Living With Floods In A Mobile Southeast Asia

Download Living With Floods In A Mobile Southeast Asia full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Living With Floods In A Mobile Southeast Asia ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Living with Floods in a Mobile Southeast Asia

Author : Carl Middleton
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317645162
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Living with Floods in a Mobile Southeast Asia by : Carl Middleton

Download or read book Living with Floods in a Mobile Southeast Asia written by Carl Middleton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between migration, vulnerability, resilience and social justice associated with flooding across diverse environmental, social and policy contexts in Southeast Asia. It challenges simple analyses of flooding as a singular driver of migration, and instead considers the ways in which floods figure in migration-based livelihoods and amongst already mobile populations. The book develops a conceptual framework based on a ‘mobile political ecology’ in which particular attention is paid to the multidimensionality, temporalities and geographies of vulnerability. Rather than simply emphasising the capacities (or lack thereof) of individuals and households, the focus is on identifying factors that instigate, manage and perpetuate vulnerable populations and places: these include the sociopolitical dynamics of floods, flood hazards and risky environments, migration and migrant-based livelihoods and the policy environments through which all of these take shape. The book is organised around a series of eight empirical urban and rural case studies from countries in Southeast Asia, where lives are marked by mobility and by floods associated with the region’s monsoonal climate. The concluding chapter synthesises the insights of the case studies, and suggests future policy directions. Together, the chapters highlight critical policy questions around the governance of migration, institutionalised disaster response strategies and broader development agendas.

Climate Change, Disasters, and Internal Displacement in Asia and the Pacific

Author : Matthew Scott
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000223302
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Climate Change, Disasters, and Internal Displacement in Asia and the Pacific by : Matthew Scott

Download or read book Climate Change, Disasters, and Internal Displacement in Asia and the Pacific written by Matthew Scott and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how states in eight countries across Asia and the Pacific address internal displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. The Asia and the Pacific region accounts for the majority of global disaster-related displacement, but the experience of the millions of individuals displaced differs according to gender, age, ethnicity, (dis)ability, caste, and so forth and is dependent on the legal, administrative, social, and economic structures and processes in place to support them. This book adopts a human rights-based approach, investigating the role of law and policy in preventing displacement, protecting people who are displaced, and engendering durable solutions across cases drawn from Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. The specific cases in the book also reflect critically on the term ‘displacement’ and the wider normative framework within which this phenomenon is conceptualised and addressed. The book will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners working at the intersection of human rights, human mobility, development, disaster risk reduction and management, and climate change adaptation.

The Politics of Cross-Border Mobility in Southeast Asia

Author : Michele Ford
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108606296
Total Pages : 108 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (86 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Politics of Cross-Border Mobility in Southeast Asia by : Michele Ford

Download or read book The Politics of Cross-Border Mobility in Southeast Asia written by Michele Ford and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-12-31 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element explains how cross-border mobility defines diplomatic relationships between Southeast Asian states and social and political dynamics within the region's key destination countries. It begins by providing an historically situated discussion of bordering processes within the region, examining evolving historical conceptions of power and sovereignty, and processes of bordering in colonial and post-colonial times. It then turns to the political, environmental, and economic drivers of contemporary cross-border mobility before examining governments' efforts to manage different kinds of border-crossers and the tensions that these efforts give rise to. Having discussed the politics of cross-border mobility in host communities, the Element returns to the question of why consideration of bordering practices and cross-border mobility is necessary in understanding contemporary Southeast Asia.

Internal Migration in the Countries of Asia

Author : Martin Bell
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030440109
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (34 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Internal Migration in the Countries of Asia by : Martin Bell

Download or read book Internal Migration in the Countries of Asia written by Martin Bell and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-20 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how population mobility varies among the countries of Asia. While much attention has been given to international migration, movement within countries is numerically much more significant. Coupling innovative methods developed in the global IMAGE project with the contextual knowledge of experts on 15 Asian countries, the book measures and explains how people across Asia differ in the probability of changing residence, the ages at which they move, and the impact of these migrations on the distribution of human settlement within each country. It demonstrates how stage of economic development, coupled with historical events, local contingencies, cultural norms, political frameworks, and the physical environment shape human migration. By using rigorous statistics in a robust comparative framework, this book provides a clear understanding of contemporary migration in Asia for students and academics, and a valuable resource for policy-makers and planners in Asia and beyond.

Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River

Author : Carl Middleton
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319774409
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (197 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River by : Carl Middleton

Download or read book Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River written by Carl Middleton and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-08-12 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book focuses on the Salween River, shared by China, Myanmar, and Thailand, that is increasingly at the heart of pressing regional development debates. The basin supports the livelihoods of over 10 million people, and within it there is great socio-economic, cultural and political diversity. The basin is witnessing intensifying dynamics of resource extraction, alongside large dam construction, conservation and development intervention, that is unfolding within a complex terrain of local, national and transnational governance. With a focus on the contested politics of water and associated resources in the Salween basin, this book offers a collection of empirical case studies that highlights local knowledge and perspectives. Given the paucity of grounded social science studies in this contested basin, this book provides conceptual insights at the intersection of resource governance, development, and politics of knowledge relevant to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners at a time when rapid change is underway. - Fills a significant knowledge gap on a major river in Southeast Asia, with empirical and conceptual contributions - Inter-disciplinary perspective and by a range of writers, including academics, policy-makers and civil society researchers, the majority from within Southeast Asia - New policy insights on a river at the cross-roads of a major political and development transition

Natural Hazards

Author : Mohammad Mokhtari
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN 13 : 1803558490
Total Pages : 506 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (35 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Natural Hazards by : Mohammad Mokhtari

Download or read book Natural Hazards written by Mohammad Mokhtari and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2023-07-19 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world shaped by the forces of nature, humankind has always sought to understand and mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. Natural Hazards - New Insights delves into the intricate realm of floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, meteoritical hazards, mining-related disasters, and other major catastrophes that afflict our planet. This book takes readers on a journey to gain a deeper understanding of these phenomena, unearthing fresh insights into their causes, impacts, and strategies to mitigate their effects. Organized into six comprehensive sections, this book begins with a global perspective on natural hazards, laying the foundation for understanding the diverse range of challenges they pose. It then explores seismic hazards, analyzing earthquake patterns, urban damage assessment, fault reactivation, and more. Shifting the focus to flooding as a natural hazard, the book examines hydrological extremes, flood mapping, and risk reduction strategies. It further explores climatological hazards, including the intricate relationship between climate change and natural disasters, remote sensing technologies, and the impacts of climate change on agriculture. Landslides are also scrutinized as significant natural hazards, with chapters on polarization analysis, landslide assessment, hazard zonation, and the impact of underground coal mining methods on slope stability. Lastly, the book addresses the social challenges that arise when disasters strike, examining psychological reactions, spontaneous volunteers, urban planning responses, and social vulnerability to earthquake hazards. Through peer-reviewed chapters, this book offers valuable insights and expertise from renowned authors in the field. Their contributions have shaped this comprehensive exploration, which aims to navigate the challenges, minimize risks, and build a safer and more sustainable environment for future generations.

Geographies of Displacement/s

Author : Kendra Strauss
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000885518
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Geographies of Displacement/s by : Kendra Strauss

Download or read book Geographies of Displacement/s written by Kendra Strauss and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-29 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book assembles cutting edge contemporary research and thinking on multiple forms and meanings of displacements and their geographies: patterns of shifting, dislocation, or putting out of place; substitutions of one idea for another or the unconscious transfer of intense feelings or emotions; activities occurring outside their normal context; and replacements of one thing by another. The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization in 2020, produced new displacements and intensified existing patterns of displacement and dispossession. At the same time, socionatural displacements - floods, fires, droughts, hurricanes, sea-level rise, species loss, and dislocation - were the backdrop to the displaced and deferred hopes of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The chapters in this volume contend with how we as geographers conceptualize and theorize displacements; the range of sites, spaces, processes, affects, scales, and actors we study with to understand them; and what is at stake politically in how we research displacements. It is also a pandemic archive of academic labor, in which we find traces of displacements within and beyond the academic discipline of geography. Geographies of Displacement/s will be of particular interest to students, scholars and researchers of Geography including those interested in human geography, socio-natural displacements, and the politics of migration and displacement. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

Climate Change, Disasters and the Refugee Convention

Author : Matthew Scott
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108478220
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (84 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Climate Change, Disasters and the Refugee Convention by : Matthew Scott

Download or read book Climate Change, Disasters and the Refugee Convention written by Matthew Scott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-06 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revealing the role of discrimination in disasters challenges received wisdom about who is a refugee.

