A Reporter At Large: Dateline: Pyramid Lake, Nevada - Softcover

Liebling, Aj; Rusco, Elmer R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874173418 ISBN 13: 9780874173413

Publisher: University of Nevada Press, 1999

Synopsis

In 1949, renowned journalist A. J. Liebling came to Reno to obtain a divorce, which required that he establish residency in Nevada for a period of six weeks. Liebling stayed at a guest ranch on the shores of Pyramid Lake. While there, his reporter’s curiosity was engaged by a bitter dispute raging between the Paiutes and non-Indian squatters who were claiming the most agriculturally productive lands of the reservation and the waters feeding the lake that was the economic and spiritual heart of the Paiutes’ ancient culture.

Liebling recorded the litigation over the fate of the Pyramid Lake Reservation lands in a series of articles published in The New Yorker in 1955. Reprinted here in their entirety, the essays discuss the affair in detail, following it from the shores of the lake to the halls of Congress, and introducing readers to the colorful world of 1950s Nevada. This is a valuable record of one of Nevada’s most enduring and significant debates over the uses of the land and the precious water that nourishes it. Introduction by Elmer R. Rusco.

About this title

About the Author

A. J. Liebling (1904-1963) was a journalist whose biographer proposed "may well have been the greatest reporter of his time." He wrote widely on many subjects, including politics, boxing, and World War II, and much of his work remains in print even many years after his death.

Elmer R. Rusco (1928–2004) was Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Nevada, Reno. In 1998, he was honored by the Reno/Sparks chapter of the NAACP with a Lifetime Achievement Award for African American History.

Reviews

Liebling, a familiar figure in the world of American letters, was a respected World War II reporter and New Yorker essayist. One series of articles he wrote, forming the core of this collection, arose when he went to Reno to get a divorce. Liebling stayed on a tourist ranch at Pyramid Lake, and it was there that he became acquainted with the Paiute Indians and their claims against the government. He wrote a series on their efforts, which centered on their primary problem: they had no control over the waters of the Truckee River, the area's only permanent water supply. Liebling presents a clear and vivid account of both the Paiutes' struggle against squatters on their reservation and the divorce culture of the day. Martha Knack's As Long as the River Shall Run (Univ. of Nevada, 1999) is the primary text on the Paiute, but this title would be a welcome addition to collections where interest in the Paiutes and water rights issues is strong, or where there is interest in Liebling himself.
-Charles V. Cowling, Drake Memorial Lib., Brockport, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874173418
• ISBN 13: 9780874173413
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192