How Dams Fall

“The Colorado River speaks,” Will Falk insists in How Dams Fall. Written while Falk was involved in the first-ever American federal lawsuit seeking personhood and rights of nature for a major ecosystem, the Colorado River, this essay, at once lyrical and analytical, explores the American cultural, and his personal, relationship with one of the world’s most famous—and most misunderstood—rivers. Responsible for speaking on the Colorado’s behalf in court, Falk spent weeks traveling with the ri...