Audiobook13 hours
The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water
Written by Charles Fishman
Narrated by Stephen Hoye
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The water coming out of your tap is four billion years old and might have been slurped by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We will always have exactly as much water on Earth as we have ever had. Water cannot be destroyed, and it can always be made clean enough for drinking again. In fact, water can be made so clean that it actually becomes toxic.
As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this delightful narrative excursion, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, which is both the promise and the peril of our unexplored connections to it. Taking listeners from the wet moons of Saturn to the water-obsessed hotels of Las Vegas, and from a rice farm in the Australian outback to a glimpse into giant vats of soup at Campbell's largest factory, he reveals that our relationship to water is conflicted and irrational, neglected and mismanaged. Whether we will face a water scarcity crisis has little to do with water and everything to do with how we think about water-how we use it, connect with it, and understand it.
Portraying and explaining both the dangers-in 2008, Atlanta came just ninety days from running completely out of drinking water-and the opportunities, such as advances in rainwater harvesting and businesses that are making huge breakthroughs in water productivity, The Big Thirst will forever change the way we think about water, our crucial relationship to it, and the creativity we can bring to ensuring we always have plenty of it.
As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this delightful narrative excursion, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, which is both the promise and the peril of our unexplored connections to it. Taking listeners from the wet moons of Saturn to the water-obsessed hotels of Las Vegas, and from a rice farm in the Australian outback to a glimpse into giant vats of soup at Campbell's largest factory, he reveals that our relationship to water is conflicted and irrational, neglected and mismanaged. Whether we will face a water scarcity crisis has little to do with water and everything to do with how we think about water-how we use it, connect with it, and understand it.
Portraying and explaining both the dangers-in 2008, Atlanta came just ninety days from running completely out of drinking water-and the opportunities, such as advances in rainwater harvesting and businesses that are making huge breakthroughs in water productivity, The Big Thirst will forever change the way we think about water, our crucial relationship to it, and the creativity we can bring to ensuring we always have plenty of it.
Author
Charles Fishman
Charles Fishman is the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller One Giant Leap, A Curious Mind (with Brian Grazer), The Wal-Mart Effect, and The Big Thirst. He is a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award, the most prestigious prize in business journalism.
More audiobooks from Charles Fishman
A Curious Mind Expanded Edition: The Secret to a Bigger Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Big Thirst
Related audiobooks
Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBurn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Brief History of the Earth's Climate: Everyone's Guide to the Science of Climate Change Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Liquid Rules: The Delightful & Dangerous Substances that Flow Through Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Drinking Water: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Whose Water is it, Anyway?: Taking Water Protection into Public Hands Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life After Carbon: The Next Global Transformation of Cities Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marsh Builders: The Fight for Clean Water, Wetlands, and Wildlife Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Year of No Garbage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Optimistic Environmentalist: Progressing Toward a Greener Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Business For You
How To Win Friends And Influence People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Company Rules: Or Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the CIA Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elon Musk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets Of Americas Wealthy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Artist's Way at Work: Riding the Dragon: Twelve Weeks to Creative Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Getting to Yes: How to Negotiate Agreement Without Giving In Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism (Intl Ed) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The TenX Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anatomy of Peace, Fourth Edition: Resolving the Heart of Conflict Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Critical Moments: Navigating Power Plays, Outbursts, Ultimatums, and More Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Start With Why Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Big Thirst
Rating: 4.041666666666667 out of 5 stars
4/5
24 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Thirst is a mostly-fascinating outline of the way water is taken for granted in the west, and how that lackadaisical attitude - and the readily available fresh water it's premised on - cannot last. It does get a little repetitive and bogged down in places, but regularly picks back up with interesting tidbits and case studies. My favourite part of the book was unfortunately the shortest - the beginning, where Fishman details just what water _is_ exactly, where it comes from, and why it's here on Earth. I felt like every paragraph sparked a new revelation - water is amazing! - and I could have read a whole book like that. However, it's just a framing device; the bulk of the novel is built around case studies of urban water use and misuse ranging from Pennsylvania to rural India. Three main areas make up the case studies: Australia, arid Las Vegas, and the large cities of India. All of whom grapple with different, in some cases very interesting, challenges with water. This section was mostly hit but there were some misses - and an unmistakeable sense of padding. Fishman has a tendency to repeat himself a little with the case studies, and his attempts at "I am there" journalism (not a favourite of mine) favour atmospherics over facts. This was especially apparent in the pages devoted to framing Toowoomba's water debate; a very slight and boring recap of Galveston's hurricane challenges; and summarising the previous career of Las Vegas Water's head honcho. But don't let these sections put you off - for every weak case study, there's several fascinating ones. Especially interesting to me was the section on India. I knew nothing about municipal water arrangements in India, and the challenges - and solutions - were really engaging. It helps that there was not much padding in it as well. Indeed, for a large book, I was left feeling... thirsty for more information about water and the myriad ways we treat it. Fishman's journey elides Africa and Europe entirely, where I'm sure there would be equally intriguing stories. You could read that as a criticism, but really it's a compliment - Fishman succeeded in making me invested in the topic.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It just was not a book's worth of material. I found the constant repetitions of flowery equivalents to 'water is cool, and important' to be tedious reading.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The most profound statement made in the book: We do not have a water shortage. After reading this book, I understand that statement fully. While water is not created nor destroyed on this planet (that we know of), the public tends to define the water crisis as a lack of water. The amount of water is constant. Each locale, as the book examples the independence of water communities, must immediately and, in some cases, drastically rethink the way water is used and sourced. Water can remain with people; people cannot remain with water.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything about water – the history, science, and the future. Focuses on successful water managers and what they have done and the challenges ahead for all of us. Fascinating!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyone ought to read this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The author visits a number of places to talk about how they use water.One example is Las Vegas, NV. This city is set in the driest area of the US. Its water is supplied out of Lake Mead, which, at least until this year, has been steadily drying up. Thus they have had to learn a whole new way of dealing with water, paying people to tear out their lawns, pumping treated wastewater back into the lake, outlawing car washing, etc.Other examples of places the author has visited are Toowoomba and Perth in Australia, Atlanta, New Delhi and Mumbai in India, and a microchip plant in Vermont.This is a very well-written book. The examples the author has chosen to illustrate his points are very instructive. In the end, he calls for a new look at how we use and pay for water. We tend to take our water systems for granted in the west, and underinvest in them assuming the water will always be there. The result, a few years down the road, could be conflicts and shortages. A harbinger of this is the conflict between Georgia, Florida and Alabama over the Chattahoochee River and the water in Lake Lanier. India is an extreme example of this. When the British left in 1947, it had good modern municipal water systems. Nowadays, because of a lack of attention, its water systems only provide water a small part of the time, and the water they do provide is contaminated and completely undrinkable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very thorough and impressive book about the truly stupendous amount of uses of water, and how it may be conserved and reused more efficiently in our lives. Invariably one of the most important topics of humanity's future.