James Salzman’s Drinking Water

“Water poverty doesn’t just mean your hands are dirty, or you can’t wash your clothes, or you are often thirsty. Water poverty may mean you never learn how to read, it means you get sick more often than you should, it means you and your children are hungry. Water poverty traps you in a primitive day-to-day struggle. Water poverty is, quite literally, de-civilizing.”

;I read this book after not having water for 4 out of 7 days at my site. I had several questions about why there is such a problem with water. I asked around my town, and no one really had an answer. They just said, this is how it is. Also, water training was a focus for Peace Corps aspirantes during training because of how dangerous it can be.  Drinking Water goes through an in depth history of water and its effects on societies throughout history. It is incredibly interesting and answered some of my questions on the local theories on water I have heard at my site, such as “Drinking cold water is dangerous for your health.” It even talks about how advanced the water system of Machu Picchu was, which I thought was cool since I’m here in Perú.