and Politics in the Southwest. Miller is a frequent contributor to print, electronic, and social media.
Summary
The 1921 flood that put a spotlight on environmental and social inequality in a southwestern city
Foreword
Regional and national media around the anniversary
Full flush local media
Digital Galleys
Texas Book Festival 2021
San Antonio Book Festival 2022
Society of Environmental Journalists (Houston April 2022)
Additional text
"Not simply a story of raging floodwaters, West Side Rising tangles with environmental racism and makes time to fix names to the often marginalized and nameless victims of these overflows...a powerful story, a meaningful story." - Kenna Archer, author of Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River
"A good read is ahead, one that will make all manner of otherwise deadly material not just palatable but both enlightening and entertaining." Lewis Fisher, author of Maverick and Greetings From San Antonio
"Extreme weather, much of it exacerbated or even brought on by climate change, is the catalyst for many of the crucial issues Texas faces right now: hurricanes in Houston, drought in El Paso, the vanishing Edwards Aquifer, invasive species mucking up our waterways, and the current ERCOT advisories regarding energy curtailment. Many Texans look at these challenges and throw up their hands in despair. But Miller’s book offers an inspiring account of what can be achieved, at the local level at least, by motivated people with right on their side. — Texas Monthly
“Char Miller knows San Antonio—its people, its politics, its long and colorful history. In West Side Rising, he trains his deep knowledge on a devastating downpour whose scouring floodwaters revealed—for those willing to look—decades of racism, environmental injustice, and policy-driven poverty. Thoroughly researched and gracefully written, West Side Rising is a close and intimate look at the Alamo City, to be sure, but it’s also an American story. It’s a cautionary tale, as climate crisis looms over us all.” — Joe Holley, author of Hurricane Season: The Unforgettable Story of the 2017 Houston Astros and the Resilience of a City
