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The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a Hope for the Future
A revelatory account of how water has shaped the course of human life and history, and a positive vision of what the future can hold—if we act now
From the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining force in the story of humanity.
In The Three Ages of Water , Peter Gleick guides us through the long, fraught history of our relationship to this precious resource. Water has shaped civilizations and empires, and driven centuries of advances in science and technology—from agriculture to aqueducts, steam power to space exploration—and progress in health and medicine.
But the achievements that have propelled humanity forward also brought consequences, including unsustainable water use, ecological destruction, and global climate change, that now threaten to send us into a new dark age. We must change our ways, and quickly, to usher in a new age of water for the benefit of everyone. Drawing from the lessons of our past, Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and the planet.
From the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining force in the story of humanity.
In The Three Ages of Water , Peter Gleick guides us through the long, fraught history of our relationship to this precious resource. Water has shaped civilizations and empires, and driven centuries of advances in science and technology—from agriculture to aqueducts, steam power to space exploration—and progress in health and medicine.
But the achievements that have propelled humanity forward also brought consequences, including unsustainable water use, ecological destruction, and global climate change, that now threaten to send us into a new dark age. We must change our ways, and quickly, to usher in a new age of water for the benefit of everyone. Drawing from the lessons of our past, Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and the planet.
357 pages, Hardcover
Published June 13, 2023
48 people are currently reading
905 people want to read
About the author
Peter H. Gleick
22 books27 followersDr. Peter H. Gleick (born 1956) is a scientist working on issues related to the environment, economic development, and international security, with a focus on global freshwater challenges. He works at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, which he co-founded in 1987. In 2003 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work on water resources. Among the issues he has addressed are conflicts over water resources [1], the impacts of climate change on water resources, the human right to water, and the problems of the billions of people without safe, affordable, and reliable water and sanitation.
Gleick received a B.S. from Yale University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley. Gleick is the author of the biennial series on the state of the world's water, called The World's Water,[2] published by Island Press, Washington, D.C., regularly provides testimony to the United States Congress and state legislatures, and has published many scientific articles. He serves as a major source of information on water issues for the media, and has been featured on CNBC, CNN, Fresh Air with Terry Gross [3], NPR, and in articles in The New Yorker,[4] and many other publications. He has also been featured in a wide range of water-related documentary films, including "Running Dry" [5] and "Flow: For Love of Water" [6], accepted for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
He is the brother of noted author James Gleick and editor Elizabeth Gleick.
Gleick received a B.S. from Yale University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley. Gleick is the author of the biennial series on the state of the world's water, called The World's Water,[2] published by Island Press, Washington, D.C., regularly provides testimony to the United States Congress and state legislatures, and has published many scientific articles. He serves as a major source of information on water issues for the media, and has been featured on CNBC, CNN, Fresh Air with Terry Gross [3], NPR, and in articles in The New Yorker,[4] and many other publications. He has also been featured in a wide range of water-related documentary films, including "Running Dry" [5] and "Flow: For Love of Water" [6], accepted for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
He is the brother of noted author James Gleick and editor Elizabeth Gleick.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 10, 2023
The Three Ages of Water has a solid premise and offers valuable recommendations for building a brighter future, but it suffers from disorienting prose and an overall lack of cohesion. I enjoyed how the author traced the history of humanity and water from ancient to modern times, using multiple examples from around the world. Each section successfully prompts readers to consider water from a different viewpoint.
However, this book could have highly benefited from several more rounds of editing. There was so much detail included that it was difficult to know what to focus on, and I wish the author had strengthened the logical sequence of information to help me understand why he was presenting the information in the time and place he did. In addition, the prose was often difficult to read because of wordiness, awkward sentence construction, or unexpected tense changes. For example, "With the growing cities and empires of the First Age of Water, disputes over water ultimately drove the need to create the first rules and institutions devoted to regulating and adjudicating disputes over access to, control of, and management of water." Or, one of the final statements of the book: "Many challenges remain, but as the Second Age of Water came to an end, and as the flowering of the Third Age has begun, we're well along the path to a sustainable water future and the world is a better place because of it."
