Drinking Water

A History

De: James Salzman

Narrado por: Lee Hahn

When you turn on the tap or twist the cap, you might not give a second thought to where your drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to your glass is far more complex than you might think. Is it safe to drink tap water? Should you feel guilty buying bottled water? Is your water vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is your water going to come from in the future?

In Drinking Water, Duke professor James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time - from globalization and social justice to terrorism and climate change - and how humans have been wrestling with these problems for centuries.

Bloody conflicts over control of water sources stretch as far back as the Bible yet are featured in front page headlines even today. Only 50 years ago, selling bottled water sounded as ludicrous as selling bottled air. Salzman weaves all of these issues together to show just how complex a simple glass of water can be.

©2012 James Satzman (P)2013 Gildan Media LLC

Reads like a mediocre essay

While the narrator did well and the information is good, the writing felt disjointed, and the point felt missed. The whole rant at the beginning about water as a holy symbol simply didn't lead anywhere.

Some revelations about water I didn't know ...

While the story and content was interesting I struggled to finish with the narrator's lack of pizzazz and his monotone voice. I would recommend the book for the content alone and the insights a listener will gain. I liked the way the author kept the story-line moving. Also, most of my questions and concerns were addressed by sticking with the book.

Expected more from a "history" book

Would you try another book from James Salzman and/or Lee Hahn?

No

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I expected more detailed information about the water industry over the ages. More details about the mineral content in mineral water. Reads too much like a manifesto. Focuses too much on the question whether water should be a free public good or a commercial commodity.

Would you be willing to try another one of Lee Hahn’s performances?

Not a professional performance, Just reads it like a regular guy, e.g. "Vodda"

good

I would have liked to see a little bit more time spent on the subject of fluoride when you talking about water as a whole in present day more than just two sentences should be dedicated to the subject of water fluoridation

interesting and informative

book was interesting and informative. Did its job and the narration didn't take away from it or offend me in any way it was delightful

Unfortunately Missing Flint Michigan

After this book was published, James Salzman was compelled to write another chapter analyzing the disaster in Flint Michigan (which, as of this writing, has _still_ not been fixed). Unfortunately, this audobook was recorded before that chapter was written, and the absence of it is felt in many earlier chapters, when Flint's situation would provide excellent examples or counter-examples.

That said, the book is a very good popular history of drinking water, taking examples from all around the world and back into thousands of years of recorded history. Salzman's pragmatic approach considers both "water as a commodity" and "water as a human right", and keeps from taking sides, asking only whether people are getting drinking water.

I knew most of the science already, but not much of the history. And presenting both helped me understand the politics.

Required Reading

Should be required reading for highschool kids and all politicians. Very enlightening on how water has affected the way societies progressed and the way that people can be manipulated - think bottled water...

Great listen

As a drinking water professional this book connected a lot of dot’s for me. I will definitely listen to it again.

Excellent primer on drinking water/water issues

Any additional comments?

If you have any curiosity about your drinking water -- and really, considering that other than oxygen, it is the one thing you need more than any other, how could you not be curious? -- this slim book offers an excellent and concise history and prospectus about current and developing issues surrounding the world's drinking water and everyone's access to it. The book brings into focus just how very fortunate Americans are by and large (with Flint being the exception that proves the rule) to have ready access to safe drinking water, and how very inexpensive our water is considering how important it is. The author, a professor at Duke, aptly explains the sciences that have made our water increasingly safe and he does an admirable job in weighing dangers - including dangers that the public often blows entirely out of proportion. He points out, for instance, that our treatment of our drinking water (commonly through chlorination) has greatly reduced our chances of getting ill from our water. Specifically, in 1890 an American had a 1 in 20 chance of dying from a gastrointestinal infection before the age of 70; in 1970 that had dropped to a 1 in 3,330 chance; and in 1990 a mere 1 in 2 million chance. He points out that some fear the filtering process and trace amounts of chemicals in the water, but part of the assessment must be what the processes already protect us from and whether we have any evidence to know if trace amounts cause a health issue and, even if they do, if the cost of eliminating them are commensurate with the risks. In the end, and in rational scientific fashion, he points out that water is never 100% safe, but that it is safer than it has ever been. If you want to feel lucky and be armed for some of the burgeoning water issues in the future (shortages, droughts, continued safety, potential target for terrorists), this is an excellent place to start.

Equal to Air

"Drinking Water" is one of the best informational books that I've read. It's very straight to the point and also very well structure. It's very much like the other book "The Big Thirst", but more to the point. In someways, James Salzman's book is better because it's all that you need to know on this precious resource that is equal to air.