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The River Knows: How Water and Land Will Shape Our Future
A natural sequel to Hamilton’s popular book The Land Remains comes The River Knows which examines our relationship with water by considering its role in our culture, society, and political economy. The history of Iowa has been largely shaped by our rivers―both in geologic and natural terms and in utilitarian ways. Looking to the future our relationship with rivers continues to evolve, making them the focus of controversy, such as protecting water quality, and of hope in efforts to restore them as natural sources for citizens to value and enjoy. The story of our relation to the water―and the land―is told in part by the Raccoon River―which lends its voice to offer a different perspective for us to consider. The river does know a great deal about our history, motivations, and hopes. It is at the center of many of our most pressing ecological challenges including how we address a changing climate. If we take time to watch and listen, the river can help lead us to a more resilient and rewarding future in our relation to nature and to each other. Insightful, provocative, and humorous by turns, The River Knows is a thought-provoking discussion of how industrial agriculture, conservative politics, religion, and climate change combine to challenge the legions of citizens looking for hope on the river and in nature.
276 pages, Paperback
Published July 23, 2023
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November 4, 2025
Drake University law professor (emeritus) Neil Hamilton has written about water in Iowa. You think this is not a big deal? You’re not an Iowan, so why should you care? I beg to differ.
First, none of us live without water, especially potable (safe-to-drink) water. Second, the account of water politics, management, and use (and abuse) in Iowa no doubt applies throughout the Corn Belt and to other agricultural regions in the U.S. The tale Hamilton tells isn’t so much about water as about how Iowans deal with their waters. What I’d label, among other possible ways, the political economy of water.
I admit that I might not have read this book but for several factors that made it a very personal choice. I’m deeply concerned about our environment and the stewardship of our natural resources in general. (Spoiler alert: we’re doing a lousy job of “management.”). Second, my alma mater is the University of Iowa, which sponsors “Senior Courses,” and a course from Professor Hamilton on “The River Knows” was offered this fall. I know Professor Hamilton because we were law school classmates at the University of Iowa (class of 1979). I knew that he’d gone on to establish the Agricultural Center at Drake. And, although I’m now an NRI (non-resident Iowan), I still follow Iowa politics to some degree and visit family and friends there. I was curious to learn how Professor Hamilton thought about these issues that so greatly affect (and are affected by) farming and livestock practices. Frankly, I thought “Professor” Hamilton might have a very pro-farming, pro-agribusiness outlook. He’s a farm kid from southwest Iowa, a very rural and generally conservative part of the state. This created some skepticism about what he might say. As a town kid from even deeper southwest Iowa—perilously close to both Missouri and Nebraska—and having practiced law in Iowa for 30 years and another three years in central Illinois—I have a sense of how the farmers and those in agriculture-related businesses tend to think. I wondered what biases and habits of mind based on Hamilton’s upbringing and teaching position might influence him.
I won’t keep you in suspense, Hamilton is a critic of farmers and agri-business and practices. But he’s a critic who cares deeply about farmers, the land, and the people of Iowa. The best type of critic, a critic who aims not to belittle or berate his subject, but as one whose criticisms aim to improve all those concerned with the land and water, which ought to be all of us.
Professor Hamilton published an earlier book entitled The Land Remains, so he can focus on water in this book. (Issues of concern about land and water are intimately connected.) And water is a real concern in Iowa. In short, contemporary farming and livestock practices dump huge amounts of nitrogen into Iowa waterways, making the water unsafe to drink. (Iowa has alarming rates of cancer.) And downstream, the nitrogen and other contaminants harm (often kill) fish and game dependent on waters that run from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Hamilton discusses the politics and culture of agriculture that are the determinants of how the issues of water use and management are addressed in Iowa, which is, to put it mildly, not well.
I should hasten to add that while much of what Professor Hamilton says concerns agricultural practices and the uses of water, he’s also very much a naturalist. He recognizes the reality and value of Nature and the importance of our relation to it. This motif is repeated throughout the book and serves as a constant reminder that our waters and lands aren’t merely (or even primarily) “resources,” but our home and that of countless other species, with intrinsic values of their own.
My initial thought in writing a brief review of this book is that the book will have limited appeal, perhaps only Iowans or Iowa natives, like me. But as I suggested above, the account that Hamilton provides no doubt applies throughout the Corn Belt and beyond. (Read Sea of Grass, about the American prairie lands, for a consideration of the American prairie lands as a whole and with a similar focus on land use and water.) But as I read The River Knows (written, by the way, in a very easy and conversational tone) and as I heard Professor Hamilton speak about what’s happening, I was struck by the reality that our entire system of agriculture and our political economy as a whole are way out of whack with reality. To put it bluntly, we don’t think very wisely about our place in Nature, our relations to past and future generations, or our own long-term well-being. We’re too myopic, too short-sighted. None of this is new to me, or, I imagine, to anyone who knows about American political and economic institutions and the dominant mentality of our culture. So in a sense, while I learned a lot about the problems associated with water in Iowa, I also came away reinforced in my belief that we need to transition—on a near-emergency basis—to more ecologically sound ideas and practices about how we use and manage our natural resources. Our practice of plunder—which is documented in this book—can’t go on indefinitely. There’s not enough soil and too much polluted water to continue down this path.
