Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia

by Natalie Koch

A revelatory new history of the colonization of the American West

**Longlisted for the 2023 Cundill History Prize**

The iconic deserts of the American southwest could not have been colonized and settled without the help of desert experts from the Middle East. For In 1856, a caravan of thirty-three camels arrived in Indianola, Texas, led by a Syrian cameleer the Americans called "Hi Jolly." This "camel corps," the US government hoped, could help the army secure the new southwest swath of the country just wrested from Mexico. Though the dream of the camel corps - and sadly, the camels - died, the idea of  drawing on expertise, knowledge, and practices from the desert countries of the Middle East did not.

As Natalie Koch demonstrates in this evocative, narrative history, the exchange of colonial technologies between the Arabian Peninsula and United States over the past two centuries - from date palm farming and desert agriculture to the utopian sci-fi dreams of Biosphere 2 and Frank Herbert's Dune - bound  the two regions together, solidifying the colonization of the US West and, eventually, the reach of American power into the Middle East. Koch teaches us to see deserts anew, not as mythic sites of romance or empty wastelands but as an "arid empire," a crucial political space where imperial dreams coalesce.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2023

Reviews

[Shea Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class, great book that ties Arizona and the Arabian Peninsula together politically. Interesting thesis and creates a geographical connection I had not even thought about before now but I don’t like reading for classes (realistically this is like 4.5 stars as it was actually really well put together and an interesting read)

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but instead of a book, a long article would have sufficed...the portion on the Biosphere 2 (we used to live just a mile or so south of it) was like a last minute add-on that was a somewhat related but not integral part of the book.

[Ryan Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book's examination of Saudi-owned Arizona farms, where alfalfa is grown using groundwater to support domestic dairy industries, provides a compelling case study. The author adeptly challenges the narrative that blames Saudi alfalfa operations for water scarcity. By contextualizing this within a broader history of exchanges between Arizona and the Arabian Peninsula, the book reveals that water-intensive crops like alfalfa have been significantly restricted or outlawed in the Arabian Peninsula due to dwindling water supplies. The fact that these operations continue in Arizona, where unsustainable groundwater practices persist, suggests that local farmers could benefit from again importing some lessons about water management from the Arabian Peninsula.

However, by primarily framing the book around themes of settler colonialism and imperialism, the author may inadvertently alienate a significant portion of the audience who could benefit most from these insights—rural farmers. The narrative's critical tone may provoke discomfort and cognitive dissonance among readers who are not receptive to such messages, potentially causing them to overlook important practical lessons on sustainable water management.

[Yanis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant! Grounded in a historical perspective, the book highlights the political, financial, scientific, institutional, and notably colonial and cultural connections that underlie the relations between the arid state of Arizona in the United States and the vast Arabian Peninsula.

'The story of arid empire illustrates how the “desert” is both a place and a story that has significant political strength. Agents of arid empire are those who found creative ways to breathe life into the story of the “desert” as a place of cooperation and mutual understanding, and to put this story to work in the name of science, the state, and all range of other agendas.'

The author's thesis is simple, yet rich in insight. According to her, the stories of Arizona and Arabia are interconnected, in the sense that they poignantly demonstrate how the mastery of scientific and mechanized agriculture in the desert was essential to the creation of states in the American West. Subsequently, Americans used this 'white settler' (of desert ecosystem) position to expand their influence globally, forging political connections primarily in their self-interest, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula - a region they perceived as similar in nature as that of Arizona -, just as resource-rich states were gaining independence in the region (really?).

'[...] even if the Western tradition is full of tropes about deserts as wastelands, it also encompasses a rich tradition of transforming the desert into a place with great significance and political potential'

In my opinion, the book offers a fresh perspective on the geopolitics between these two geographical areas and provides key elements for comprehending and visualizing - through a concrete and detailed case study - modern American imperialism, as emphasized in the author's thesis. An imperialism which extends its influence - in this cas into the Arabian Peninsula and to significant extent globally - through academic research, political institutions, innovation and culture.

