Il libro dell'acqua. La storia straordinaria della più ordinaria delle sostanze

by Alok Jha, Luigi Civalleri (Translator)

«Come nei migliori testi di scienza, questa storia è più strana e curiosa di quanto si potrebbe pensare.»
Stephen Curry, The Guardian

Praticamente tutte le nostre funzioni biologiche possono essere ricondotte al modo in cui le molecole d’acqua si attraggono e danzano tra loro. Ogni luogo della Terra è saturo d’acqua o è stato in qualche modo forgiato da essa. L’acqua è la sostanza più comune che abbiamo: la usiamo quotidianamente nelle nostre case, ci cade addosso direttamente dal cielo e si muove in continuazione sotto i nostri piedi nelle falde acquifere; ma si trova anche allo stato gassoso nell’aria che respiriamo, liquida negli oceani e nei fiumi e solida nella neve e nei ghiacciai. Non stupisce che proprio l’acqua sia al centro dei rituali di quasi tutte le religioni. L’acqua è anche «semplice», o almeno così crediamo: H2O, una piccola molecola fatta di soli tre atomi legati tra loro a formare una microscopica V.
Eppure, a un esame più accurato, l’acqua risulta essere una sostanza più che mai sorprendente e straordinaria. Ad esempio si espande quando si raffredda (il ghiaccio galleggia sull’acqua), cosa che pochissime altre sostanze fanno. Ma non sono solo le sue caratteristiche fisiche ad essere particolari: in effetti l’acqua è lo sfondo costante della grande storia della Terra, della vita e dell’umanità, come ci racconta, con prosa ispirata e coinvolgente, Alok Jha in questo libro. Viene dallo spazio profondo, è una figlia del Big Bang, e si è concentrata sul nostro pianeta in maniera fortuita. Una volta arrivata non è più andata via e il suo costante movimento ciclico ha letteralmente dato forma al mondo che conosciamo, scavando le valli, erodendo le montagne e permettendo la vita. Ma anche favorendo gli insediamenti umani lungo il corso dei fiumi; molte guerre sono state (e saranno) combattute per il suo controllo.
Il libro dell’acqua vi farà guardare per sempre a questa sostanza con occhi diversi; dietro un comune bicchiere d’acqua, attraverso questo strano liquido – inodore, incolore e insapore – imparerete a riconscere il legame profondo che ci lega tutti quanti con l’origine dell’universo, l’origine della vita e la storia stessa dell’umanità.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Popular Science, Natural History

407 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2015

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my ~tipsy~ review on Booktube.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interdisciplinary look at water’s remarkable properties and necessity for life on earth. Water doesn’t follow normal scientific rules: its solid state floats on its liquid form; hot water freezes faster than cold; there are 16 possible phases of ice. For the most part, Jha pitches his work at an appropriate level. However, if it’s been a while since you studied chemistry at school, you may struggle. Part IV, on the search for water in space, is too in-depth for popular science and tediously long.

In December 2013 Jha was part of the Australasian Antarctic expedition, a month-long sea voyage. He uses the trip as an effective framing device, but I would have liked more memoiristic passages. All in all, I was hoping for less hard science and more in the way of reflection on water’s importance to human culture.

See my full review at Nudge.

[MartaMP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scorrevole, istruttivo e ben documentato.
Saggio sull'acqua molto ben scritto; ho trovato molto piacevole la scelta dell'autore di parlare durante la narrazione del suo viaggio in Antartide perché ci fa immergere proprio nella lettura e mentre impariamo cose curiose ed estremamente interessanti, viaggiamo anche un po'!

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book sets out with a good idea, which is to relate what is known about the physics and chemistry of water, and about the parts it plays (and has played) on Earth and on other celestial bodies. In this it largely achieves its objective. It has some very good points – for example, it explains such things as the anomalous expansion of water as it freezes (and goes some way to explain the significance of that phenomenon). It also explains the significance of water to life on Earth – and that leads into an interesting discussion of the nature of life, and what life might look like on other planets, where it might depend on molecules other than water for its existence.

This heavy-duty science is leavened by a first person account of the author’s experience on a scientific cruise to Antarctica. This provides the starting point of descriptions of ice formation (although the book is a bit thin on glaciology), the oceanic circulation system and the existence of life at extremes of temperature, and so forth.

