Customer Reviews

Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America," by Susan J. Marks, is a boring hodgepodge of facts and figures. It reads like some of the mind-numbing textbooks that I had to endure during my high school years. This book breathes no life or depth into the topic...and that is very sad because the worldwide water crisis is an immensely fascinating topic. How could the author get so lost in the trees that she misses the forest?

I love this topic. I've spent many months of my retirement years taking college-level seminar courses on the water crisis. I've read a number of major books and countless academic papers and government documents on the topic. I've heard enlightened seminar students deliver stimulating presentations on a wide variety of in-depth worldwide water crisis research studies. I prepared my own report on the water crisis currently facing Australia. So, it was with great interest and enthusiasm that I agreed to read and review "Aqua Shock" for the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing. What a disappointment!

The water crisis is about as complex as most topics can get. It needs authors that can cut through the minutiae and help readers understand the underlying issues. Instead, Susan Marks writes like a cheerleader-type teacher trying to wake up an early morning class of disinterested ninth-graders. For example, the book begins: "America is running out of water! Sooner rather than later, your tap could run dry." This same introductory chapter closes with these words: "Water is a broad issue and -- through the lens of 'Aqua Shock' -- anything but dry, so let's get started." She peppers the book with information about potentially fun, interactive Internet sites that readers can visit to play with water facts. For example, in one paragraph that seemingly comes out of nowhere between two unrelated paragraphs, she says: "The amount of water that falls from the sky in an ordinary rainstorm might surprise you. Learn more about it with the U.S. Geological Survey's interactive calculator..." and here she provides the Internet address. I audible groaned when I read on page 143 that the United States needs "a big kahuna of water" implying that we needed a Cabinet-level national water officer.

The book has glaring factual errors. On page 23 (and repeated again on page 28), she attributes Joseph Dellapenna, internationally known water law expert and professor at Villanova University School of Law as saying this: "While the population of the United States doubled between 1950 and 1980, per capita water consumption increased sixfold during the same period." Now, I don't go around keeping obscure data in my head, but I suspect that most informed readers would immediately know that the population of the United States did not double between 1950 and 1980. It doubled between 1950 and the present day. I doubt the error was Dellapenna's, and it is certainly the type of error that an author or editor should have spotted and corrected. It makes me fear for other glaring errors that may dot this text that I did not spot.

As a retired academic research librarian, I've read countless term papers by college students who have amassed a dozen or so related academic papers on a topic and are attempting to bring them together into a cogent term paper. This book reads exactly like the type of student who misses the point...the type of student who does excellent research, but just can't put it all together into a cogent whole.

Don't read or buy this book; save your time and money. There are far better books on the topic. As a starter, read chapter two, "Emerging Water Shortages," in Lester Brown's book "Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble." The Earth Policy Institute makes this book available free on the Internet, each chapter being a separate, easy-to-read PDF document. Other interesting and insightful overviews are "Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource," by Marq DeVilliers, and "Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition" by Marc Reisner. But above all, do inform yourself about the current worldwide water crisis. It is real and alarming.

This book appears to be little more than a compilation of excerpts and internet searches, and an unedited version at that. Mind numbing, painful, repetitive, poorly executed and unscientific are the best words to describe this piece of junk. As a financial professional with an engineering background, I was hoodwinked into buying this through Bloomberg, and didn't bother reading any reviews, and am now scarred by the experience.

I fired down a few cocktails and tried to read while intoxicated, but it still hurts. Do yourself a favor and don't attempt to read this drivel. I'm very interested in this topic, and was unhappy to be delivered what amounts to a rough draft of a high school science paper. The publisher and author should be publicly humiliated. I've never seen anything written so poorly and devoid of a central thesis or supporting structure.

This book is up-to-date, I like that. And it has useful facts for my own research and business in desalination. But the other reviewers have a good point ... it's darn near unreadable.

I DO read it, and I'm gradually getting through it, but I only read a page here and there, because it's so dry that it's easy to put down. In a sense, that could be taken as a strength ... if you have a lot of work to do and don't want to get wound up in a book, this is perfect because as far as I can tell it's impossible to lose yourself in this book. Each moment is like sitting in a dentist's office waiting room.

The biggest complaint I have about this book is that a $25 shelf price for a book this quickly-put-together is a crime. It should be a $9 softcover. That would have been sufficient, because the glossy jacket, hardcover and fine paper are like putting racing rims on a golf cart.

For me, the gold-standard in water books is Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner. Reisner present the story of water in such an engaging and intoxicating way that you probably shouldn't crack the book if you have a lot of work ahead of you, because you won't be able to put it down.

However, if after reading Cadillac Desert, you want updates on water issues in general, and you can find a cutout copy of Aqua Shock for a few bucks, it's worth the buy.

Originally published here: [...]
Two months ago, I read the galley proofs of Susan Marks's Aqua Shock. [I redacted this review back then at the request of the publisher. This review is based on the proofs, but I have no reason to think the published ms. is any different...]

The book was a disappointment. It was more of a series of notes and facts [some inaccurate] pulled from a reporter's notebook than a book that gave analysis and context in a narrative that flowed from here to there.

Even worse (to me), was the weak or missing discussion of prices and markets in the final chapter ("Can Water Be Saved?").

