"Water: A Critical Introduction is informed by contemporary critical theory. There is a touch of science studies here, feminist critique, and a broadly defined political economy. This is commendable, cutting-edge, and fills a real need."
Professor Paul Robbins, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison"

"I only realized how much I needed this book when reading it! Written by my favorite water scholars, it provides an extremely useful and well-written primer to critical water studies."
Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, UNESCO-IHE Delft Institute for Water Education

"This book is an amazing piece of work. The stories shared provide timely insights for reimagining values, ethics, water security and water justice. Our rivers must be loved, respected, and valued in order to protect humanity, and Mother Earth."
Professor Anne Poelina, Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia

Water shapes-and is shaped by-social practices and power relations. This simple yet provocative claim is at the center of Water: A Critical Introduction, which synthesizes critical water research and presents compelling case studies of hydrosocial relations from around the globe. Challenging the conventional approach to water science, the authors combine original research with the work of leading scholars worldwide and integrate environmental social sciences, feminist critique, and political economy with the specificities of water resources.

As the first work to draw together the body of knowledge in critical water studies, this book is a landmark resource that will open readers' eyes to the indelible links between human society and the hydrosphere. And it does so in a lively, engaging tone that-the authors promise-is never boring.

Lavishly enriched with maps, illustrations, and learning materials, this text communicates four compelling arguments that are deeply important for today's students to consider: knowledge is power, scarcity is made, water is life, and camp (praxis) is everywhere. For learners in secondary, undergraduate, and graduate courses in environmental studies, water governance, science and engineering, geopolitics, environmental law and management, political ecology, and related disciplines, Water: A Critical Introduction is a refreshing step out of the mainstream and into a nuanced look at water in the world today.