Sadly, my brain got so tired that I ended up skimming most of the book. Still, the overall set of ideas is worth communicating, so I would love to see this content reworked into a more streamlined second edition where the author's message doesn't get so lost in the weeds.
Many thanks to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for a free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
However, this book could have highly benefited from several more rounds of editing. There was so much detail included that it was difficult to know what to focus on, and I wish the author had strengthened the logical sequence of information to help me understand why he was presenting the information in the time and place he did. In addition, the prose was often difficult to read because of wordiness, awkward sentence construction, or unexpected tense changes. For example, "With the growing cities and empires of the First Age of Water, disputes over water ultimately drove the need to create the first rules and institutions devoted to regulating and adjudicating disputes over access to, control of, and management of water." Or, one of the final statements of the book: "Many challenges remain, but as the Second Age of Water came to an end, and as the flowering of the Third Age has begun, we're well along the path to a sustainable water future and the world is a better place because of it."
Sadly, my brain got so tired that I ended up skimming most of the book. Still, the overall set of ideas is worth communicating, so I would love to see this content reworked into a more streamlined second edition where the author's message doesn't get so lost in the weeds.
Many thanks to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for a free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
June 12, 2023
Gleick’s book is an engaging, detailed and yet wide-ranging, authoritative exploration of the relationship between humans and water and how a positive sustainable world is within our reach.
He describes that we have already had the first two Ages of Water, with the Third Age being the positive, equitable vision that realises the benefits of water for everyone. ‘In the First Age of Water, the earliest human relationship to water was both central and unplanned...The Second Age flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when cities around the world were reaching critical size… The Second Age of Water has also brought the first global threats.’
Gleick expertly opens with the story of water from the beginning of time and explores the impact of the presence of water at the start of the creation of the Earth. He then details the existence and possibilities for water elsewhere in the solar system and argues that ‘The creation of life on Earth is bound together with the story of water in both science and culture.’ He closely examines the creation myths across cultures, which all use waters, to either create or destroy. ‘In 4,000-year-old Sumerian creation myths, heaven and earth were formed from a watery chaos by the goddess Nammu.’… ‘The three main Western religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all borrowed themes from Mesopotamian cultures and a describe a god creating the heavens and the earth including the first waters and bringing order and light from chaos.’ It is perhaps no accident that it is four rivers which flow from the Biblical Garden of Eden.
His discussion of water in belief and mythology inevitably brings him to the repeated Great Flood stories that are shared between cultures. ‘Every child of the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hears the story of the Great Flood sent by God.’ He does not limit this evaluation to ‘Western’ religion, but also explores Hindu texts, as well as Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian texts such as ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ to search for geo-physical clues to support a cultural mythology.
The Second Age of Water- Our Age
Human attempts to harness, channel and manage water then become Gleick’s focus, as he outlines the impact of water for the beginnings of agriculture. Aqueducts, wells and dams are all highlighted as innovations to control water through engineering. ‘The era of large-scale water engineering, with succeeding empires learning from and advancing the practice of moving, storing, and manipulating the hydrologic cycle.’ It should be noted that Gleick also emphasises water as part of the story of human migration and dispersal.
He also warns of the unintended consequences of the mastery of water. That the relationship between humans and water has been, up to now, a relationship of power, with humans using water and access to water, for geopolitical ends. ‘The Nile River in Egypt is the only major source of water for the country of 100 million people. Yet ten other countries share the watershed, all of them upstream of Egypt with their own growing populations and demands for water.’
Flowering opportunity unfortunately became opportunities for conflict to dominate others. It sadly remains true that whoever controls the water, controls the power.
‘Ultimately, the need to understand and control nature, and especially fresh water, helped drive the melding of art and science, engineering and technology, and law and economics that defined the advances of the Second Age of Water… And with these advances came the unintended consequences of pollution, ecological disruption, water poverty, social and political conflict, and global climate change.’
