Overview

In a powerful work of environmental history, Martin Doyle tells the epic story of America and its rivers, from the U.S. Constitution’s roots in interstate river navigation, to the failure of the levees in Hurricane Katrina and the water wars in the west. Through his own travels and his encounters with experts all over the country—a Mississippi River tugboat captain, an Erie Canal lock operator, a project manager buying water rights for farms along the Colorado River—Doyle reveals the central role rivers have played in American history and how vital they are to its future.

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9780393356618

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Reviews

The Source is one of those rare books you look up from and see with fresh eyes. -- Dan Flores, best-selling author of Coyote America In [Doyle's] telling, rivers become a lens on federalism, energy and conservation-a rolling narrative. -- Nature Authoritative.... Even readers with an allergy to learning history will come away with a greater understanding of how rivers have literally made our country. -- Tracy Ross - Outside Original... [and] poignant. -- Robert Glennon - New York Times Book Review

Move over Cadillac Desert and The Last Oasis; a new classic on American rivers has arrived. One of the world's leading authorities on hydrology, Martin Doyle shows how rivers have served as the arteries and veins of the United States since the country's very founding. It is a rich history both impressive and unsettling. -- James Salzman, author of Drinking Water: A History Brilliantly conceived, The Source is a unique synthesis that recasts American history and flows with the power of unexpected insight. -- David R. Montgomery, author of Growing A Revolution Just like its topic, The Source flows magnificently from end to end, carving out a story that spans a continent and several centuries. Martin Doyle weaves together a gripping mix of American history, geology, engineering, economics, and politics to show that American rivers are one of the inspirations of the constitution, the connective fabric of our industry, a triggering cause of environmental movements, and a source of power-physical, economic, and political. -- Michael E. Webber, author of Thirst for Power Readers interested in everything from American history to business, engineering, environmental concerns, and canoeing will find Doyle's work absorbing and educational. -- Booklist A vigorous look at American history through the nation's waterways...Doyle speaks well to issues that are as pressing today as in the first years of the republic. -- Kirkus Reviews In [Doyle's] telling, rivers become a lens on federalism, energy and conservation-a rolling narrative taking us from George Washington's quest to find a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River, through decades of levee-building, flood control, water wars and much more. -- Nature An original and thought-provoking exploration of the sinuous course that water has carved through our economic and political landscape. -- Gerard Helferich - Wall Street Journal Original [and] poignant. . . . [T]ells the story of how rivers have shaped the United States from its founding. -- Robert Glennon - New York Times Book Review

Move over Cadillac Desert and The Last Oasis: a new classic on American rivers has arrived. -- James Salzman, author of Drinking Water Original... [and] poignant. -- Robert Glennon - New York Times Book Review Authoritative.... Even readers with an allergy to learning history will come away with a greater understanding of how rivers have literally made our country. -- Tracy Ross - Outside In [Doyle's] telling, rivers become a lens on federalism, energy and conservation-a rolling narrative. -- Nature The Source is one of those rare books you look up from and see with fresh eyes. -- Dan Flores, best-selling author of Coyote America

Author Information

Martin Doyle is director of the Water Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and a professor of river science and policy at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He lives in North Carolina.

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