Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought

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From Publishers Weekly ---------------------- Passing references to water woes along the Colorado River and rainfall shortages in the Southeast that have cut hydropower pepper this dramatic report on the looming American (and global) water crisis. Workman filters his apocalyptic forecast through a slice of micro history: the (almost genocidal) 2002 decision of Botswana to force a minute population of Bushmen—inhabitants of the arid Kalahari Desert for tens of thousands of years—off their ancestral lands by sealing the only borehole that provided water to 1,000 desert dwellers and then dumping stored water into the dry sand. The heart of this numbing report on the government's use of water as weapon is Bushman matriarch Qoroxloo, whose ability to wring precious liquid from deep roots and animal carcasses is testament to a wise elder's gritty determination to help her band survive against formidable political and geographic odds. The author's belief that water-starved Western cultures might adapt to a coming age of permanent drought based on pragmatic Bushmen ways posits an unlikely cultural transformation, but his journalistic depiction of a tribal David's triumph over a governmental Goliath is riveting. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) Review ------ "An astonishing synthesis of human and natural history, folly, city, beauty, dignity and power." --Rick Bass "An investigative and story-telling triumph....showing a way back to accountability, sustainability, abundant life, and hope."--David James Duncan "Workman's experiences and ins are fascinating, ... a real page-turner." --Elizabeth Marshall Thomas "A fascinating read and great adventure story." --Bruce Babbitt "A spellbinding tale, it may have implications for us all." Michael E. Campana, WaterWired Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) See all Editorial Reviews ( /dp/product-description/0802715583/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&isInIframe=0 )