Lamson Nguyen

John Wesley Powell wrote a report that divided the western United States into territories based on watersheds that looks like this:


Map of Water Sheds of Arid Region of United States by John Wesley Powell
Torpyl, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, his ideas were rejected due to political and profit-driven reason, as well as clashing with the notions of individualism and personal freedom. But it seems to me that adopting his ideas would have prevented the Dust Bowl from occurring, not to mention the issues that are being faced today in the West.

Escape the City: A How-To Homesteading Guide Vol 1 & 2 by Travis J I Corcoran
Going from the book description, the author covers a wide range of topics in extensive detail while taking care to cover the basics for people who have never set foot on a farm before, such as talking about the difference between straw and hay.