Gleick examines some of these unintended consequences, as he turns his attention to water-related diseases in a detailed and comprehensive manner, as he recounts the successes of medical advancement in linking diseases such as cholera with illness and death. He focuses on the scientific and methodical work of John Snow, who demonstrated that cholera was waterborne and therefore managed to save numerous lives. Gleick argues that a lack of access to safe water is still a present threat to people around the world today and that this sadly has not been a problem that has already been eradicated. ‘Deaths from diseases associated with the lack of safe water and adequate sanitation kill on the order of 2 million people a year… Water poverty in a global crisis with victims in every country… In 2020, the United Nations estimated that 2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water free from contamination.’
He closes this section on the consequences of the Second Age of Water, by stating that we are now in a transformational phase. ‘The Second Age of Water is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. The world as a whole must make a transition away from its current unsustainable path and forge a new future.’
The Third Age
In his concluding chapters, Gleick acknowledges that, ‘We live on a planet of hydrological extremes.’ And that, ‘This isn’t a book about climate change; it’s a book about water. But you can’t talk about one without talking about the other.’ He once again warns that transformative attitudes must come before transformative actions. Before Gleick turns his attention to the myth of the ‘golden bullet’ of desalination plants to provide technological solutions- ‘The greatest challenge to the widespread use of desalination is the high economic cost of building and operating the plants and providing the energy to strip salt out of water’, he bemoans our negligent ignorance of the precious commodity of water. He stresses the importance of recycling and reusing that is done aboard the ISS and argues that every drop should be viewed as important. ‘When we recognise the true value of water, a whole new way of thinking- and doing- emerges, and water and ecosystems become resources to protect, conserve and even restore, rather than pollute, consume and destroy.’
He repeats his core message of the book that, ‘By learning from the past, humanity can better understand the present and then imagine and build a better future.’
Gleick suggests that our future hopes for a sustainable world for both water and the planet must begin with the vision of a positive, equitable world. ‘Two divergent paths lies before us: one to that dystopian future, the other to a positive, sustainable world. Just as we can imagine a disastrous future, we can imagine a positive one, with a balance between humans and nature.’
In saying this though, his concluding remarks are a stark reminder that we are accountable and responsible for our own future world- that this positive vision cannot simply be wished into being, but rather that it shall not find us afraid to build a new world.
‘If we fail to achieve the positive future for water, it won’t be because we can’t. It will be because we didn’t.’
He describes that we have already had the first two Ages of Water, with the Third Age being the positive, equitable vision that realises the benefits of water for everyone. ‘In the First Age of Water, the earliest human relationship to water was both central and unplanned...The Second Age flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when cities around the world were reaching critical size… The Second Age of Water has also brought the first global threats.’
Gleick expertly opens with the story of water from the beginning of time and explores the impact of the presence of water at the start of the creation of the Earth. He then details the existence and possibilities for water elsewhere in the solar system and argues that ‘The creation of life on Earth is bound together with the story of water in both science and culture.’ He closely examines the creation myths across cultures, which all use waters, to either create or destroy. ‘In 4,000-year-old Sumerian creation myths, heaven and earth were formed from a watery chaos by the goddess Nammu.’… ‘The three main Western religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all borrowed themes from Mesopotamian cultures and a describe a god creating the heavens and the earth including the first waters and bringing order and light from chaos.’ It is perhaps no accident that it is four rivers which flow from the Biblical Garden of Eden.
His discussion of water in belief and mythology inevitably brings him to the repeated Great Flood stories that are shared between cultures. ‘Every child of the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hears the story of the Great Flood sent by God.’ He does not limit this evaluation to ‘Western’ religion, but also explores Hindu texts, as well as Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian texts such as ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ to search for geo-physical clues to support a cultural mythology.
The Second Age of Water- Our Age
Human attempts to harness, channel and manage water then become Gleick’s focus, as he outlines the impact of water for the beginnings of agriculture. Aqueducts, wells and dams are all highlighted as innovations to control water through engineering. ‘The era of large-scale water engineering, with succeeding empires learning from and advancing the practice of moving, storing, and manipulating the hydrologic cycle.’ It should be noted that Gleick also emphasises water as part of the story of human migration and dispersal.
He also warns of the unintended consequences of the mastery of water. That the relationship between humans and water has been, up to now, a relationship of power, with humans using water and access to water, for geopolitical ends. ‘The Nile River in Egypt is the only major source of water for the country of 100 million people. Yet ten other countries share the watershed, all of them upstream of Egypt with their own growing populations and demands for water.’
