As a resident of Marin County and a forecaster of the weather for a local TV station during the Great California Drought of 1976–77, I was especially intrigued by “The Man Who Made It Rain.”
Michael McCarthy weaves history, science and lively anecdotes into an absorbing chronicle of one of the worse droughts in California’s recorded history.
—Joel Bartlett, ABC News
Many think water is a God-given right. Mother Nature has other plans.
Marin County, California is a prosperous community of highly educated people adept at solving their own problems, but during a period of 25 months in 1976-77 a curious event occurred that no one could fix. It did not rain. The drought evolved into a critical emergency. Residents learned that no matter how rich you are, money doesn’t make it rain.
As climate change threatens the entire planet, what happened in Marin County should be a warning signal about our future. In a few short years, wars may well be fought over control of clean water. Water is becoming the new oil.
Blame for the Marin drought and responsibility for making it rain, fell on the shoulders of Dietrich Stroeh, the General Manager for the Marin Municipal Water District. Stroeh and his family became the target of threats as expensive real estate turned to dust.
In The Man Who Made It Rain, journalist Michael McCarthy begins with a narrative of real life events that occurred during the unrelenting drought in the 1970’s. The story also jumps ahead to the present day as climatic change becomes reality and storms, floods, and drought pummel the planet.
Based on a true story, The Man Who Made It Rain explores a frightening thought: what happens when the world runs out of water?