Customer Reviews

Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly and the Politics of Thirst

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Ward takes a comprehensive and world-wide view of the problem of managing water, and I learned a considerable amount from her book. She writes with an easy style. (Another reviewer calls it "the best book on water that I've read"; that's true for me, too, but in my case it's faint praise since I've only read this book!) Clearly, water management is becoming more important as the world's population grows, and given the public policy decisions facing most nations, it is a subject that the average citizen will need to learn more about. Unfortunately, the book has a couple of flaws. First, it is shallow technically, even for a popular non-fiction book; Ward could benefit by providing additional depth on both the technology of watershed management and the dominant legal structures behind it. Second, I found the footnotes to be very poorly written; frequently direct quotes appear without footnotes, and on many occasions the information in a footnote is almost a non-sequitur when compared to the footnoted text.

This is a terrific book-passionate, informed, wide-ranging, and filled with lots of quotes and anecdotes. And it's very personal-Ms. Ward isn't writing from an armchair-she's been to all the places she writes about, and it shows. She's got a great sense of drama and eye for detail-you're right there with her in the helicopter when she flies low over a network of rivers. And because she knows the subject so well, Ms. Ward places all the twists and turns in her fascinating story in a broad, historical context. I'll never look at a glass of water in quite the same way again.

This is a deeply researched and beautifully written book - an essential volume on an immensely important subject. Recent news events prompted my rereading. Since the original copy was on loan, I purchased and recommend the handsome paperback edition. Do not delay buying and reading this compelling book!

Although there were a few technical errors, the book was full of interesting facts about the state of fresh water in different parts of the world. Unfortunately, except for some information about the water issues in India, there was little that was new. The chapters were in themselves fairly interesting but there was no real continuity. There was a lack of of purpose. After the final chapter on the Everglades, the book just quit. There are better books and articles on this subject available. Nice try though.

Not only is this book a fast-paced, engrossing read, it is a vital one. Water will be the next human battleground and this book provides vast insight into the subject. Ms. Ward's style is a friendly, conversational one. It's a terrific book.

Ms. Ward's book left me with a lot to think about. The next true crisis in the world will be "water". One thing that I was thoroughly impressed was the way she not only presented problems, but, probably solutions. The recent North Carolina drought showed that everyone in the near future will begin to experience water problems. Ms. Ward's book reminded me that we need to think more about permanent solutions instead of stop gap measures