Flowering opportunity unfortunately became opportunities for conflict to dominate others. It sadly remains true that whoever controls the water, controls the power.
‘Ultimately, the need to understand and control nature, and especially fresh water, helped drive the melding of art and science, engineering and technology, and law and economics that defined the advances of the Second Age of Water… And with these advances came the unintended consequences of pollution, ecological disruption, water poverty, social and political conflict, and global climate change.’
Gleick examines some of these unintended consequences, as he turns his attention to water-related diseases in a detailed and comprehensive manner, as he recounts the successes of medical advancement in linking diseases such as cholera with illness and death. He focuses on the scientific and methodical work of John Snow, who demonstrated that cholera was waterborne and therefore managed to save numerous lives. Gleick argues that a lack of access to safe water is still a present threat to people around the world today and that this sadly has not been a problem that has already been eradicated. ‘Deaths from diseases associated with the lack of safe water and adequate sanitation kill on the order of 2 million people a year… Water poverty in a global crisis with victims in every country… In 2020, the United Nations estimated that 2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water free from contamination.’
He closes this section on the consequences of the Second Age of Water, by stating that we are now in a transformational phase. ‘The Second Age of Water is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. The world as a whole must make a transition away from its current unsustainable path and forge a new future.’
The Third Age
In his concluding chapters, Gleick acknowledges that, ‘We live on a planet of hydrological extremes.’ And that, ‘This isn’t a book about climate change; it’s a book about water. But you can’t talk about one without talking about the other.’ He once again warns that transformative attitudes must come before transformative actions. Before Gleick turns his attention to the myth of the ‘golden bullet’ of desalination plants to provide technological solutions- ‘The greatest challenge to the widespread use of desalination is the high economic cost of building and operating the plants and providing the energy to strip salt out of water’, he bemoans our negligent ignorance of the precious commodity of water. He stresses the importance of recycling and reusing that is done aboard the ISS and argues that every drop should be viewed as important. ‘When we recognise the true value of water, a whole new way of thinking- and doing- emerges, and water and ecosystems become resources to protect, conserve and even restore, rather than pollute, consume and destroy.’
He repeats his core message of the book that, ‘By learning from the past, humanity can better understand the present and then imagine and build a better future.’
Gleick suggests that our future hopes for a sustainable world for both water and the planet must begin with the vision of a positive, equitable world. ‘Two divergent paths lies before us: one to that dystopian future, the other to a positive, sustainable world. Just as we can imagine a disastrous future, we can imagine a positive one, with a balance between humans and nature.’
In saying this though, his concluding remarks are a stark reminder that we are accountable and responsible for our own future world- that this positive vision cannot simply be wished into being, but rather that it shall not find us afraid to build a new world.
‘If we fail to achieve the positive future for water, it won’t be because we can’t. It will be because we didn’t.’
March 14, 2023
This is an extremely well written and eye opening book on the importance of water. It’s split into three parts/“ages” and the reader is guided on a journey through the past, present, and future of water and our interaction with it. I was hooked from the start and appreciated all of the knowledge contained in this book. It was very interesting to learn all of the history, particularly about how modern water infrastructure was shaped, and about Peter Gleick’s professional experience. This book raised my personal awareness for the importance of water conservation and I highly recommend it to everyone, given that this is a topic that affects all of us.
November 11, 2023
What I would have liked to see more of: pictures (it did have some, but I love pictures and wanted more!) and stories. What I would have liked to see less of: stats, charts, dates.
I did enjoy the focus on humankind’s physical relationship with water — Gleick pursued our scientific, industrial, and medical hardships and triumphs with water. But I would have so much preferred a look into our spiritual and emotional relationship with water—taking a look at it’s impact on our religions and cultures and how it connects us with each other and with nature.
There’s hardly any mentions of water ecosystems except for one chapter “The Loss of Nature.” I felt that was a missed opportunity on great content.