Between the Two Oceans of Indo-Pacific

Author : Chirathivat, Suthipand
Publisher : SAGE Publishing India
ISBN 13 : 9354794025
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (547 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Between the Two Oceans of Indo-Pacific by : Chirathivat, Suthipand

Download or read book Between the Two Oceans of Indo-Pacific written by Chirathivat, Suthipand and published by SAGE Publishing India. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of connectivity is an integral part of regionalism in international trade and integration. The focus in this book is particularly on the so-called southern East - West Economic Corridor which consists of the connections between the southern part of Myanmar and the western part of the central region of Thailand. Between the Two Oceans of Indo-Pacific covers a diverse range of topics in the fields of geography, history, archaeology, international trade, tourism, migration and infrastructure for transport. This book is an effort to understand these for a better future for ASEAN as well as India. The findings of this book may help strengthen the ASEAN integration process on its way towards 2025.

The Handbook of Displacement

Author : Peter Adey
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030471780
Total Pages : 817 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (34 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Handbook of Displacement by : Peter Adey

Download or read book The Handbook of Displacement written by Peter Adey and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-12-11 with total page 817 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook provides the knowledge and tools needed to understand how displacement is lived, governed, and mediated as an unfolding and grounded process bound up in spatial inequities of power and injustice. The handbook ensures, first, that internal displacements and their everyday (re)occurrences are not overlooked; second, it questions ‘who counts’ by including ‘displaced’ people who are less obviously identifiable and a clearly circumscribed or categorised group; third, it stresses that while displacement suggests mobility, there are also periods and spaces of enforced stillness that are not adequately reflected in the displacement literature; and fourth, it re-evokes and explores the ‘place’ in displacement by critically interrogating peoples’ ‘right to place’ and the significance of placemaking, unmaking, and remaking in the contemporary world. The 50-plus chapters are organised across seven themes designed to further develope interdisciplinary study of the technologies, journeys, traces, governance, more-than-human, representation, and resisting of displacement. Each of these thematic sections begin with an intervention which spotlights actions to creatively and strategically intervene in displacement. The interventions explore myriad meanings and manifestations of displacement and its contestation from the perspective of displaced people, artists, writers, activists, scholar-activists, and scholars involved in practice-oriented research. The Handbook will be an essential companion for academics, students, and practitioners committed to forging solidarity, care, and home in an era of displacement.

Undocumented Migrants in the United States

Author : Ina Batzke
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429955758
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Undocumented Migrants in the United States by : Ina Batzke

Download or read book Undocumented Migrants in the United States written by Ina Batzke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-07-11 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whilst many undocumented migrants in the United States continue to exist in the shadows, since the turn of the millennium an increasing number have emerged within public debate, casting themselves against the dominant discursive trope of the "illegal alien," and entering the struggle over political self-representation. Drawing on a range of life narratives published from 2001 to 2016, this book explores how undocumented migrants have represented themselves in various narrative forms in the context of the DREAM Act and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) movement. By reading these self-representations as both a product of America's changing views on citizenship and membership, and an arena where such views can potentially be challenged, the book interrogates the role such self-representations have played not only in constructing undocumented migrant identities, but also in shaping social borders. At a time when the inclusion and exclusion of (potential) citizens is once again highly debated in the United States, the book concludes by giving a potential indication of where views on undocumented migration might be headed. This interdisciplinary exploration of migrant narratives will be of interest to scholars and researchers across American Literary and Cultural Studies, Citizenship Studies, and Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Routledge Handbook of Environmental Hazards and Society

