Drinking Water: A History - Softcover

James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA Law School and the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC, Santa Barbara.

"Though he ranges widely, Mr. Salzman, who teaches law and environmental studies at Duke, focuses on what one might call social justice. Access to water may be viscerally regarded as a “right,” but he points out that the best way to ensure a reliable supply of pure water, especially in poor regions, is often to privatize it." —The New York Times

"What do Rome’s aqueducts, Napoleon’s death, and the pilgrimage site of Lourdes have in common?  All involve water: the leading ingredient of our bodies, essential for our daily lives, and the subject of innumerable struggles.  Why does bottled water, the cheapest and most abundant liquid, sell for more than the same volume of gasoline?  Even if you prefer to drink wine--it’s mostly water anyway--you’ll enjoy this book." --Jared Diamond, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

"Instead of buying your next twelve-pack of bottled water, buy this fascinating account of all the people who spent their lives making sure you'd have clean, safe drinking water every time you turned on the tap." --Bill McKibben, author of Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

"Drinking Water effortlessly guides us through a fascinating world we never consider. Even for people who think they know water, there is a surprise on almost every page." --Charles Fishman, bestselling author of The Big Thirst and The Wal-Mart Effect
 

"Meticulously researched, grandly conceived, and splendidly executed, Drinking Water takes a prosaic subject and makes it endlessly fascinating. Smart, witty, and perceptive, Drinking Water is essential reading." --Robert Glennon, author of Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It

"Salzman has produced gem of uncommon value--a fascinating book which slips in among its engaging stories their weighty implications for policy." --William K. Reilly, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and former President of the World Wildlife Fund

"In his deeply thorough, thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful book, James Salzman shows why water security and quality are set to boil to the surface of world’s politics." --John Elkington, author of The Green Consumer’s Guide and Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business

"Immensely readable, the book weaves one entertaining story after another to show how we have thought about, valued, protected, and provided this most precious of all liquids." --Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb and The Dominant Animal