The Day New York Went Dry

by Charles Einstein

It's 1967 in New York, and if you want a drink of water - get out of town.

Don't wash your sidewalk.

Don't wash your car.

In fact, don't wash yourself.

Why not? It's the law. Take a bath, and you go to court. Take a shower, and you go to jail.

Death Valley? Guantanamo? No. New York City. Three years from now when the final water shortage has befun to turn the greatest city in the world into a concrete wasteland.

It's a crazy science-fiction notion, isn't it?

Nothing that could really happen, could it?

We don't have to worry, do we?

Do we?

Genres: Science Fiction

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in 1964 about a water shortage in New York City in the year 1967. I traded for this paperback in a baseball card swap as a kid in 1973. The book was boxed up in the early 1980s and I recently came across it again. Meaning that technically it's been on my to-read list for 48 years!!! Not worth the wait and I need to find that kid to get my 1973 Bob Gibson back lol. I thought back then that this would be a sci-fi adventure ala Clifford Simak or Andre Norton, but it's more similar to a poorly written Arthur Haley novel. The premise is scary and timely - severe drought - but the action is behind the scenes with a politician, his daughter, her future husband, and his friend. The short novel (160 pages) covers almost 5 years so the plot is very disjointed. Won't ruin it for you but a anti-climatic ending can't save the novel.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mistakenly thought this was going to a post-apocalyptic novel based on the cover hyperbole, but it turns out to just be about a water crisis that gets pretty iffy. There are potentially some interesting elements, but they never really amount to anything. The choice to center the action around rich businessmen and politicians means we never see the real daily difficulty of a lack of water. We hear about it, as the higher-ups debate what to do, but never get a feel of what's really at stake. One idea floated around is to send all blacks in NYC back to Africa, to lessen the population and decrease water demand. Casual (and overt) racism and sexism abounds. Not worth reading unless you have a specific interest in trash fiction about water conservation.

[Sean McLachlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this out of my collection of vintage paperbacks thinking it was a post-apocalyptic tale, something I've been in the mood for lately. It turned out not to be, but was entertaining nonetheless.

The book, published in 1964, follows two movers and shakers in the New York City's political and social scene who try to curb an impending water crisis. One of the characters is a boozing socialite who reminded me of Roger Sterling from Mad Men!

The main strength of this novel is its clear explanation of just how such a big city is supplied with water, and the environmental and social pressures that can threaten that supply. There are also some wonderfully funny passages. Its weaknesses are the rather cardboardy characters and the uneven pace of the plot, which at times veers off into lengthy explanations of unimportant material (like one character's theories on blackjack) that feel like padding.

Still, it's a fun and quick read and if you have a taste for mid-century curios and you can find it cheap, give it a try.