Description:
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and water, one of its most common expressions, is everywhere around us. Even so, write French ecologists Bernard Fischesser and Marie-France Dupuis-Tate, "The complete arsenal of modern physics has been put to work, but all of the mysteries contained in a simple drop of water have yet to be solved." In a text that moves easily from the sublime to the mundane, the authors ponder some of those mysteries, first among them the origin of water on our home planet. (It may have arrived as ice particles chasing after passing comets, they suggest, but in any event, the amount of water now on Earth is probably about the same as it was at the dawn of time.) Along the way, they study the transformation of water in various states of matter, examine the water cycle and the many disruptions humans have introduced into it, and ponder several points that should excite widespread attention, such as the fact that nearly three-quarters of the planet's people do not enjoy adequate supplies of clean water, while a single golf course consumes enough water to support 5,000 humans. Their text accompanies more than 200 large-format photographs by landscape artist Hans Silvester, depicting water in all its guises. His lens captures tree-lined irrigation canals in Spain, terraced gardens in Indonesia, geysers in Iceland, and an abundance of water-dwelling creatures such as ducks, pelicans, and alligators. Students of natural history and earth science, as well as art buffs, will enjoy this splendid, sometimes sobering book. --Gregory McNamee
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