Book Review: Rivers of Power: How a Natural Force Raised Kingdoms, Destroyed Civilizations, and Shapes Our World by Laurence C. Smith
In his book “Rivers of Power”, author Lawrence C. Smith tells a compelling tale of the history of humans, cultures, and civilizations intertwined with the history of environment, specifically rivers. Through his book the author talks about the importance of rivers that have shaped mankind, civilizations and their ever evolving yet true strength and dominance over all regions of the earth since time immortal. His aim as simple and apt as the book title is to garner acceptance of the fact that in the end, resilient and timeless rivers will prevail even when everything around them falls. A scientist, professor and an environmental activist at heart, Smith uses his scientific lens incorporating his story telling tone to form an argument that is compelling, fascinating, and thought-provoking. The readers are swept away with familiar stories of the past; of wars, kingdoms and socio-cultural aspects that are beautifully written with a tinge of mysticism throughout the book.
Given the 20 pages worth of references that consist of scientific and historic sources, interviews and his personal anecdotes, the readers are in for a treat with this rather approachable and enjoyable read. Smith presents a case of contradiction: of how rivers divide us yet unite use. The book starts of with a picture of a world map indicating through the latter chapters that society’s perception of the world, surrounding environment and the use of their intelligence and skills has paved the way for rivers to act as either bridges to other parts of the world or as a separating force. This is just one way through which the book sticks with readers and allows them to think beyond the boundaries of a country. The author presents his argument with a sheer sense of enthusiasm which one can easily spot as his passion for the field.
He presents a case early on in the book where he talks of the Romans and how they saw rivers as public property but also states that had the contrary happened where Romans privatized them that things would have been different. Another one of his contradiction talks of something that people since time immemorial have hammered: the perception that rivers belong to the human race versus the fact that rivers without a doubt (first and foremost) belong to the fishes and the many aquatic species only. His language and tone which sometimes feels journalistic, augmented with scientific knowledge yet sometimes as personal opinions makes the reader realize how humans are inherently selfish. He mentions of the infamous example of how Nelson Mandela who is hailed by people for peace and social justice, ordered an invasion of another nation over water.
The author leaves no stone unturned concerning rivers. He talks about the ills of dams, floods, and pollution and how these environmental issues serve as weapons of political mayhem throughout the world. For instance, he talks about the Nile and how the river is “shared by sworn enemies” struck with poverty (Smith, 2019 (Pg. 70)). Every chapter of the book deals with issues pertaining to rivers and the arguments presented are well-researched, documented and embed with examples from around the world. For this reason, it feels like there is not much of an organization to the series of examples he presents. It is certainly plausible that with a plethora of ideas and arguments that he presents, there is not much in the way of representing proper examples; however, hopping on and off certain examples and coming back to them did not help much in the way of a succinct writing. Needless to say, the depiction of the many stories in the book are verifiable and valid even without a chronological order. With the many issues highlighted in the book, every chapter in the book has its own message and focus but, in the end, beautifully come together with the overarching theme of the book.
It was also interesting to note how the author gages his attention to the entertainment world. He mentions about the blockbuster movie Black Panther, drawing similarities between the country of Wakanda in the movie and Ethiopia which for someone who loved the movie could relate to. On the topic of movies, another movie: Julia Roberts’ Erin Brockovich comes to mind when the author talks of freshwater contamination. Based on real life events, the movie portrays the real-life events of a class action lawsuit against PG&E pertaining to the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident that led to the rise of cancer cases in the region. He also talks of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring which personally inspired me and reiterated my interest in the water field. With the help of her book, Carson delivered the message of water pollution due to a pesticide called DDT paving the way of environmental issues to become larger with a sense of urgency in modern environmental movement.
Besides being river centric however, the book also seems to be US-centric in some parts. The author talks about the Vietnam war, the issues with ISIS, and other examples from the nation which sometimes felt like glorification of the country itself. Additionally, for readers who might seem drawn to the argument that rivers are a powerful source beyond human control, there is also the question of how and why other sources of life such as fire, earth itself, or air are not taken into account since these too shape one’s history and civilization. The author also reaches out to the readers’ spirituality and well-being pointing out that rivers are beneficial for one’s health.
This book is certainly a must-read for anyone who is interested in human history with a fresh viewpoint. Supplemental to his writing, the author provides alluring pictures of maps, places, people, and different events of the past. Rivers of Power is certainly a call for action and leaves the readers informed with an all-encompassing view on the importance of rivers coupled with scientific evidence. The book however lacked some solutions to the issues raised yet the assertions made by the author are definitely relevant in any time, place, and age.
