Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for e-ARC.

The Three Ages of Water is a book that tries to do too much and ends up doing too little. It claims to be a comprehensive exploration of water’s role in the cosmos and civilization, but it is really a call for action on the current water crisis. The author, Gleick, seems to have a genuine passion for this topic, but he fails to deliver a clear and convincing message. Instead, he wraps his advocacy in a vague and confusing framework of the three ages of water, which are not well-defined or justified. As a planetary scientist, I found this concept arbitrary and misleading. The book could have been a fascinating look at the history of water on Earth or a compelling analysis of our water problems. Instead, it is neither.

The book also suffers from a lack of focus and coherence. Many chapters feel like filler, such as the one on water-based diseases, which is essentially a history of disease. The book tries to connect everything to water, but the connections are often weak and irrelevant. The book does not tell a cohesive story, but rather a series of stories that vary in their relevance and depth. Gleick should have chosen a more specific and relevant theme for his book, instead of trying to make it into a grandiose and superficial saga that dilutes his main point with unnecessary details.

A well-researched look at the importance of water resource management in sustaining the world's relationship with water. Gleick splits the book into three ages, from humanity's earliest associations with water, to the later advances in water technology, up to the current need to look to water's future and how our own actions can help make water use more efficient, purposeful, and sustainable. Gleick lays out the argument that access to clean water is a human right and within the reach of current budgets, if more of a focus is laid on improving infrastructure and reducing wasted water. Overall, a thought-provoking book that makes the case for rethinking how we use water and how we can better utilize the resources we do have so that we aren't overextending them and causing further environmental damage.

An educational, at times alarming but ultimately hopeful read about our complicated relationship and history with water.

The Three Ages of Water has a solid premise and offers valuable recommendations for building a brighter future, but it suffers from disorienting prose and an overall lack of cohesion. I enjoyed how the author traced the history of humanity and water from ancient to modern times, using multiple examples from around the world. Each section successfully prompts readers to consider water from a different viewpoint.

However, this book could have highly benefited from several more rounds of editing. There was so much detail included that it was difficult to know what to focus on, and I wish the author had strengthened the logical sequence of information to help me understand why he was presenting the information in the time and place he did. In addition, the prose was often difficult to read because of wordiness, awkward sentence construction, or unexpected tense changes. For example, "With the growing cities and empires of the First Age of Water, disputes over water ultimately drove the need to create the first rules and institutions devoted to regulating and adjudicating disputes over access to, control of, and management of water." Or, one of the final statements of the book: "Many challenges remain, but as the Second Age of Water came to an end, and as the flowering of the Third Age has begun, we're well along the path to a sustainable water future and the world is a better place because of it."

Sadly, my brain got so tired that I ended up skimming most of the book. Still, the overall set of ideas is worth communicating, so I would love to see this content reworked into a more streamlined second edition where the author's message doesn't get so lost in the weeds.

This fascinating and informative book traces the role of water on Earth, from the formation of our solar system to the present day. Water has shaped civilizations, and in return, civilizations have shaped our planet's water supplies.

Our current usage is unsustainable and has caused ecological devastation. In a narrative style that's entertaining and easy to read, this book explains how we can change our approach to water usage, proceeding more thoughtfully toward a better future for ourselves and the planet.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This is an extremely well written and eye opening book on the importance of water. It’s split into three parts/“ages” and the reader is guided on a journey through the past, present, and future of water and our interaction with it. I was hooked from the start and appreciated all of the knowledge contained in this book. It was very interesting to learn all of the history, particularly about how modern water infrastructure was shaped, and about Peter Gleick’s professional experience. This book raised my personal awareness for the importance of water conservation and I highly recommend it to everyone, given that this is a topic that affects all of us.