The trouble is, the book also shows signs of having been thrown together, and it would benefit from a thorough editing. The text is rather rambling and somewhat repetitive, and it looks as if the author has decided to include all the facts and opinions that his extensive research has revealed. Even the voyage to the Antarctic is related in tedious detail – perhaps the author’s mother was interested in his experience of sea-sickness but I was not. There is also a good deal about planetology and space exploration that seems to me to be off-topic. This seems exhaustively researched but I feel the information could have been better selected and better organised. There is one major lapse that I recognised (and where there is one, one wonders if there might be others): on p.251, the author claims that the geological maps produced by remote sensing from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are so detailed that planetary scientists ‘know more about the red planet’s geology than geologists do about the Earth’s, which is largely covered by vegetation and the oceans’. The author (and seemingly the planetary scientists that he spoke to) should discuss this a little with some geological surveyors (such as the author of this review), who will quickly put them right.

Further, the author’s background in journalism shows: some of the text is structured a bit like a newspaper article, with the key points in the leading paragraph. This may be one reason why many of the chapters seem so poorly structured. Altogether, I was left a bit disappointed and with the hope that there are better books about water that have been (or will be) written.

[Emanuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per apprezzare questo libro ti devono piacere la fisica e la chimica dell'acqua e dei suoi comportamenti a contatto con altri elementi, la linea di demarcazione tra l'inorganico e l'organico, ma anche reportage di viaggi avventurosi (Antartico) e la "fanta-scienza" intesa come congetture possibile della presenza della vita nell'universo a prescindere dall'acqua allo stato liquido.
Direi che il discorso che fa l'autore è completo, a mio avviso molto interessante, raccontato bene e sviluppato in tutte le possibili questioni, comprese quelle degli ecosistemi sottesi dei quali stiamo facendo scempio.
Lettura che richiede una certa concentrazione, intervallata però da resoconti ben descritti di una spedizione scientifica a polo sud che, per certi aspetti, simula possibili viaggi in mondi inospitali.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is water? The famous actor Leonardo Di Caprio was once quoted as saying the following about water...

"Water is sometimes sharp and sometimes strong, sometimes acid and sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet and sometimes thick or thin, sometimes it is seen bringing hurt or pestilence, sometime health-giving, sometimes poisonous. It suffers change into as many natures as are the different places through which it passes. And as the mirror changes with the colour of its subject, so it alters with the nature of the place, becoming noisome, laxative, astringent, sulphurous, salty, incarnadined, mournful, raging, angry, red, yellow, green, black, blue, greasy, fat or slim. Sometimes it starts a conflagration, sometimes it extinguishes one; is warm and is cold, carries away or sets down, hollows out or builds up, tears or establishes, fills or empties, raises itself or burrows down, speeds or is still; is the cause at times of life or death, or increase or privation, nourishes at times and at others does the contrary; at times has a tang, at times is without savour, sometimes submerging the valleys with great floods. In time and with water, everything changes"

....So I would say water is totes mad.

I've always considered there to be one use for water, ice cubes for a nice cocktail. It turns out there is so much more that water does.

I wish Alok Jha had been my science teacher at school he has an amazing ability to explain complicated sciencey stuff and making sense, I could have grown up to be a scientist.

I loved how he has laid out this book, the backdrop is a trip he is on to the Antarctic, he starts off with the origin of water and how it looks at the atomic level, he then moves on to the water on Earth, ice, oceans, clouds, rain and currents. Finally he leaves the planet and takes a trip around the planets and moons that have water, before he finally leaves the Solar System.

It is all fascinating stuff and I've learnt loads from this.

[MickeyM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splendido libro che consente di scoprire l’enorme valore dell’acqua e l’importanza della sua presenza nella nostra vita. Aneddoti storici e informazioni scientifiche si unisco ad aneddoti di viaggio dello scrittore. Interessante e complesso.

