The Last Drop

Smart, sobering, and scholarly. Tim Smedley explores the science and politics behind our current water crisis, and with cautious optimism looks ahead for solutions that can save us from a catastrophe that could rival the great upheavals and extinctions of Earth history.Steve Brusatte, professor and palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

Tim Smedley’s sometimes angry, always informed book is a smouldering indictment of the self-inflicted water wounds we’re causing ourselves and our planet.Mark Rowe, Geographical Magazine

Here in the UK, we just turn on taps without asking where the water comes from and where it goes to, but Tim Smedley argues eloquently that it’s time for that to change. And by the end of the book, you will be hopping mad and entirely in agreement with him. It's an essential read on a topic that we don’t talk about enough. This book is clear, fascinating and horrifying, but also offers workable solutions that can save us all from the worst. You will never see the water you use in the same way again.Helen Czerski, BBC broadcaster, UCL physicist and Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer

Despite the daunting scale of the water crisis, Smedley’s globe-crossing investigation into its solutions leaves you feeling that the problem is surmountable. That’s excellent news for civilisation.The Times