[Gary Reger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natalie Koch grew up in Tucson. She got a PhD in geography and wound up at Syracuse University, studying the Arabian peninsula. But then she was drawn back to her homeland, discovering the the University of Arizona in Tucson had engaged in a long-tern project to bring agriculture to the Saudi Arabian desert. The discovery of this surprising link led to Arid Empire, a brief but fascinating account of this history.

Arid Empire belongs in a yet-to-be-told history of American intellectual involvement with deserts worldwide. Australia is another striking example, but it is hardly alone. In a heating, desiccating world, familiarity with this history--which is riddled with mistakes and often monumental failures--is absolutely essential. Koch's book is an excellent, well-written place to start.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book connecting the early United States history of the desert Southwest and Arizona with the deserts in the Arabian peninsula. Am reading it in conjunction with "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner. The author does a good job exploring the connection between the two (2) dry areas of the world and shows a certain symbiotic relationship; especially with the connection to research done by the University of Arizona throughout the Sonoran Desert. Each chapter covers a specific aspect of research combining science and current technology in an effort to make both areas livable, thriving and capable of being self-sufficient with the ultimate goal to learn how we can survive on hostile planets like Mars. Well-written and worth the time; especially while reading "Cadillac Desert" at the same time.

[Joe Pitts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty hard to get through this book when every other paragraph is chock full of throat clearing about imperialism, colonialism, and the author’s own seeming disgust with growing up in the American West (she’s more nuanced than that, but that’s the impression you leave with). That said, there is a lot of interesting information contained in this short read on how America expanded westward and the myriad connections between Arizona and Saudi Arabia; the American West and the Middle East. Well written, incessant throat clearing aside.

[Prashanth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did learn some cool facts about Arizona’s connections with the middle east in this book. I enjoyed the chapters about the palm trees, the farming and how Arizona played a significant role in diplomacy with Saudi Arabia.

I had a lot of disagreements with the author’s views on science, desert life and space exploration.

[Jared Margulies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, and think it would do well in all manner of environmental related courses, especially environmental politics. Extremely well written, I found the book engaging, and even fun to read, while learning so much about a set of (geo)political environmental relations I had no notion of. I recommend it frequently to colleagues!

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting exploration of Western U.S. colonial and diplomatic history! Enjoyed!

[the shrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short yet unique & elucidating read on statecraft and empire building with desert environments. I found the tactics by which the US turned its new southwest territories into a place that settlers and their descendants could call a "homeland" a fresh and interesting angle on settler colonialism.

The theme of US knowledge production as "desert power," to quote Dune, flows throughout the text. Western-appearing agriculture & engineering served as marketable tools for Arabian states to represent themselves as more "modern" and increase their international standing and for the US to align diplomatic ties and further its imperial goals.

Justifications of exploitative expansionist projects in arid worlds are also exposed as expensive and vaguely Orientalist mirage-like spectacles. Billionaire dreams of absconding to Mars, for instance, draw inspiration from techo-utopian fiction itself originating from Middle Eastern travelogues. Likewise, homesteading advocates in the American southwest presented the desert as like biblical Egypt or the Negev to instill a sense of familiarity in potential settlers.

Although the topic appears niche, the book broaches important topics for our onset age of water wars like alfalfa production and desalination. Overall, like brushing off an artifact preserved in sand, it uncovers potent lenses for viewing imperial machinations across all environments.

[Tony Genco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Connects US imperial power over the years who settled and developed hot, dry Arizona with overseas empire on the Arabian peninsula. Desert as place of opportunity, experimenting while using the dry landscape as a laboratory and taking that knowledge overseas to Arabia. As if the desert itself was a resource, and not a home to flora, fauna, human life. First importing familiar Old World animals and crops and using the American desert as a testing ground. Then using modern science and technology to demonstrate how arid lands could be re-made in the image of modern America. Any arid land, including Arizona, Arabia, or some post-apocalyptic earth, or even the Martian terrain. The desert was first and foremost an extension of the minds and laboratories of the empire-builders.