What do you think?
Rate this book
Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought
The dramatic story of the Bushmen of the Kalahari is a cautionary tale about water in the twenty-first century―and offers unexpected solutions for our time.
"We don't govern water. Water governs us," writes James G. Workman. I n Heart of Dryness , he chronicles the memorable saga of the famed Bushmen of the Kalahari―remnants of one of the world's most successful civilizations, today at the exact epicenter of Africa's drought―in their widely publicized recent battle with the government of Botswana, in the process of exploring the larger story of what many feel has become the primary resource battleground of the twenty-first the supply of water. The Bushmen's story could well prefigure our own. In the United States, even the most upbeat optimists concede we now face an unprecedented water crisis. Reservoirs behind large dams on the Colorado River, which serve thirty million in many states, will be dry in thirteen years. Southeastern drought recently cut Tennessee Valley Authority hydropower in half, exposed Lake Okeechobee's floor, dried up thousands of acres of Georgia's crops, and left Atlanta with sixty days of water. Cities east and west are drying up. As reservoirs and aquifers fail, officials ration water, neighbors snitch on one another, corporations move in, and states fight states to control shared rivers. Each year, around the world, inadequate water kills more humans than AIDS, malaria, and all wars combined. Global leaders pray for rain. Bushmen tap more pragmatic solutions. James G . Workman illuminates the present and coming tensions we will all face over water and shows how, from the remoteness of the Kalahari, an ancient and resilient people is showing the world a viable path through the encroaching Dry Age.
"We don't govern water. Water governs us," writes James G. Workman. I n Heart of Dryness , he chronicles the memorable saga of the famed Bushmen of the Kalahari―remnants of one of the world's most successful civilizations, today at the exact epicenter of Africa's drought―in their widely publicized recent battle with the government of Botswana, in the process of exploring the larger story of what many feel has become the primary resource battleground of the twenty-first the supply of water. The Bushmen's story could well prefigure our own. In the United States, even the most upbeat optimists concede we now face an unprecedented water crisis. Reservoirs behind large dams on the Colorado River, which serve thirty million in many states, will be dry in thirteen years. Southeastern drought recently cut Tennessee Valley Authority hydropower in half, exposed Lake Okeechobee's floor, dried up thousands of acres of Georgia's crops, and left Atlanta with sixty days of water. Cities east and west are drying up. As reservoirs and aquifers fail, officials ration water, neighbors snitch on one another, corporations move in, and states fight states to control shared rivers. Each year, around the world, inadequate water kills more humans than AIDS, malaria, and all wars combined. Global leaders pray for rain. Bushmen tap more pragmatic solutions. James G . Workman illuminates the present and coming tensions we will all face over water and shows how, from the remoteness of the Kalahari, an ancient and resilient people is showing the world a viable path through the encroaching Dry Age.
- GenresNonfictionAfrica
336 pages, Hardcover
First published August 4, 2009
8 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
James G. Workman
2 books2 followersJames Workman, graduate of Yale and Oxford, became an award-winning journalist in Washington DC, and a natural resources speechwriter to Bruce Babbitt in the Clinton Administration. For seven years in Africa he led investigative research safaris, advised statesmen, businesses, aid agencies and conservation organizations on water scarcity. His experience with Kalahari Bushmen forms the core narrative of Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 26, 2009
This readable, carefully documented little book seems essential reading for anyone not aware of the global water crisis--and important, fascinating reading for anyone who is.
Workman shares the example of the Bushmen, indigenous residents of Africa's dry Kalahari region, to illustrate one way that contemporary governments may cut off access to water in order to control independent-minded people. While he does share many of the Bushmen's strategies for thriving while using very little water themselves, the emphasis is on the role of water in power politics, both within a country and between nations.
For many Americans, this report may seem alarmist and distant. But, with 36 US states predicting water shortages in the very near future, last year's reports of droughts in Atlanta emerge as something more ominous than a freak, one-time occurence. As Workman explains, the warnings of "hand-wringing liberal environmentalists and social activists" are, this time, "amplified by nervous conservative, industrial interests, and development boosters preaching that the end of water [is:] nigh." Africa's Botswana, too, is not the only government willing to weaponize water by beseiging people it wants to move elsewhere. The US did the same thing, historically, to its own indigenous peoples, and has used the tactic in this century in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More essential than oil, more precious than gold or spices, water may be the resource that underlies power struggles in the years to come. That's a dark thought, because bystanders who can live without oil, gold, or spices will die without water.