Author : Tara K. McGee
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000597601
Total Pages : 712 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Routledge Handbook of Environmental Hazards and Society by : Tara K. McGee

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Environmental Hazards and Society written by Tara K. McGee and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook provides a state-of-the-science review of research and practice in the human dimensions of hazards field. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Hazards and Society reviews and assesses existing knowledge and explores future research priorities in this growing field. It showcases the work of international experts, including established researchers, future stars in the field, and practitioners. Organised into four parts, all chapters have an international focus, and many include case studies from around the world. Part I explains geophysical and hydro-meteorological/climatological hazards, their impacts, and mitigation. Part II explores vulnerability, resilience, and equity. Part III explores preparedness, responses during environmental hazard events, impacts, and the recovery process. Part IV explores policy and practice, including governments, support provided during and after environmental hazard events, and provision of information. This Handbook will serve as an important resource for students, academics, practitioners, and policymakers working in the fields of environmental hazards and disaster risk reduction.

Return Migration and Nation Building in Africa

Author : Adele Galipo
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429957130
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Return Migration and Nation Building in Africa by : Adele Galipo

Download or read book Return Migration and Nation Building in Africa written by Adele Galipo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-11-09 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Return migration has received growing levels of attention in both academic and policy circles in recent years, as the African diaspora's role in contributing to the development of their country of origin has become apparent. However, little is known about the lived experiences of those who come back, and even less about the ways in which their return shapes socio-political dynamics on the ground. This book aims to unpack the complexities of migrant transnational experiences as situated in global political and economic processes. In particular, the book takes the case of the return of skilled and educated Somalis from Western Europe and North America, in an attempt to recast the idea of diaspora return and transnational ethnography in a more political light, and to show how these returnees are both subject to and generative of important political conditions that are transforming Somaliland society. Overall, the book captures the complexities of the migrant's position, showing that "return" is rarely permanent, and that success comes from perpetuating the transnational stance. This book will appeal to scholars of migration, diaspora, development and African studies, as well as to those interested in the Somali case specifically, the third biggest community of refugees in the world.

Country Frameworks for Development Displacement and Resettlement

Author : Susanna Price
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351031805
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (51 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Country Frameworks for Development Displacement and Resettlement by : Susanna Price

Download or read book Country Frameworks for Development Displacement and Resettlement written by Susanna Price and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problem of escalating population displacement demands global attention and country co-ordination. This book investigates the particular issue of development-induced displacement, whereby land is seized or restricted by the state for the purposes of development projects. Those displaced by these schemes often risk losses to their homes, livelihoods, food security, and socio-cultural support; for which they are rarely fully compensated. Bringing together 22 specialist researchers and practitioners from across the globe, this book provides a much-needed independent analysis of country frameworks for development-induced displacement spanning Asia, Africa, Central and South America. As global competition for land increases, public and private sector lenders are lightening their social safeguards, shifting the oversight for protecting the displaced to national law and regulations. This raises a central question: Do countries have effective ways of addressing the risks and lost opportunities for their people who are displaced? While many countries remain impervious to the problem, the book also shines a light on the few who are pioneering new legislation and strategies, intended to address questions such as: should the social costs to those displaced help determine whether a project meets the public interest and merits financing? Does the modern state need powers of eminent domain? How can country laws, systems, institutions and negotiations be reformed to protect citizens better against disempowering public and private sector development displacement? This book will interest those working on forced and voluntary migration, property and expropriation law, human rights, environmental and social impact assessment, internal and refugee displacement from conflicts, environment change, disasters and development.

