Published: 30/08/2018
ISBN: 9781846276491
Granta Books
336 pages

When the Rivers Run Dry

Fred Pearce

FULLY UPDATED FOR 2019

We cannot live without water. But with 7.5 billion people competing for this single unevenly-distributed resource, the planet is drying up.

In When the Rivers Run Dry, Fred Pearce explores the growing world water crisis, from Kent to Kenya. His powerful reportage takes us to places where waterways are turning to sand before they reach the ocean; where fields are parched and crops no longer grow; where once fertile ground has turned to desert; where wars are fought over access to water and cultures are dying out. But he offers us hope for the future – if we can radically revolutionise the way we treat water, and take personal responsibility for the water we use.

This landmark work, from a respected and accomplished scientist, will transform the way we view the water in our reservoirs and rivers, and change the way we treat the water in our taps.

We should be grateful that Pearce has done our thinking for us... He writes with a controlled passion about a subject that carries him to the edge of despair but in which he divines a few drops of precious hope

Richard Girling, Sunday Times

If ever a book has been written that demands to be read it is this one. This is that rare thing - a journey through a hugely important and complex subject in the company of a natural storyteller who makes you feel intelligent

Tim Smit, The Eden Project

Pearce is a well-known and accomplished science journalist, so his journeys, plus his well-researched assessments, make his frightening conclusions all too convincing

Paul Brown, Guardian

The Author

Fred Pearce is an award-winning journalist and author, reporting from 87 countries. He has been the environmental consultant of New Scientist magazine since 1992, a regular broadcaster and contributor to the Guardian, Washington Post and others. He has written fourteen books on environmental and development issues, translated into 27 languages.

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