Virtual Water: Tackling the Threat to Our Planet's Most Precious Resource Paperback – April 8, 2011
by Tony Allan (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
Editorial Reviews
Review
*Tony Allan has made an immense contribution to freshwater stewardship. By making the issue accessible without losing its complexity, he has created space at the table for people and institutions that previously didn't engage in water conservation. The gravity of the impending water crisis demands innovative thinking and diverse perspectives; Tony has helped unlock those for the benefit of all.* --Jim Leape, Director General, WWF International
*I heartily recommend the book as essential reading as it is not only informative but also fun and easy to read.* Barbara Frost, Chief Executive of WaterAid
About the Author
Professor Tony Allan is acknowledged as a world authority on water issues and as a leading voice for sustainable water development. He advises governments and organisations around the world and received the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize in 2008 for his pioneering contributions to understanding and communicating water issues. He is Professor of Geography at King's College, University of London and is Emeritus Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Product details
Publisher : I.B. Tauris; 0 edition (April 8, 2011)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
Customer Reviews:
4.1 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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James G. Workman
5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Currency of the 21st CenturyReviewed in the United States on October 28, 2011
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Tony Allan has with this book proved himself more than a gentleman and a scholar. He is more than an eminent academic, globally recognized and lauded for changing how the world's water wonks regard water, food, and national security. By making his vision of the world accessible to all readers, including and especially my interdisciplinary liberal arts students, he reveals the side of him that wants us to understand what's at stake and feel empowered to do something about it.
Because of Allan and this book I can't eat a cereal bar without thinking of all the hundreds of gallons of water embedded in the grain, sugar and fruit center. I can't type this review on a computer without thinking of the water embedded in the energy (thermal, hydro, or worst of all biofuel) to keep my screen lit up and the cloud server storage running somewhere. And so it goes with my blue jeans, my insulated office, my paper.
Human ingenuity is unlimited.
Energy may be unlimited.
Fresh water? Profoundly and measurably limited.
That makes water -- more than gold, greenbacks, or oil the most valuable liquid asset on earth, and Allan becomes the modern day Adam Smith of how we can begin to give it the value it deserves.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars It’s a good book to read!Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2019
Great book!! As a new engineer interested in working in Water Enginerring! This book serves as a good introduction and the fundamental understanding about water!
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C. Hughes
1.0 out of 5 stars Verbose, "clever," condescending, redundant, boring.Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014
This is the epitome of that psuedo-scientific swill written at the 4th grade level and marketed to NPR listeners with a promise to make them more worldly--yes, it's much worse that Thomas Friedman (or David Brooks)! Wipe your butt with it and put it in your compost toilet.
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Primary Producer
1.0 out of 5 stars Nice if you are sitting in an officeReviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013
I am sure Tony Allen is a very clever man, and this is a neat little idea however the whole concept of "virtual water" is about as real world as the title suggests. It is an idea with terrible flaws and the flawed logic that might work on paper has been used by all manner of groups prosecuting agendas in the real world.
This is the stuff of breathless sensationalist headlines on the news and no doubt its author has generated much media for his department and most likely helped attract funding for his university with this concept, and after all isn't this what university academia is all about (or so it seems to me sometimes)
Don't waste your money would be my assessment
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Jilly
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is essential reading. It opened my eyes ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2016
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This book is essential reading. It opened my eyes to the precious nature of water and how little it would take for all of us to contribute to the management of this planet's most essential resource.
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Ruben Merino
5.0 out of 5 stars Recomendable 100 %Reviewed in Spain on November 9, 2019
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Gestión del pedido genial por parte de World of Books, todo perfecto con el pedido
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really liked it Average rating4.00 · Rating details · 38 ratings · 4 reviews
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Caroline
May 07, 2013Caroline rated it liked it
Pop writing, so really easy to read. Overdramatic, in some sections, but generally a really interesting read.
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Patrick
Mar 22, 2013Patrick rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Even though I found the topic itself highly interesting, this book took a lot to finish it.
The author clearly likes to hear himself speak. I bet a third of the book could have been omitted, without losing one bit of information. That is how much got repeated over and over and over again. It got, to use a phrase the author used more often than I can remember, boring at best, annoying at worst.
The core-information of this book is interesting and important, but I would still look for another one.
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Christine Luong
Oct 22, 2014Christine Luong rated it it was ok
Shelves: read-by-me
Important topic, but the writing style just didn't work for me. There was just too much filler that detracted from the core messages of the book. (less)
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