Well-written, well-informed, and well-referenced, Heart of Dryness is also well worth reading.
Workman shares the example of the Bushmen, indigenous residents of Africa's dry Kalahari region, to illustrate one way that contemporary governments may cut off access to water in order to control independent-minded people. While he does share many of the Bushmen's strategies for thriving while using very little water themselves, the emphasis is on the role of water in power politics, both within a country and between nations.
For many Americans, this report may seem alarmist and distant. But, with 36 US states predicting water shortages in the very near future, last year's reports of droughts in Atlanta emerge as something more ominous than a freak, one-time occurence. As Workman explains, the warnings of "hand-wringing liberal environmentalists and social activists" are, this time, "amplified by nervous conservative, industrial interests, and development boosters preaching that the end of water [is:] nigh." Africa's Botswana, too, is not the only government willing to weaponize water by beseiging people it wants to move elsewhere. The US did the same thing, historically, to its own indigenous peoples, and has used the tactic in this century in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More essential than oil, more precious than gold or spices, water may be the resource that underlies power struggles in the years to come. That's a dark thought, because bystanders who can live without oil, gold, or spices will die without water.
Well-written, well-informed, and well-referenced, Heart of Dryness is also well worth reading.
October 21, 2009
What a great and unexpected book! I thought it would be another depressing tale of African despair, but Jamie Workman takes this story of Kalahari Bushmen and makes it into an inspiring saga form which we can learn much about how to live in a world of less water. Highly recommended.
September 11, 2017
The title is misleading since it was more about the plight of the Bushman in Botswana then how we can learn about conserving water.
The information was good. It was very sure opposing about water waste and how the Bushman has been treated.
The information was good. It was very sure opposing about water waste and how the Bushman has been treated.
Read
February 7, 2020read for class
August 12, 2024
Excellent.
March 8, 2018
This book tells the long-form history of Qoroxloo and her band of Bushmen, their way of life under governmental deprivation, and the trial which resulted in right to occupy their homeland but not the right to water. It tells much less about its subtitle "How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought." That topic is condensed into a few pages at the end of the book, although it is alluded to throughout. While the author may argue that his analysis became the succinct end of the book, the example of the Bushmen is treated too lightly and without expansion. Otherwise this is engaging reportage.
January 27, 2014
A surprisingly relevant book made more poignant now that CA has announced a state of 'drought' emergency. It enlightened me to several important environmental and social issues faced internationally and here in the US.
Absolutely recommended!
In addition to the new awareness of water rights and politics, I was shocked to read the human rights struggles occurring so recently in the Kalahari. I grew up reading Laurens van der Post, whose stories formed my respect for the Bushmen. I was relieved to know they won in court and hope their resilience continues to benefits others.
Absolutely recommended!
In addition to the new awareness of water rights and politics, I was shocked to read the human rights struggles occurring so recently in the Kalahari. I grew up reading Laurens van der Post, whose stories formed my respect for the Bushmen. I was relieved to know they won in court and hope their resilience continues to benefits others.
October 20, 2009
A very interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. I had no idea there was so much tension between the Botswana government and the Bushmen. But, the author really tries too hard to find universal lessons for us all in the way Bushmen live. It's too much of a stretch.
Want to read
June 25, 2009As seen on The Green Life.
November 11, 2009
i appreciated the book and the author's work with bushman. a bit short on actual concrete recommendations he learned from they however.
Currently reading
May 20, 2010Los Angeles, summer is here and water is of utmost importance. Come hear James Workman speak about his research and latest book on water at ALOUD at Central Library on Thursday, June 17th.
Read
June 9, 2010My review in Nature Reports: Climate Change http://j.mp/2TUubG
August 3, 2010
Oh, I am inspired to never waste another drop of water again. There are more good ideas about water than I would have ever thought of. I am happy to have met Qoroxloo.
June 27, 2012
Interesting book talking about water conflicts in the modern age. I learned a lot about water issues in Africa.
June 13, 2011
poignant and powerful. if you have any interest in africa, water, or environmental understanding, put this on your list.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews