{"product_id":"rivers-of-power-how-a-natural-force-raised-kingdoms-destroyed-civilizations-and-shapes-our-world-hardcover","title":"Rivers of Power: How a Natural Force Raised Kingdoms, Destroyed Civilizations, and Shapes Our World - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLaurence C. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn eye-opening, sometimes alarming, and ultimately inspiring natural history of rivers and their complex and ancient relationship with human civilization (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sixth Extinction\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRivers, more than any road, technology, or political leader, have shaped the course of human civilization. They have opened frontiers, founded cities, settled borders, and fed billions. They promote life, forge peace, grant power, and can capriciously destroy everything in their path. Even today, rivers remain a powerful global force -- one that is more critical than ever to our future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eRivers of Power\u003c\/i\u003e, geographer Laurence C. Smith explores the timeless yet underappreciated relationship between rivers and civilization as we know it. Rivers are of course important in many practical ways (water supply, transportation, sanitation, etc). But the full breadth of their influence on the way we live is less obvious. Rivers define and transcend international borders, forcing cooperation between nations. Huge volumes of river water are used to produce energy, raw commodities, and food. Wars, politics, and demography are transformed by their devastating floods. The territorial claims of nations, their cultural and economic ties to each other, and the migrations and histories of their peoples trace back to rivers, river valleys, and the topographic divides they carve upon the world. And as climate change, technology, and cities transform our relationship with nature, new opportunities are arising to protect the waters that sustain us. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeautifully told and expansive in scope, \u003ci\u003eRivers of Power\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how and why rivers have so profoundly influenced our civilization and examines the importance this vast, arterial power holds for the future of humanity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAs fascinating as it is beautifully written.---Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eGuns, Germs, and Steel\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCollapse\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eUpheaval\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaurence C. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e is the John Atwater and Diana Nelson University Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. Previously, he was Professor and Chair of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and of the John S. Guggenheim Foundation, and his scientific research has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post, \u003c\/i\u003e and on NPR, CBC Radio, and BBC, among others. His first book, \u003ci\u003eThe World in 2050\u003c\/i\u003e, won the Walter P. Kistler Book Award and was a \u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e Editor's Pick of 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.4 x 9 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 21, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45334211952742,"sku":"9780316412001","price":46.52,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/S2kwcEUxdGR4R3BFRDFsbkpTem9Edz09.webp?v=1774486223","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/rivers-of-power-how-a-natural-force-raised-kingdoms-destroyed-civilizations-and-shapes-our-world-hardcover","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}