Water: A Natural History

Excellent book and comprehensible natural history of water. Completely engaging. I bought for a friend as a gift because I love it so much!

Alice Outwater’s book is superbly well written and easy to read, yet it tells a powerful story of how we have mismanaged our water resources since the arrival of the Pilgrims. This book should be mandatory reading for every grade school student, politician, and government official. It is shocking to realize how badly we have managed our water resources and how far we have to go to employ best practices on our public lands.

Wonderfully informative, brilliantly written. Beavers, Buffaloes and prairie dogs oh my....

What a beautiful book! Education and information wrapped in history that reads like a mystery novel. The tales of beavers and riparian zones, buffalo and prairie are emotionally haunting while teaching about the importance of caring for our rivers. Through it all, there is hope -- hope that readers will see the world with more compassion and act with passion to restore the watersheds in which we live by understanding the natural history of freshwater. So compelling that I read it in two days.

Absolutely a great read for those who are conscious of nature and the impact water has on it. In addition, you will discover animals that also affected water and it's flow and how man has changed the positive impact these animals have or had on nature.It is understood mankind had to use some of nature as a resource to survive. This book reveals how water flow was before and after man touched it in North America.Beautifully written and a breathe of fresh air.

This is a fascinating book. I was a biology/ecology major and am now retired, and I was amazed how much I learned from this book. I had no idea about the impact the beavers (and prairie dogs) had on our overall eco-system, and how much the landscape and water tables have changed since our expansion into the west and the decimation of the beavers, and the prairie dogs when the buffalo went.....

The only reason anyone would give this book a bad review is if they are scientifically illiterate and environmentally apathetic... This is one of those rare books that condenses difficult and dismaying information into a concise and poetic experience that is only describable as enlightening. It is dense, but if you are not looking to learn anything I might suggest a less dense book. Maybe a high school vampire diary.

No missing pages, slightly worn out, minimal writing and underlining. Definitely worth the price you're paying for it if bought used.