Where the River Flows - by Sean W Fleming

Book Synopsis

The vital interconnections that rivers share with the land, the sky, and us

Rivers are essential to civilization and even life itself, yet how many of us truly understand how they work? Why do rivers run where they do? Where do their waters actually come from? How can the same river flood one year and then dry up the next? Where the River Flows takes you on a majestic journey along the planet's waterways, providing a scientist's reflections on the vital interconnections that rivers share with the land, the sky, and us.

Sean Fleming draws on examples ranging from common backyard creeks to powerful and evocative rivers like the Mississippi, Yangtze, Thames, and Congo. Each chapter looks at a particular aspect of rivers through the lens of applied physics, using abundant graphics and intuitive analogies to explore the surprising connections between watershed hydrology and the world around us. Fleming explains how river flows fluctuate like stock markets, what "digital rainbows" can tell us about climate change and its effects on water supply, how building virtual watersheds in silicon may help avoid the predicted water wars of the twenty-first century, and much more. Along the way, you will learn what some of the most exciting ideas in science--such as communications theory, fractals, and even artificial life--reveal about the life of rivers.

Where the River Flows offers a new understanding of the profound interrelationships that rivers have with landscapes, ecosystems, and societies, and shows how startling new insights are possible when scientists are willing to think outside the disciplinary box.

From the Back Cover

"Extremely interesting and informative. Fleming makes difficult scientific concepts accessible to the layperson, and takes a very broad range of topics and shows how they are interconnected in so many ways."--Karen C. Rice, University of Virginia

"Where the River Flows is distinctive and engaging. Fleming is skilled at explaining relatively complex ideas in simple and accessible language."--Ellen Wohl, Colorado State University

"A book like this helps to remind us of the fascinating nature of our world, and to show us that science can help to get us in touch with these aspects."--Hoshin V. Gupta, University of Arizona

Review Quotes

"Where the River Flows offers a paradigm shift in understanding the rivers. It calls for a radical shift outside of the disciplinary box, as rivers are but a reflection of profound interrelationships between landscapes, ecosystems and societies."-- "Current Science"

"[A] deft primer."---Barbara Kiser, Nature

"[Fleming] engenders a new appreciation for the waterways around us."-- "Library Journal"

"Fleming's decades of experience shine through in this book. Abstract physics concepts feel more relevant when applied to concrete phenomena that readers can visualize."---Laurel Hamers, Science News

"Fleming's style is colloquial and engages the reader quickly. . . . This small volume is a good buy for anyone with an enquiring mind about rivers or indeed about natural science in general. Where the River Flows is a treasure house of 'fun facts' on physics, chemistry, and biology as they relate to rivers and hydrology."-- "The Ormsby Review"

About the Author

Sean W. Fleming has two decades of experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in the United States, Canada, England, and Mexico, ranging from oil exploration to operational river forecasting to glacier science. He holds faculty positions in the geophysical sciences at the University of British Columbia and Oregon State University.