From the glaciers of the Alps to the towering cumulonimbus clouds of the Caribbean and the unexpectedly chaotic flows of the North Atlantic, Waters of the World is a tour through 150 years of the history of a significant but underappreciated idea: that the Earth has a global climate system made up of interconnected parts, constantly changing on all scales of both time and space. A prerequisite for the discovery of global warming and climate change, this idea was forged by scientists studying water in its myriad forms.
This is their story.
Waters of the World: The Story of the Scientists Who Unravelled the Mysteries of Our Seas, Glaciers and Atmosphere–and Made the Planet Whole is published by Scribe UK and University of Chicago Press.
It was a best book of the year for Nature 2019 and has been translated into Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.
Praise for Waters of the World
‘…sparkles with lyricism and wit. Dry is a gifted storyteller, and her research into the pre-history of Earth system science has turned up gripping tales of risk, adventure, defiance, and discovery. A unique and important book.’ —Deborah Coen, Yale University
In her remarkable Waters of the World, historian Sarah Dry brings to life this chain of researchers who helped to reveal the dynamics of Earth’s planetary systems and humanity’s growing impact on them.–Ruth Morgan, Nature
‘An account of the two-hundred-year effort to understand the world’s climate system, Waters of the World is not only timely but also one of the most beautifully written books on science that I have seen in a long time. . .’–Philip Ball, Author of H2O: A Biography of water and The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China
“cleverly argued and brilliantly written history. . . this book has much to teach about the roots of the most reliable knowledge of climate and how it should be best understood in its full historical and cultural setting.”–Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
“Part history, part biography, part scientific tutorial, part philosophy, Dry humanizes and personalizes the science of climate change as it has evolved over time. –Carl Wunsch, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physical Oceanography, MIT
Sarah Dry 