It takes you all over the world’s bodies of water except the ocean—the largest body of water on the planet. And what about precipitation? That’s water too…
Things that could have been brief examples, Gleick turned into multiple paragraphs and these weren’t even about water. After the lengthy explanations, the original point was hard to remember.
The book reads more like a history textbook, time-lining the events, heavily focusing on dates and places rather than the story and point itself (what even was the point?). It felt like about half or more of the book wasn’t even about water and was more about surrounding circumstances water found itself in over time.
Maybe it was boring or maybe I was bored, but Part 3 of the book was all about the author’s proposed plan forward because apparently after all that the book was about climate change. I just stopped reading 🥱 💤 (I mean I love books on ecology and anyone who knows me knows I love taking care of this world, but this book could have been so much better 😭)
I did enjoy the focus on humankind’s physical relationship with water — Gleick pursued our scientific, industrial, and medical hardships and triumphs with water. But I would have so much preferred a look into our spiritual and emotional relationship with water—taking a look at it’s impact on our religions and cultures and how it connects us with each other and with nature.
There’s hardly any mentions of water ecosystems except for one chapter “The Loss of Nature.” I felt that was a missed opportunity on great content.
It takes you all over the world’s bodies of water except the ocean—the largest body of water on the planet. And what about precipitation? That’s water too…
Things that could have been brief examples, Gleick turned into multiple paragraphs and these weren’t even about water. After the lengthy explanations, the original point was hard to remember.
The book reads more like a history textbook, time-lining the events, heavily focusing on dates and places rather than the story and point itself (what even was the point?). It felt like about half or more of the book wasn’t even about water and was more about surrounding circumstances water found itself in over time.
Maybe it was boring or maybe I was bored, but Part 3 of the book was all about the author’s proposed plan forward because apparently after all that the book was about climate change. I just stopped reading 🥱 💤 (I mean I love books on ecology and anyone who knows me knows I love taking care of this world, but this book could have been so much better 😭)
July 20, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for e-ARC.
The Three Ages of Water is a book that tries to do too much and ends up doing too little. It claims to be a comprehensive exploration of water’s role in the cosmos and civilization, but it is really a call for action on the current water crisis. The author, Gleick, seems to have a genuine passion for this topic, but he fails to deliver a clear and convincing message. Instead, he wraps his advocacy in a vague and confusing framework of the three ages of water, which are not well-defined or justified. As a planetary scientist, I found this concept arbitrary and misleading. The book could have been a fascinating look at the history of water on Earth or a compelling analysis of our water problems. Instead, it is neither.
The book also suffers from a lack of focus and coherence. Many chapters feel like filler, such as the one on water-based diseases, which is essentially a history of disease. The book tries to connect everything to water, but the connections are often weak and irrelevant. The book does not tell a cohesive story, but rather a series of stories that vary in their relevance and depth. Gleick should have chosen a more specific and relevant theme for his book, instead of trying to make it into a grandiose and superficial saga that dilutes his main point with unnecessary details.
The Three Ages of Water is a book that tries to do too much and ends up doing too little. It claims to be a comprehensive exploration of water’s role in the cosmos and civilization, but it is really a call for action on the current water crisis. The author, Gleick, seems to have a genuine passion for this topic, but he fails to deliver a clear and convincing message. Instead, he wraps his advocacy in a vague and confusing framework of the three ages of water, which are not well-defined or justified. As a planetary scientist, I found this concept arbitrary and misleading. The book could have been a fascinating look at the history of water on Earth or a compelling analysis of our water problems. Instead, it is neither.
The book also suffers from a lack of focus and coherence. Many chapters feel like filler, such as the one on water-based diseases, which is essentially a history of disease. The book tries to connect everything to water, but the connections are often weak and irrelevant. The book does not tell a cohesive story, but rather a series of stories that vary in their relevance and depth. Gleick should have chosen a more specific and relevant theme for his book, instead of trying to make it into a grandiose and superficial saga that dilutes his main point with unnecessary details.
