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WF

Water, food and land

Environment and Energy

Books on water supply and rights, farming and the food system, and the ownership and use of land.

33 books on Water, food and land, 5 of them tier 1, recommended by 8 people including Bill Gates and Mohnish Pabrai.

33 books · 9 experts

Start here

  1. Cadillac DesertMarc Reisner, 1986
  2. Nature's MetropolisWilliam Cronon, 1991
  3. Enriching the EarthVaclav Smil, 2001
  4. The Omnivore's DilemmaMichael Pollan, 2006
  5. Should We Eat Meat?Vaclav Smil, 2013

The best books on Water, food and land 33

Cadillac DesertCadillac Desert
T1 Cadillac Desert
Marc Reisner · 1986
The canonical account of western water politics and who ended up owning it.
Open Library
Nature's MetropolisNature's Metropolis
T1 Nature's Metropolis
William Cronon · 1991
Chicago, grain elevators and futures: how a commodity market got invented.
Open Library
Enriching the EarthEnriching the Earth
T1 Enriching the Earth
Vaclav Smil · 2001
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiBill Gates
The Omnivore's DilemmaThe Omnivore's Dilemma
T1 The Omnivore's Dilemma
Michael Pollan · 2006
The corn-calorie economy traced through four meals.
Open Library
Should We Eat Meat?Should We Eat Meat?
T1 Should We Eat Meat?
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesMohnish Pabrai
Rivers of EmpireRivers of Empire
T2 Rivers of Empire
Donald Worster · 1985
Water control as the basis of power in the arid American West.
Open Library
WaterWater
T2 Water
Steven Solomon · 2010
Global history of water as the constraint on wealth and power.
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
LandLand
T2 Land
Simon Winchester · 2021
Global history of land ownership, enclosure and dispossession.
Open Library
Blue GoldBlue Gold
T3 Blue Gold
Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke · 1999
The anti-privatisation argument; useful as the opposing case.
Open Library
Water FolliesWater Follies
T3 Water Follies
Robert Glennon · 2002
Groundwater pumping and the legal fiction of unlimited rights.
Open Library
When the Rivers Run DryWhen the Rivers Run Dry
T3 When the Rivers Run Dry
Fred Pearce · 2006
Field reporting on aquifer depletion and river closure worldwide.
Open Library
UnquenchableUnquenchable
T3 Unquenchable
Robert Glennon · 2009
Glennon's case for pricing and trading water rights.
Open Library
Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our ObsesBottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water
T3 Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water
Peter H. Gleick · 2010
The water business that became a core Nestle division.
Open Library
The Big ThirstThe Big Thirst
T3 The Big Thirst
Charles Fishman · 2011
The economics of cheap water and what happens when it stops being cheap.
Open Library
The Land GrabbersThe Land Grabbers
T3 The Land Grabbers
Fred Pearce · 2012
The post-2008 institutional rush into farmland across the developing world.
Open Library
Water 4.0Water 4.0
T3 Water 4.0
David L. Sedlak · 2014
The engineering and capital replacement cycle of urban water systems.
Open Library
Let There Be WaterLet There Be Water
T3 Let There Be Water
Seth M. Siegel · 2015
Water technology as an export industry built from a domestic constraint.
Open Library
ReplenishReplenish
T3 Replenish
Sandra Postel · 2017
On restoring water systems; the practical side of the same problem.
Open Library
Perilous BountyPerilous Bounty
T3 Perilous Bounty
Tom Philpott · 2020
Soil, water and the financial fragility of US farmland.
Open Library
BaronsBarons
T3 Barons
Austin Frerick · 2024
Concentration of ownership across American agriculture.
Open Library
The Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a BiggerThe Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
T3 The Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
Amanda Little
Amanda Little spent four years reporting on the people trying to grow food in a destabilized climate — drought engineers in Kansas, vertical farmers in Newark, lab-meat scientists in Silicon Valley. The most grounded account of what climate adaptation looks like from the supply chain inward.
unverified
Diet for a Small Planet
T4 Diet for a Small Planet
Frances Moore Lappé · 1973
Open Library
Recommended bySteve Jobs
Forest Resource Economics and FinanceForest Resource Economics and Finance
T4 Forest Resource Economics and Finance
W. David Klemperer · 1996
Standard textbook on rotation-age valuation and forest finance.
Open Library
The Man Who Fed the WorldThe Man Who Fed the World
T4 The Man Who Fed the World
Leon Hesser · 2006
Open Library
Recommended byBill GatesMohnish Pabrai
BottlemaniaBottlemania
T4 Bottlemania
Elizabeth Royte · 2008
Local water-extraction fights, several of them with Nestle Waters.
Open Library
Tomorrow's TableTomorrow's Table
T4 Tomorrow's Table
Pamela C. Ronald · 2008
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
Eating AnimalsEating Animals
T4 Eating Animals
Jonathan Safran Foer · 2009
Open Library
Recommended byAndrew WilkinsonJordan Hughes
One Billion HungryOne Billion Hungry
T4 One Billion Hungry
Gordon Conway · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
40 Chances40 Chances
T4 40 Chances
Howard G. Buffett · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiWarren Buffett
We the EatersWe the Eaters
T4 We the Eaters
Ellen Gustafson · 2014
Open Library
Recommended byEv Williams
Land Rich, Cash PoorLand Rich, Cash Poor
T4 Land Rich, Cash Poor
Brian Reisinger · 2024
Why family farms lose ground to consolidated ownership.
Open Library
How to Feed the WorldHow to Feed the World
T4 How to Feed the World
Vaclav Smil
unverified
Recommended byBill Gates
Sacred CowSacred Cow
T4 Sacred Cow
Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf
unverified
Recommended byNat Eliason

Experts 9

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Authors 1

Vaclav Smilwrote 3 books here

Recommenders 8

Bill Gatesrecommends 6 books here
MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 5 books hereWarren Buffettrecommends 1 book here
AW
Andrew Wilkinsonrecommends 1 book hereEv Williamsrecommends 1 book here
JH
Jordan Hughesrecommends 1 book here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 1 book hereSteve Jobsrecommends 1 book here
See all 9 in the Experts tab →

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