An award-winning, alarming account of “one of the central challenges facing civilization” (The Washington Post Book World).
Offering ecological, historical, and cultural perspectives, this “well-researched and thought-provoking book” (Minneapolis Tribune) explains how we are using, misusing, and abusing our planet’s most vital resource.
Reporting from hot spots as diverse as China, Las Vegas, and the Middle East, where swelling populations and unchecked development have stressed fresh water supplies nearly beyond remedy, this account reveals how political struggles for control of water are raging around the globe, and rampant pollution increases already dire environmental threats. This powerful narrative about the lifeblood of civilizations is “a wake-up call for concerned citizens, environmentalists, policymakers, and water drinkers everywhere” (Publishers Weekly).
Winner of the Governor General’s Award