June 22, 2025
This book was exceptionally researched, rich in detail, and informative. However, any attempt to capture the past, present, and future of water in a single book is bound to fall short of true comprehensiveness. The narrative at times felt jumbled, with abrupt shifts in topic or concept that created a sense of reading whiplash. I was also surprised by some notable omissions, such as active water conflicts, deeper engagement with water geopolitics, and the diversity of socio-cultural attitudes toward water. The final section (“Third Age”) struck me as overly optimistic and leaned heavily on singular and geographically isolated examples to present an idealized future and could have benefited from more critical exploration, nuance, and pragmatism.
That said, despite its limitations, this was an amazing read though its scope may have been unachievable as it tried to capture ~4.5b years of water on Earth (maybe less, maybe more).
That said, despite its limitations, this was an amazing read though its scope may have been unachievable as it tried to capture ~4.5b years of water on Earth (maybe less, maybe more).
March 5, 2024
Humans have always needed water and the author divides the relationship into three eras:
Distant past where we just lived with whatever happened.
Recent past & present where we adapt our environment to make use of water, but don't concern ourselves adequately about sustainability and equity.
Present trends and hopeful future where water is highly valued and wisely used.
This book contains important information and some of it very interesting, but it reminded me of my high school essays when I was told to produce 1000 words on a topic but I had information enough for about 500. I suppose you can't sell a 100 page book and make money on it, but I really dislike hearing repeated platitudes about water as a basic human right or how we need to recycle more.
Distant past where we just lived with whatever happened.
Recent past & present where we adapt our environment to make use of water, but don't concern ourselves adequately about sustainability and equity.
Present trends and hopeful future where water is highly valued and wisely used.
This book contains important information and some of it very interesting, but it reminded me of my high school essays when I was told to produce 1000 words on a topic but I had information enough for about 500. I suppose you can't sell a 100 page book and make money on it, but I really dislike hearing repeated platitudes about water as a basic human right or how we need to recycle more.
June 7, 2023
This fascinating and informative book traces the role of water on Earth, from the formation of our solar system to the present day. Water has shaped civilizations, and in return, civilizations have shaped our planet's water supplies.
Our current usage is unsustainable and has caused ecological devastation. In a narrative style that's entertaining and easy to read, this book explains how we can change our approach to water usage, proceeding more thoughtfully toward a better future for ourselves and the planet.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Our current usage is unsustainable and has caused ecological devastation. In a narrative style that's entertaining and easy to read, this book explains how we can change our approach to water usage, proceeding more thoughtfully toward a better future for ourselves and the planet.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
August 24, 2023
A historical look at water's role in world affairs past, present and forward looking. As someone who works in water, I enjoyed the first part of the book examining the role of water in past civilizations. The rest of the book on the various challenges, technologies and governmental reports around water were not that interesting to me, but might be a good introduction for someone who didn't know this space.
November 19, 2023
Dissapointing. I have read a number of books about water issues, but this one has very little actionable information. His discussion of the past was interesting and seemed informed, but the look at the present/future was full of generalities, platitudes and hand-wringing "oh gosh" ecology. He reports there are many examples of good practices, but does not bother to include any--I suspect they are only forthcoming if you hire his organization as a consultant.
May 26, 2024
Peter Gleick is a very know figure in the water space. However, in my humble opinion, this book could benefit greatly from deeper analysis, better editing and stronger story-telling to tie all those facts together. Compared to other books on this subject (e.g. 'Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization' by Steven Solomon, etc.), it is unfortunately a miss for people who closely follow this topic.
September 3, 2023
A fairly (pardon the pun) dry telling of the story of water —from its origins in the cosmos at the beginning of the universe to the present where humans are experiencing the disastrous effects of too much or too little water. Important information, well researched and well worth a read. This book just reminded me of many of the less-than-thrilling history texts from college days.
September 14, 2023
Fast read ... some good points about the three stages of water; where we have been, where we are, and where we need to be ... nothing, you don't already know, just need to be reminded that it is a finite resource, and need to be managed much better than it presently is.
June 16, 2023
An educational, at times alarming but ultimately hopeful read about our complicated relationship with water.
August 19, 2023
I appreciate this book for teaching me about a subject that I knew little about. It gave me the context for understanding my own local water infrastructure and what I can do to help my community.
May 27, 2024
Excellent book about the history, present, and possible future of human water usage.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews