Water is the lifeblood of human existence. New Mexico's history provides a fascinating microcosm of the role water plays in the growth and development of a community. This book details many of the complex and messy fights, legal and otherwise, over precious water in a semiarid western state. Focusing on the past one hundred years constituting New Mexico's statehood, contributors describe the often convoluted and always intriguing stories that have shaped New Mexico's water past and that will, without doubt, influence its future history. Many of New Mexico's "movers and shakers" in the water community have contributed their water war stories to the book. From acclaimed water lawyers to historians to novelists to academicians, their stories reflect the broad legal, historic, traditional, religious, and community values of New Mexico's water culture. The celebration of New Mexico's centennial is made more complete with the telling of these exciting and colorful narratives of how water has and will shape our future.

Contributors to this volume include John W. Hernandez, Jerald A. Valentine, Richard Simms, Em Hall, Jay F. Stein, James C. Brockmann, Eluid L. Martinez, Charles T. DuMars, John W. Utton, Sylvia Rodriguez, Calvin Chavez, Linda G. Harris, M. Karl Wood, Michael L. Connor, and John Nichols, author of "The Milagro Beanfield War."