Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization
- Submitted by: Love Knowledge
- Category: Environment
Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization
“I read this wide-ranging and thoughtful book while sitting on the banks of the Ganges near Varanasi—it’s a river already badly polluted, and now threatened by the melting of the loss of the glaciers at its source to global warming. Four hundred million people depend on it, and there’s no backup plan. As Steven Solomon makes clear, the same is true the world over; this volume will give you the background to understand the forces that will drive much of 21st century history.” —Bill McKibben
In Water, esteemed journalist Steven Solomon describes a terrifying—and all too real—world in which access to fresh water has replaced oil as the primary cause of global conflicts that increasingly emanate from drought-ridden, overpopulated areas of the world. Meticulously researched and undeniably prescient, Water is a stunningly clear-eyed action statement on what Robert F Kennedy, Jr. calls “the biggest environmental and political challenge of our time.”
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Customer Reviews 47 of 49 people found the following review helpful An epic groundbreaking work, February 13, 2010 By Richard Ordway – See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
“Water” should be included as a standard textbook in every high school. I think I learned more about history in this one book then in most of my college and grad courses combined and actually enjoyed it.
Solomon writes in an almost novel-like way through cavemen up to today and hints at some future trends as well. By using water as a combining thread throughout history, Solomon manages to make one civilization after another follow each other in a very logical, exciting and connected way. Did you know that the first civilization to have flushing toilets started around 2700 BC in the Indus River Valley in India (Harappans)? Forget the decadent Romans. I was so flabbergasted and unbelieving that I had to Google it several times. Yup, it is true. So the USA got widely flushing toilets in the 18-1900s. Hmmmm, pretty cave Manish, aren’t we? “Water” is filled with fun bits of knowledge like this. For suggestions for improvement, I would suggest adding a more detailed chapter on how water might affect us in the future. Sure, Solomon hints lightly that China and India are going into a near crisis mode as they run out of ground aquifers and river water as their glaciers melt. However, except for stating that the free market system in liberal democracies is shifting to better efficiency, he writes little of the USA’s water future. Issues such as the Ogallala aquifer’s future and its implications for the future USA and American river water, snow melt and huge reservoirs disappearing (which they are) seem to be lightly dealt with. Solomon ends on a seemingly very upbeat and perhaps blindly optimistic vision of the USA’s water future while ignoring some very unsettled thoughts of some current US government hydrologists. However, as a book describing civilization’s past up till the present, it is in the class of Jared Diamond’s classic “Collapse” and I highly recommend it. You will never be the same when you finish this book. Looking Into The Future, January 5, 2010 By Don Ediger (Miami, Florida) – See all my reviews Though few people realize the significance of water, it’s quickly becoming one of the most important issues of our day — not just for governments but for people themselves in their daily lives. As a business journalist, I was fascinated by the way Solomon lets readers in on what is rarely discussed in the media. Robert Kennedy Jr. was right when he said that this book sheds new light on crucial challenges that water has created. Anyone who enjoyed “Cadillac Desert” will be even more interested in what Solomon has to say about the relentless struggle for economic and political power shaping our society.
You don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy sections of the book that explain how water played a key role in shaping past civilizations — and that’s a part of history that readers will rarely discover anywhere else. If I have any criticism, it’s that this section isn’t even longer. Solomon tells an important and fascinating story that will lead readers to think about tomorrow’s challenges every time they turn on the tap.
Don Ediger If you care about the future, you must read this book, January 12, 2010 By James McGrath Morris (Tesuque, NM) – See all my reviews Steven Solomon has done us all a great service. We take water for granted. If you read this book, you won’t. Water is new oil and unless we pay attention to this issue the future is a dim, dry, place.
Don’t presume this is a depressing book. It isn’t. You will learn a remarkable history, have stories to tell at the dinner table, and you will leave the experience with some concrete ideas on how to change the future of water. |
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