[Sajith Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Water is so essential to human existence that we usually take it for granted. Not only man, all life forms are inalienably linked to it by the thread of absolute necessity. We can abstain from food for several days without much ill effects, but a few hours away from water will upset the neurological balance of the body. Life as we know it is a gift of water. All the metabolic processes in the cells of living beings take place in the medium of water. Presence of it on other planets is considered as a telltale sign of life itself. However, water is a highly reactive and corrosive substance chemically. How this peculiar chemical turned out to be the nectar of life? How water originated in the universe and on earth? What are the forms in which it is available on the face of the planet? These and other valid questions are answered in this book penned by Alok Jha. The author is of Indian origin and is settled in London. He is a science journalist and broadcaster working for Guardian and ITN. He was named European Science Writer of the Year in 2008 and has authored several books on popular science.

Water exhibits some very peculiar properties, which are nicely summarized in the book. There are a few effects such as Mpemba Effect, which is difficult to explain why. This effect is the property of hot water that freezes faster than cold water when both are placed in the same freezer at sub-zero temperatures. The molecular weight of water is very low, as it is a compound of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. This is lighter than even air, which is mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, in both of which the molecule consists of two atoms. Now, the strange part! Even though water is thus lighter than air, it is a liquid at room temperature whereas the heavier air is a gas! Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), which is nearly twice the molecular weight of water, is also a gas! Similar is the case with ammonia. This was a paradox to the scientific world until the concept of hydrogen bonding was developed. Water is a polar liquid, with the two hydrogen atoms connected to the lone oxygen atom at an angle of 104 degrees with each other. These hydrogen atoms possess positive charge which induces attraction with nearby oxygen atoms that are negatively charged. This affinity is not as strong as the conventional covalent or ionic bonds, but sufficient enough to change its physical properties. This weak interaction with fellow molecules causes water to remain a liquid at normal temperatures. As we know, water is essential to life in the liquid form. If not for this quirk of water, life would not have existed on earth – at least, not in the way we are so familiar with. However, not all the water on earth is available for life. As per scientific estimates, only 1% of the terrestrial water is accessible to the flora and fauna as a liquid.

The book delves into the role of water in human societies. Man’s ability to form urban civilizations is crucially dependent on his capacity to exploit and control the sources of water. All civilizations and major towns took root on the shores of a large water body such as a river, lake or sea. The ancient Greek geographer Pausanius remarked that no city can call itself by that name if it can’t hoist an ornamental fountain in the centre of the city as a potent indicator of man’s control over water. This precious liquid was available in plenty for most of human history. However, with rapid urbanization and scarcity of supplies, water has assumed the role of a commodity that is no longer cheap. It is almost certain that most of the people living now would witness an eventuality in their lives in which water will be difficult to come by. This imperative calls for conservation of water. The book introduces the concept of water footprint for the material we consume in our daily lives. Originally formulated by Arjen Hoekstra, this idea links human consumption to the amount of water extracted from earth to produce that material. For example, the beef burger you eat was produced at the cost of about 1000 liters of water. The section on biosphere presents a gloomy picture of excessive water use without practical alleviation measures immediately at hand. 70% of the extracted water is utilized for agriculture and 20% for industry. With no path-breaking technology round the corner, consumption is sure to surge higher as the developing world gets industrialized fast. This prophecy of doom, however, is helpful only to create an image of pessimism. U.S. power plants are said to use 500 billion cubic meters of water for cooling alone in a year. Most of the power plants recycle cooling water for its processes and only a small amount of fresh water is required to be introduced into the closed system as makeup water. A lot of UN’s predictions about water scarcity in the coming decades are included, which are pessimistic as usual. Jha has included all issues of concern in the world in this discussion on water. Global warming and water conservation are only two among them. Here again, the observations proposed in favour of global warming may cause a smile on climate-skeptics’ faces. Traces of warming are undoubtedly seen in the Arctic and West Antarctic Peninsula, whereas ice cover has increased on other locations and the atmosphere in fact cooled a bit over the decades.

