A Goodreads user asked Cynthia Barnett:

Oh please, what is the name of the Joaquin Miller utopian novel you describe in Rain: A Natural and Cultural History on page 275? Your description was enticing but the title isn't even listed in the notes. That's rather cruel. :)

Cynthia Barnett Hi, Michelle, thank you so much for catching this cruelty! I think I cut the Joaquin Miller note when admonished that my notes were waaaaayyyyy too long. The novel is Miller's The Building of the City Beautiful, 1893. The quote should be "supreme selfishness" rather than "extreme selfishness," which is why you couldn't find it. I've just fixed for paperback edition -- you caught the second error in the book, for which you should receive some sort of prize. If you're in a part of the country needing rain, I hope it comes your way. Thanks again, Cynthia.

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