Water: A Biography

Product Description

Spanning millennia and continents, here is a stunningly revealing history of how the distribution of water has shaped human civilization. Boccaletti, of The Nature Conservancy, “tackles the most important story of our time: our relationship with water in a world of looming scarcity” (Kelly McEvers, NPR Host).
 
Writing with authority and brio, Giulio Boc­caletti—honorary research associate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Univer­sity of Oxford—shrewdly combines environmental and social history, beginning with the earliest civ­ilizations of sedentary farmers on the banks of the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates Rivers. Even as he describes how these societies were made possible by sea-level changes from the last glacial melt, he incisively examines how this type of farming led to irrigation and multiple cropping, which, in turn, led to a population explosion and labor specialization.
 
We see with clarity how irrigation’s structure informed social structure (inventions such as the calendar sprung from agricultural necessity); how in ancient Greece, the communal ownership of wells laid the groundwork for democracy; how the Greek and Roman experiences with water security resulted in systems of taxation; and how the modern world as we know it began with a legal framework for the development of water infrastructure.
 
Extraordinary for its monumental scope and piercing insightfulness,
Water: A Biography richly enlarges our understanding of our relationship to—and fundamental reliance on—the most elemental substance on earth.

Review

“Brimming with ideas and unexpected correlations,
Water is far more than a biography of its nominal subject . . . The book stands as a compelling history of civilization itself.”
—Gerard Helferich, WSJ Book Review
 
“This is one of the most ambitious books that I’ve read in a long time. It is both deep and broad.”—Ari Shapiro, NPR All Things Considered
 
“[A] wonderfully detailed account of humankind’s relationship with water . . . During this time of accelerated population growth, climate change, and political instability,
Water is essential reading.”
—George Kendall, Booklist
 
“A renowned expert on natural resource security and environmental stability, lending
Water a pressing, historically fascinating, and informative arc . . .
Water, the book, is a smart new chapter on the same subject that turned Joan Didion’s head toward the Hoover Dam.”
—Sloane Crosley, Departures

“A fascinating analysis that will bridge the interests of environmentalists and historians, political scientists, or economists.”
—Wade Lee-Smith, Library Journal

“Boccaletti brilliantly traces the history of how human civilization has been shaped by its attempts to control water for economic and societal benefit. As the impacts of climate change become clearer, policymakers the world over would be well-served to recognize water as a public good, respecting the importance of this invaluable, shared resource to our very survival.”
—Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior 2013-17
 
“Provides essential reading for those seeking to explore how humanity’s relationship with nature has influenced the development of legal and political systems and offers invaluable insights into current debates surrounding climate change and sustainability. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.”
—Lee C. Bollinger, President and Seth Low Professor of the University, Columbia University

“Giulio Boccaletti’s book is a remarkable achievement: a readable history of the world, seen through the history of water management. He shows, with clarity and erudition, how this is in reality a political, not a technological issue. Throughout history, humans have tried to conquer water, but water always wins; and it would be better for humanity if we realised it. The book is a real tour de force; it should be essential reading for every politician, as well as the rest of us.”
—Chris Wickham, Chichele P