Transnational Mobility and Global Health

Author : Peter H. Koehn
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429679491
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (296 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Transnational Mobility and Global Health by : Peter H. Koehn

Download or read book Transnational Mobility and Global Health written by Peter H. Koehn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-09-07 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transnational Mobility and Global Health spotlights the powerful and dynamic intersections of human movement, inequality, and health. The book explores the interacting political, economic, social, cultural, and climatic drivers of health and migration, proposing innovative ways to enhance global health and care provision in an era of transnational mobility. As health security continues to rise up the agenda in international politics, the book also analyses the political determinants of health and migration. Within the framework of key drivers of unequal mobilities, this book treats interconnected health and migration themes not covered elsewhere under one cover: health tourism, conflict-induced and other vulnerable-population movements, humanitarian crises, human rights, the health-development linkage, migrant health-care, and health-competency education. The book also considers global health vulnerabilities in the wake of climate change, and the biomedical, ethical, and governance challenges of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Finally, the book suggests ways of evaluating mobility-influenced health outcomes and equity impacts, and explores how the global circulation of health expertise could help to rectify care-provider shortages. The challenges to global health considered in this book are only likely to become more intense as the 21st-Century surge in transnational migration continues. Readers will gain interdisciplinary appreciation for the relevance of health for migration and of migration for global health. Researchers, students, practitioners, and policy makers interested in individual and population health, sustainable development, and migration studies will find this book a useful and inspiring guide to contemporary global challenges.

Unflooding Asia the Green Cities Way

Author : Zoran Vojinovic
Publisher : IWA Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780406150
Total Pages : 82 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (84 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Unflooding Asia the Green Cities Way by : Zoran Vojinovic

Download or read book Unflooding Asia the Green Cities Way written by Zoran Vojinovic and published by IWA Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-15 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A continuing increase in disasters triggered by floods occurs almost daily even though our technological capabilities have grown rapidly and global economic growth per capita has doubled. This paradoxical situation proves that our earlier ways of thinking are inadequate and that we must shift our way of thinking and working. It has become obvious that most flood-related disasters, although commonly referred to as natural disasters, are not the result of nature-related processes alone. Some of the early efforts in dealing with floods and flood-related disasters were only concerned with the construction of engineering structures (e.g., levees, floodwalls, dams, embankments, storage basins, diversions, etc.) without significant consideration of aspects which are nowadays regarded as equally important, if not more important. There is a great deal of natural, social and technological interactions that shape the vulnerability to floods. Realizing that flood risk can hardly ever be completely eliminated, the traditional 'flood defence' culture has been replaced with the culture of learning how to live under flood risk and how to better respond to it. This renders purely engineering solutions inadequate. Can the threats of more flood-related disasters provide an impetus to shift our mind-set towards an approach that favours not only sound technological innovations but one that also addresses the social, cultural, and wider ecological aspects of dealing with floods? In this illustrated book, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) seeks to introduce a holistic thinking in dealing with urban floods by adopting the green cities development approach. Green cities development is a holistic approach which promotes multipurpose (or multifunctional) solutions that are not only technologically and economically efficient, but which are also ecologically sustainable and socially just. Authors: Zoran Vojinovic, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands and Jingmin Huang, Senior Urban Development Specialist, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank

Water

Author : Giulio Boccaletti
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0525566007
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (255 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Water by : Giulio Boccaletti

Download or read book Water written by Giulio Boccaletti and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2022-10-18 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning millennia and continents, a revealing history that “tackles the most important story of our time: our relationship with water in a world of looming scarcity” (Kelly McEvers, NPR Host). "Far more than a biography of its nominal subject ... The book stands as a compelling history of civilization itself." —The Wall Street Journal Book Review Writing with authority and brio, Giulio Boccaletti—honorary research associate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford—shrewdly combines environmental and social history, beginning with the earliest civilizations of sedentary farmers on the banks of the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates Rivers. Even as he describes how these societies were made possible by sea-level changes from the last glacial melt, he incisively examines how this type of farming led to irrigation and multiple cropping, which, in turn, led to a population explosion and labor specialization. We see with clarity how irrigation’s structure informed social structure (inventions such as the calendar sprung from agricultural necessity); how in ancient Greece, the communal ownership of wells laid the groundwork for democracy; how the Greek and Roman experiences with water security resulted in systems of taxation; and how the modern world as we know it began with a legal framework for the development of water infrastructure. Extraordinary for its monumental scope and piercing insightfulness, Water: A Biography richly enlarges our understanding of our relationship to—and fundamental reliance on—the most elemental substance on earth.