Finalist for the National Book Award
An intimate reckoning with aquifer depletion in America's heartland

The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair. The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. Running Out offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force.

Anthropologist Lucas Bessire journeyed back to western Kansas, where five generations of his family lived as irrigation farmers and ranchers, to try to make sense of this vital resource and its loss. His search for water across the drying High Plains brings the reader face to face with the stark realities of industrial agriculture, eroding democratic norms, and surreal interpretations of a looming disaster. Yet the destination is far from predictable, as the book seeks to move beyond the words and genres through which destruction is often known. Instead, this journey into the morass of eradication offers a series of unexpected discoveries about what it means to inherit the troubled legacies of the past and how we can take responsibility for a more inclusive, sustainable future.

An urgent and unsettling meditation on environmental change, Running Out is a revelatory account of family, complicity, loss, and what it means to find your way back home.

About the Author

Lucas Bessire is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma and the author of Behold the Black Caiman: A Chronicle of Ayoreo Life.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Blue Vase Marketplace is a family owned business and has been selling used books since 2012. We place the utmost importance on customer satisfaction.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Blue Vase Marketplace, LLC
94 W. Golden Meadow Dr., Maple City, MI, 49664, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Shipping Terms

Please note that orders may ship from one of two locations depending on where they are sorted from once in USPS hands:

Michigan Location: Our physical store location
Illinois Distribution Center:

Orders will be fulfilled from the location that USPS sends your item off to based on the location of where the item will be delivered.
All shipments include tracking information, which will be provided once your order has been processed. If you have questions about where your specific order will ship from, please contact us.

Estimated Shipping Times:

Orders shipping from Michigan: [3-7 business days]
Orders shipping from Illinois: [4-10 business days]

We appreciate your business and will always strive to get your orders to you as quickly as possible.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	3 to 14 business days	3 to 6 business days
First item	US$ 0.00	US$ 9.99

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.