Jha is a superb narrator of his experiences onboard the ship which took him to Antarctica. The discourse is witty and nicely recollects the bumpy sailing to the southernmost continent. The experiences midway and on reaching the destination is pleasant to read, but faithfully reproduce the deceptive perils that dot the path of Antarctic explorers. The book is divided into four sections on biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and space, with the travel to Antarctica forming an interesting backdrop to the story of water on these spheres of its existence. Unfortunately for the readers who expect a discussion more on the mundane and earthly aspects of the subject, the author reserves more than a third of the book to explore the possibility of locating water in other planets and even outside the solar system. Even though interesting owing to the exotic nature of the material, it seems irrelevant and a letdown for the more ordinary pursuits of water enthusiasts. Our probes have found definite presence of water in the Moon and Mars as ice, and we strongly suspect the occurrence of it on Titan and Enceladus – the natural satellites of Saturn. A brief introduction to the existence of water on exoplanets – planets that circle other stars outside the solar system – is given, but which is full of conjecture rather than fact. This is no doubt caused by the scarcity of reliable observation data. The temperature on these planets is no doubt much different than that of our pleasant terrestrial atmosphere. However, life can thrive on such places as well. Jha also presents such life-forms called extremophiles such as lichens, cyanobacteria and green algae. They thrive on geothermal vents under water at extreme temperatures and also in lakes beneath ice shelves in Antarctica. These forms are significant when we compare their habitat to the very difficult conditions available on other planets.

Though the book is generally pleasing to read, it wavers sometimes from the target and covers topics that are not strictly relevant to the main thread of the argument. The phase diagram of the transformation of water to ice at various pressures and temperatures provided on page 170 is a complicated one and most of the readers will fail to appreciate its significance. The book is endowed with a very comprehensive index and a good section of Notes and further references. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include an introduction to the author. Without the knowledge of his background and experience in the field, many readers would be confused whether to fully accept the arguments or to subject it to further review. A brief search on the internet will establish the credentials of the author.

The book is recommended.

[Yuliya Zhuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Water Book” is a big research with a list of references to different scientific sources. It gives good general overview of the water question describing it from different sizes. Book is divided into sections of hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere and even space with the latest scientific search for water in the universe. Though, this book is a big piece of work, it has some unnecessary repetitions, which could be easily avoided if the book would go through a good editing. The reader would probably feel sometimes that the author is too distracted by details which are out of context. Otherwise, I would recommend the book as a good solid beginning to dig in the question of what water is and why is it so important for us.

[Petra De Graaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gelezen als novemberboek in de boekenwurm challenge 2024

Als je houdt van heel (heel) veel weetjes wel leuk, als scheikundige en bioloog wist ik al veel en vond ik ook veel saai… de leukste stukken waren de beschrijving van de Antarctica expeditie, maar dan kun je beter ‘Niemandsland’ lezen

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the epilogue to The Water Book, Alok Jha writes of water: It has been our wellspring of stories and culture, the source of creation and death; it has shaped our language and politics and been at the core of how we built civilization.

Water, as Jha sets out to show in his book, is our ‘most ordinary substance’ here on Earth, as well as the most abundant. And yet, it’s the least known, the most overlooked. Did you know, for instance, that water doesn’t always freeze at 0°C (under differing conditions, such as pressure, it can freeze at any point up to -38°C)? Or that the ice which sets in freezers across the world—which is also the ice that forms Earth’s glaciers and covers its poles—is only one type of ice (technically, ice-Ih; as in the case of liquid water, conditions such as pressure also govern the type of ice formed)?

Jha combines two different narratives in this book: one, rather more in the background (yet every bit as interesting and gripping, if not more, than the other) is the account of an expedition to Antarctica on which the author went. The other, which is the main theme of the book, is the exploration of water. Its explanation, its contexts, its qualities, its mysteries, its importance. Jha shows what water is, how it behaves. How water helped create this planet and then was an essential element in the generation of life on Earth. How water governs life, forms life, and how life adapts—as long as there is some trace of water present—in even the most extreme of conditions. How, too, the importance of water as an essential for life has dictated the quest for extraterrestrial life.

From chemistry to biology and geology (the movement of ocean currents, the structures of ice bergs and floes and pack ice), Jha covers it all—all the scientific, more technical aspects of water. What I had hoped for, besides this, was an emphasis too on the importance of water in culture. Jha does touch on water’s significance in politics and power, and its presence in the foundation of civilizations—but he does not talk about how society brings water into so much of its lore, its religions, its beliefs and myths. I’d have liked to see some of that in this book, and perhaps less detail about the universe, extraterrestrial life, and so on (especially details which have only tangentially to do with water).

