Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History

£10.95

Usually dispatched within 2-5 days
Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History Author: Format: Paperback / softback First Published: Published By: Penguin Books Ltd
string(3) "416"
Pages: 416 Language: English ISBN: 9780141982632 Categories: ,

‘An enthralling, elegantly written and, ultimately, profoundly alarming history’ Economist A bold new perspective on the history of South Asia, telling its story through its climate, and the long quest to tame its waters South Asia’s history has been shaped by its waters. In Unruly Waters, historian Sunil Amrith reimagines this history through the stories of its rains, rivers, coasts, rivers and seas – and of the weather-watchers and engineers, mapmakers and farmers who have sought to control them. He shows how fears and dreams of water have, throughout South Asia, shaped visions of political independence and economic development, provoked efforts to reshape nature through dams and pumps, and unleashed powerful tensions within and between nations. Every year humans have watched with overwhelming anxiety for the nature of that year’s monsoon to be revealed, with entire populations living or dying on the outcome. From the first small weather-reporting stations to today’s satellites, the modern battle both to understand and manage water has literally been a matter of life or death. Today, Asian nations are racing to construct hundreds of dams in the Himalayas, with dire environmental impacts; hundreds of millions crowd into coastal cities threatened by cyclones and storm surges. In an age of climate change, this highly original work of history is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand not only Asia’s past but its future.

Weight0.303 kg
Author

Editor
Photographer
Format

Illustrators
Publisher

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.