Author(s): Edward Burtynsky (Photographer); Wade Davis

Art

There is no life without water. This book tells the story of where water comes from, how we use it, distribute and waste it. Often from a bird's-eye perspective, Burtynsky shows us water's remote sources, remarkable ancient stepwells and mass bathing rituals, the transformation of desert into cities with waterfronts on each doorstep, the compromised landscapes of the American Southwest. Furthermore, Burtynsky explores the infrastructure of water management: the gigantic hydroelectric dams and terraced rice fields in the heart of China, the vast irrigation systems of America's bread basket and the use of aquaculture. Burtynsky's photographs are both poetic and relevant: they reveal another vital component of our life on earth that drives the bloom of civilization, and foreshadow the extent to which our future depends on our everyday interaction with this increasingly scarce resource.