This is a book for the layperson, but a book, definitely, for a layperson who doesn’t shy away from the technical. (The chemistry, at times, had me floundering, as did some of the geology). But, while I did find myself getting lost occasionally, and I would’ve liked more on the cultural significance of water—this book was still a good read, mainly because I learnt so much from it. Ice acting as a metal? The fact that marine life produces half the oxygen in the atmosphere through photosynthesis? That newly formed sea ice is naturally salty, but (because the salt drains away gradually into the water below) it eventually becomes tasteless, while the water below becomes extra salty? About the Mpemba Effect, and how it was ‘discovered’?

And more. A book worth reading if you feel a sense of satisfaction at having learnt something new.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Water Book is more of a general science book that uses water as a starting point from which to diverge onto many different topics.
Not my favourite science book, but certainly worth a read.

[Valentina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ritengo che i presupposti di partenza per questo libro fossero molto interessanti, ma ne ho trovato la realizzazione povera.

Il libro si promette di spiegare la storia, le caratteristiche e le proprietà chimico-fisiche dell'acqua, alternando la trattazione puramente scientifica con il racconto della spedizione verso il Polo Sud alla quale l'autore ha preso parte nel 2013. Vengono quindi descritte le varie fasi della preparazione a una spedizione "estrema" di questo tipo, le caratteristiche dell'esplorazione sul campo e i sentimenti dell'equipaggio di fronte alle avversità e alle meraviglie del Polo.

Alternare la parte più puramente scientifica a quello che in fin dei conti si rivela essere un racconto di scoperta e di avventura, è stata sicuramente una scelta intelligente da parte dell'autore.
Da un lato il libro viene resto più fruibile a tutti coloro che non possiedono forti basi scientifiche e che quindi sono comunque in grado di apprezzare la parte più leggera del testo; dall'altro il lettore è più motivato alla lettura, visto che il saggio non risulta essere troppo pesante.

Detto questo, devo ammettere che a volte ero più interessata alla spedizione verso il Polo Sud (che sicuramente merita di essere affrontata in un libro a parte) rispetto alla mera trattazione scientifica, che invece ho spesso trovato (ahimè) pesante, a tratti ripetitiva e non sempre ben coinvolgente/ben realizzata (anche se potrebbe essere un mio limite, visto che è da un bel po' che non mi approccio alla non-fiction scientifica).

Penso anche che sarebbe stato ideale inserire un maggior numero di grafici nel testo, specialmente per spiegare alcuni concetti più complessi.

Infine, non ho apprezzato l'ultima parte del saggio, che purtroppo costituisce più del 45% del libro), in cui si parla della presenza di acqua nel cosmo e di astrobiologia. Si tratta di tematiche alle quali non sono molto interessata e che quindi leggo con difficoltà.

In questo testo ho comunque trovato dei punti di riflessione interessanti e cose che non sapevo. Tuttavia, penso che questa sia una lettura superflua per chi ha già una certa familiarità con l'acqua e le sue proprietà!

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I do love single subject books, I like a little more anecdote or story and a little less science. The water book was interesting enough that I managed to plow through, and I'm sure anyone who could math well enough to make it through basic high school chemistry and physics would find the science in this book a breeze. Even without these skills, I persisted. Interesting reading for anyone interested in the basic origins and possible continuation of life as we know it.

[Omarove · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Great effort and compilation and a fabulous journey into Water with vast breadth and depth. Not what I expected at the first sight; wished if it was an in-depth concentrated book about water as a substance without long chapters of a South Pole exploration. I would really want to watch this as a documentary, not a book tho!

[Nancy]

Picked up on board Viking Var while cruising Danube River. [Just perusing :)] c2016 (why GR has 1785 .. i do not know)

[Gaetano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per quanto il libro da un punto di vista scientifico sia ben scritto, ho trovato la narrazione non all'altezza del tema trattato. Le parti del diario di viaggio volevano essere un modo per alleggerire il libro, invece l'ho trovata, non solo superflua, ma pesante. A chi si volesse avvicinare a questo libro consiglierei di saltare quelle parti per concentrarsi sulla parte divulgative.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book endlessly fascinating but I can definitely see where it might have massive failings in the popular science genre as there is a lot of "hard science". Personally, I really appreciated the depth of chemistry this book went into - I feel that too often, popular science books are watered down to the same simple ideas. However if you dropped science during high school I can understand how the subject matter might seem a little dry. I found it a great, comprehensive read on how water affects the different "spheres" that we interact with. I found the doom and gloom section in the Biosphere chapters endlessly depressing but then again it's hard to talk about the effects of global warming in a chipper way.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little dense at times, but an extremely interesting read. I liked how the book was broken into sections for the hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and space. If I thought I was interested in the start, I only became more intrigued as I reached each subsequent section.

