Writ In Water

By: Nina Selbst

The book offers an interdisciplinary look at the amazing interactions between water and humanity, with emphasis on science, economics, politics and religion.
Take a look at the world through the lens of water: delve into creation myths; look at the emergence of civilizations and their decay; ponder the place of water in the human psyche, as expressed in art, poetry and folklore; consider its role as a factor of production, a source of energy, a conduit of transportation and a consumer good .

Buy This Book

Book Description

During a long career as an economist, involved in the mundane business of water management, the author of Writ in Water caught glimpses of the many and varied links between water and the human experience. Retirement gave her the leisure to satisfy the curiosity that these aroused and the freedom to explore the multiple meeting places of water and humanity, over time and place.

The book which emerged, views the world through the rippling, complex lens of water. It looks at the emergence of civilizations and their decay. It delves into creation myths. It ponders the place of water in the human psyche, as expressed in art and poetry and folklore. It considers its role as a factor of production, a source of energy, a conduit of transportation and a consumer good. It examines changing concepts of physical and spiritual cleanliness. It notes the magical powers of springs and wishing wells and rainmakers. All this and much more.

The book is based on a wide-ranging research and, while it has no pretensions to original scholarship, it draws abundantly on the wisdom of others. It reveals how this colorless, tasteless and odorless substance has made such an impact on our bodies and our souls. Like water itself it meanders far and wide and it may, just possibly, restore our sense of wonder at this elixir of life.

The pellucid and friendly style of writing and the overflowing enthusiasm of the writer for her subject assure the reader not only an enlightening experience but also a pleasurable one.

Buy This Book