Book excerpt: "The process by which two neighborhood butchers turned themselves into landed industrialists depended to an extraordinary degree on the acquisition, manipulation, and exploitation of natural resources. Igler examines the broader impact of western industrialism - as exemplified by Miller & Lux - on landscapes and waterscapes, bringing to the forefront the important issues of land reclamation, water politics, San Francisco's unique business environment, and the city's relation to its surrounding hinterlands. He provides a rich discussion of the social relations engineered by Miller & Lux, from the dispossession of Californio rancheros to the ethnic segmentation of the firm's massive labor force."--Jacket.