We all need to care about the issues of water, land, food, and each other. If we continue down our present path, we will face deeper and deeper problems. Not just about potable water for Des Moines and other locales in Iowa, but in nearly every aspect of water use and management, and our environment as a whole. I don’t know if Professor Hamilton would agree—but I suspect he might—but I contend that our culture needs to become grounded in ecological thinking and practice if we are to thrive, or even survive.
First, none of us live without water, especially potable (safe-to-drink) water. Second, the account of water politics, management, and use (and abuse) in Iowa no doubt applies throughout the Corn Belt and to other agricultural regions in the U.S. The tale Hamilton tells isn’t so much about water as about how Iowans deal with their waters. What I’d label, among other possible ways, the political economy of water.
I admit that I might not have read this book but for several factors that made it a very personal choice. I’m deeply concerned about our environment and the stewardship of our natural resources in general. (Spoiler alert: we’re doing a lousy job of “management.”). Second, my alma mater is the University of Iowa, which sponsors “Senior Courses,” and a course from Professor Hamilton on “The River Knows” was offered this fall. I know Professor Hamilton because we were law school classmates at the University of Iowa (class of 1979). I knew that he’d gone on to establish the Agricultural Center at Drake. And, although I’m now an NRI (non-resident Iowan), I still follow Iowa politics to some degree and visit family and friends there. I was curious to learn how Professor Hamilton thought about these issues that so greatly affect (and are affected by) farming and livestock practices. Frankly, I thought “Professor” Hamilton might have a very pro-farming, pro-agribusiness outlook. He’s a farm kid from southwest Iowa, a very rural and generally conservative part of the state. This created some skepticism about what he might say. As a town kid from even deeper southwest Iowa—perilously close to both Missouri and Nebraska—and having practiced law in Iowa for 30 years and another three years in central Illinois—I have a sense of how the farmers and those in agriculture-related businesses tend to think. I wondered what biases and habits of mind based on Hamilton’s upbringing and teaching position might influence him.
I won’t keep you in suspense, Hamilton is a critic of farmers and agri-business and practices. But he’s a critic who cares deeply about farmers, the land, and the people of Iowa. The best type of critic, a critic who aims not to belittle or berate his subject, but as one whose criticisms aim to improve all those concerned with the land and water, which ought to be all of us.
Professor Hamilton published an earlier book entitled The Land Remains, so he can focus on water in this book. (Issues of concern about land and water are intimately connected.) And water is a real concern in Iowa. In short, contemporary farming and livestock practices dump huge amounts of nitrogen into Iowa waterways, making the water unsafe to drink. (Iowa has alarming rates of cancer.) And downstream, the nitrogen and other contaminants harm (often kill) fish and game dependent on waters that run from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Hamilton discusses the politics and culture of agriculture that are the determinants of how the issues of water use and management are addressed in Iowa, which is, to put it mildly, not well.
I should hasten to add that while much of what Professor Hamilton says concerns agricultural practices and the uses of water, he’s also very much a naturalist. He recognizes the reality and value of Nature and the importance of our relation to it. This motif is repeated throughout the book and serves as a constant reminder that our waters and lands aren’t merely (or even primarily) “resources,” but our home and that of countless other species, with intrinsic values of their own.
My initial thought in writing a brief review of this book is that the book will have limited appeal, perhaps only Iowans or Iowa natives, like me. But as I suggested above, the account that Hamilton provides no doubt applies throughout the Corn Belt and beyond. (Read Sea of Grass, about the American prairie lands, for a consideration of the American prairie lands as a whole and with a similar focus on land use and water.) But as I read The River Knows (written, by the way, in a very easy and conversational tone) and as I heard Professor Hamilton speak about what’s happening, I was struck by the reality that our entire system of agriculture and our political economy as a whole are way out of whack with reality. To put it bluntly, we don’t think very wisely about our place in Nature, our relations to past and future generations, or our own long-term well-being. We’re too myopic, too short-sighted. None of this is new to me, or, I imagine, to anyone who knows about American political and economic institutions and the dominant mentality of our culture. So in a sense, while I learned a lot about the problems associated with water in Iowa, I also came away reinforced in my belief that we need to transition—on a near-emergency basis—to more ecologically sound ideas and practices about how we use and manage our natural resources. Our practice of plunder—which is documented in this book—can’t go on indefinitely. There’s not enough soil and too much polluted water to continue down this path.
We all need to care about the issues of water, land, food, and each other. If we continue down our present path, we will face deeper and deeper problems. Not just about potable water for Des Moines and other locales in Iowa, but in nearly every aspect of water use and management, and our environment as a whole. I don’t know if Professor Hamilton would agree—but I suspect he might—but I contend that our culture needs to become grounded in ecological thinking and practice if we are to thrive, or even survive.
July 16, 2023
Wonderful book. Great addition to his first book. Interesting and informative. Highly recommend to those interested in Iowa water rights/politics and sustainability, as well as the connection between nature and man.
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