| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
356 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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cartographic image cri rdacontent |
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still image sti rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
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Gender group: gdr Men lcdgt |
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Nationality/regional group: nat Americans lcdgt |
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Occupational/field of activity group: occ University and college faculty members lcdgt |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-345) and index. |
| Summary |
Rivers, more than any road, technology, or political leader, have shaped the course of human civilization. They have opened frontiers, founded cities, settled borders, and fed billions. They promote life, forge peace, grant power, and can capriciously destroy everything in their path. Even today, rivers remain a powerful global force -- one that is more critical than ever to our future. In Rivers of Power, geographer Laurence C. Smith explores the timeless yet underappreciated relationship between rivers and civilization as we know it. Rivers are of course important in many practical ways (water supply, transportation, sanitation, etc). But the full breadth of their influence on the way we live is less obvious. Rivers define and transcend international borders, forcing cooperation between nations. Huge volumes of river water are used to produce energy, raw commodities, and food. Wars, politics, and demography are transformed by their devastating floods. The territorial claims of nations, their cultural and economic ties to each other, and the migrations and histories of their peoples trace back to rivers, river valleys, and the topographic divides they carve upon the world. And as climate change, technology, and cities transform our relationship with nature, new opportunities are arising to protect the waters that sustain us. |
| Contents |
Introduction The Palermo stone -- On the border -- The century of humiliation and other war stories -- Ruin and renewal -- Seizing the current -- Pork soup -- Going with the flow -- A thirst for data -- Rivers rediscovered -- Acknowledgments -- References and Further Reading -- Index. |
| Subject |
Rivers -- History.
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Rivers. (OCoLC)fst01098312
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| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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Informational works. (OCoLC)fst01919930
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Informational works.
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| ISBN |
9780316412001 (hardcover) |
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0316412007 (hardcover) |
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9780316497169 (international edition) |
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0316497169 (international edition) |
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