Despite its at times colloquial tone and not overly academic structure, this book is a beautiful product of a man’s love for the World’s rivers. At times a travelogue, at times a technical study of solutions and at times a love letter, this work gives anyone curious about the World and the water problems a good overview. I have learnt immensely about the river geology, the river economics and the types of problems and solutions and the actors playing them out. Water scarcity, water use; irrigation, transportation, recreation, consumption; to dam or not to dam; so much in one book that travels around the Planet. A pretty book.