This book reminded me of Unquenchable, which did a better job of wrangling factoids and stories but still failed to provide strong analysis or answers. Is this a virtue? No. We know plenty of facts about the water "crisis." What we need is good analysis of how we got here and where we are going.*

In this interview [...] with Tom Keene, Marks expresses an "objectivity" that frustrated me. She says that climate change "has just as many scientists on one side as the other" and says -- in spite of encouragement from Keene -- that water prices are not as important as people "paying attention to water." WTF does that mean?

Bottom Line: I give Aqua Shock one star. Spend your time elsewhere.

While water may seem to be a simple substance, the United States and the rest of the world face a dangerous water crisis due to a complex culmination of events. Journalist Susan J. Marks uses a deft writing style that glides from anecdotal reports to studies of the scientific and environmental dimensions of water scarcity, as well as the implications for national security. Unfortunately, in some places, a staccato of bullet-point factoids prevent the story from developing powerful momentum. getAbstract recommends this detailed presentation of water problems and possible solutions to readers who seek a thorough factual introduction to this vital subject.

The author's background in journalism is apparent. This book has been meticulously researched. Text within chapters is peppered with chapter endnote numbers. Many experts were interviewed and sources of data are clearly indicated. Susan Marks covers a wide variety of water issues: scarcity of water, where water comes from, safety issues, water laws, control of water, cost of water, and the future of water. She discusses groundwater, aquifers, surface water, contamination of water, transfer of water, weather, climate, bottled water, and much more.

Having lived most of my adult life in northern California, I first experienced water rationing in the 1970s ("if it's yellow, it's mellow; if it's brown, flush it down"). Water issues have been of more than a passing interest of mine. At times while reading Aqua Shock I felt bombarded by statistics and data. I wanted to say "Enough! I get it!" That said, there are plenty of people who have no idea that we are facing huge challenges regarding water quality and supply. Unfortunately most people are not able to describe their own watershed. Those are the readers who will benefit from this book.

Some of the data presented is dull, while some is brilliant. For example, on page 17 there is a figure titled "How Much Does It Take?" (volume of water to produce 2.2 pounds of food): Wheat 260-520 gallons, Other grain 260-780 gallons, Grain-fed beef 3,380-3,900 gallons. Marks' chapter about water law is particularly good for those who need an introduction to this contentious and convoluted body of law. This book would be a great resource in a high school or college freshman course about natural resources/ecology.

The global water crisis is upon us. How it will be addressed remains to be seen. The first step is to recognize that water problems exist. Aqua Shock is for readers who think their water comes from a faucet. Given the volume of references within this book, it provides many opportunities for readers to explore topics in more depth. If you are totally unfamiliar with water issues, first rent a copy of Roman Polanski's film Chinatown, then read this book.

Without water we perish. Marks starts out by outlining all the ways we humans abuse one of our most precious resources and she details the complex political situations that have lead us down this path. But she also points out some successful solutions and that's why this book is such a great -- an important -- read.
The book is an easy read, too. Marks's style is straightforward -- she's not trying to scare, not trying to push a personal political agenda disguised as truth. She tells all sides of the water story fairly.

Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America exposes the little-known fact that the U.S. is in the midst of a water crisis - once believed to be a problem only in dry regions of the country, and now prevalent coast-to-coast. Susan Marks documents current water conflicts being fought over land and in the courtroom as evidence of this crisis, adding the opinion of water experts across the country as she makes a strong case for better water management. Recommended for any library strong in resource management.

Susan Marks has put her talent as a journalist to good use. At least 36 states will face water shortages and drought conditions by 2013. I bought this book because I wanted a more in depth discussion of the "water crisis" in the United States. Marks clearly outlines how we have gotten ourselves into this predicament. She describes the mounting water crisis in a "user friendly" narrative that should also help raise public awareness by emphasizing we can no longer afford a "business as usual attitude" when it comes to water. She includes the findings of universities, corporate think tanks, state governments, municipalities, environmental groups and consumers. Here's my summary of what's inside:
Chapter 1 - Water facts, usage and trends
Chapter 2 - Where our water comes from - a global primer
Chapter 3 - Water shortages - complex variables including climate, geography, population, antiquated infrastructure, groundwater pollution, water and land use, etc.
Chapter 4 - Safe water at risk
Chapter 5 - Water allocation - a complex systems of laws and regulations that vary by region and state.
Chapter 6 - Who controls our water? Very interesting chapter.
Chapter 7 - The cost of water - pricing, rate structures, privatization
Chapter 8 - What's a person to do? Options , opinions and answers

This book is easy reading and highlights both problems and solutions.

As a boy growing up in northern California, I learned early the splendor of clean water as my uncle, a Hoopa Indian, taught me to fish for steelhead and salmon in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. Even then, he believed there were few more important issues than the supply of water. He loved the forests and rivers than defined the Hoopa Indian Reservation and impressed upon my brother and me the importance of protecting our finite natural resources.
When I first learned of Susan Marks' book, Aqua Shock, I had to purchase it. I wasn't disappointed.
Marks' writing style is engaging and informative, yet poignant and provocative. The importance of the subject demands nothing less. She has clearly done her homework. I know much more as a result. Let us hope that solutions to the water crisis will be based on science and not politics.
Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D.