The concept of life existing elsewhere, be it on other planets or moons within our galaxy, or beyond, fascinates me. I often find myself wondering whether there is sentient life on another planet billions of light years away that is performing a similar search for life like us.

[Bernardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro molto interessante.
La varietà degli argomenti toccati dall'autore lo rende molto simile ad una serie di articoli scientifici. Non certo una lettura riposante, ma che ripaga lo sforzo con il fascino degli argomenti trattati.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Jha was so clear and made complex things a bit more understandable. I will admit I got a little bit lost at times, and I also recognised that my previous brief encounter with Earth System Science at university probably helped me understand things, but overall I think it was all pretty well explained. I did definitely find my mind wandering at times and have to drag myself back to the text. I also feel like I could explain very little of the specific science in the book now (having literally just finished it) even though I understood it when I read it - although that's likely me and not the merit/dismerit of the book. I liked the way the journey to the Antarctic was woven throughout - it gave an otherwise unordered story (the way much science writing inevitably is) a clear narrative and a way into talking about water.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complessivamente è un libro che mi è piaciuto, anche se ammetto mi aspettavo un testo completamente diverso. Secondo me, infatti, questo testo pecca nell'andare molto fuori tema rispetto a ciò che il titolo fa presumere, perdendosi troppo nei racconti delle avventure dell'autore e dedicando poco spazio ad un approfondimento delle proprietà dell'acqua. Tuttavia, si tratta di una lettura ricca di spunti in merito ad alcuni aspetti che non immaginavo neanche, come la ricerca dell'acqua nello spazio al fine di individuare quei pianeti in cui sarebbe plausibile trovare altre forme di vita.

[Tasya Syarifudin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has taught me valuable insights of water. How water involves in our life and also our universe. How water determines our past and future. It’s like every question I had about water is answered on this book.

Alok Jha has successfully bring me a journey to Antarctica, and also to spaces. I can understand more how water is involving in our earth and universe.

Many scientific forms that I found it hard to understand, and that’s why it took me long to finish the book. But it is a worthwhile book to read.

I’m loving this book.

[Rajesh Iyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off well before the tone shifted to a boring documentary drawl. Documentaries are not bad but this book got tedious at the halfway mark. The author literally jumps all over the place and you just lose the flow. This explains why scientific journalism is so difficult. You can easily get carried away by your knowledge and confound readers with too much technical information to ingest. This book could well have explained the unique properties in half the pages the author used up. There are better books out there….

[Niccolò Ceresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable book.

In this book Alok alternate the description of his scientific trip to Mawson Station in Antartica with discussion about water, in a very wide and multidisciplinary way: it is a good recap of physics, geology, chemistry and history.

Really appreciate the subdivision in Hydrosphere, Bioshpere, Cryosphere and Space.

Highly recommended.

[Keryn Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book I've read in this vein, and equally enjoyable and thought-provoking. I liked how it was book ended by his trip to Antarctica. I did skimread through the section about searching for water on other plants as the previous book had been slightly more recent, but I did find the way Alok Jha explained some of the terrestrial features of water easier to understand than the other book.

[Alex Delogu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice easy read on the nature of water. The best bits were the author's experience of sea sickness on his travels to the Antarctic. The chapter on the different forms of ice was interesting, in fact, I would have enjoyed a bit more on the chemical structure of water and its unusual behaviour.

[lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but it felt repetitive at times... the same concepts were often repeated in subsequent pages and reading it felt like going around in circles. Nevertheless, it offers much food for thought on how we are often caught up by what is familiar to us (e.g., a hydrocentric view).

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, meaningful book. Water is omnipresent but little understood. This book explains why that is the case.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not just science, but also personal adventure. There's really only Bill Bryson I read to the end. Nobody else grips me through the science bits.