When we think of water in the West, we think of conflict and crisis. In recent years, newspaper headlines have screamed, “Scarce water and the death of California farms,” “The Dust Bowl returns,” “A ‘megadrought’ will grip U.S. in the coming decades.” Yet similar stories have been appearing for decades and the taps continue to flow. John Fleck argues that the talk of impending doom is not only untrue, but dangerous. Fleck brings to light the true history of collaboration in the Colorado River Basin and examines the bonds currently being forged to solve the Basin’s most dire threats, urging readers to embrace a more optimistic narrative about western water.