We are at the tipping point in the new global water wars, and the United States is a major front. What happens now will determine the fate of our water and whether it will become the oil of the 21st century. Picking up where the authors' successful documentary film left off, Thirst investigates eight recent high-profile controversies over the corporate takeover of water in the United States and illuminates how and why citizens are fighting back both here and abroad.

"The filmmakers who made the documentary Thirst have put together an account of the push for the privatization of public water works and the pillaging of the countryside as producers of bottled water play fast and loose with the water tables. The authors spotlight eight communities that have fought back against Big Water, and though each case is unique, there are trends. Water privatization is an expensive proposition, and many water companies are forced to 'quickly slash costs and raise prices to maximize cash flow and pay down the debt.' The means to turn a profit often include soliciting multi-housing developments to create new ratepayers and raising water rates, such as a proposal in Felton, Calif., to hike rates 74 percent over three years. Similar stories appear throughout the book and detail dealings in communities big-Atlanta, Ga., and Lexington, Ky., both privatization battlegrounds-and small-Wisconsin Dells, Wis., and Mecosa County, Mich., where grassroots groups sparred with beverage giant Nestlé. The writing is provocative and the topic is an easy bet to raise hackles." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Out of sight of most Americans, global corporations like Nestle, Suez, and Veolia are rapidly buying up our local water sources--lakes, streams, and springs--and taking control of public water services. In their drive to privatize and commodify water, they have manipulated and bought politicians, clinched backroom deals, and subverted the democratic process by trying to deny citizens a voice in fundamental decisions about their most essential public resource.

The authors' PBS documentary "Thirst" showed how communities around the world are resisting the privatization and commodification of water. "Thirst," the book, picks up where the documentary left off, revealing the emergence of controversial new water wars in the United States and showing how communities here are fighting this battle, often against companies headquartered overseas.

Read a review...http: //www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/RVGS9OHPKT1.DTL

Praise for Thirst

"As a congressman from the Great Lakes region, I appreciate this timely and important work on a critical public policy question: Is water a natural resource to be protected by the public realm, or is it just another commodity?"

— Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Ohio

"A riveting and engaging account of one of the most important environmental issues of our time: Will corporations or citizens control our water?"

— Carl Pope, executive director, Sierra Clu

"A smart, gripping narrative of the way 'big money' is cornering the market for life's basic ingredient. It will shock you— and it should!"

— Jeff Faux, founder of the Economic Policy Institute, and author, The Global Class War

"The fight for the right to water has hit the U.S. heartland and this passionate, information-packed book tells the story of ordinary Americans engaged in extraordinary struggles to save their water heritage for future generations. Every American should read it."

— Maude Barlow, chair of Council of Canadians, and author, Blue Gold

"Who really owns your water? It may not be who you think. Read this provocative and insightful book and find out about the politics and economics of growing attempts to privatize our most vital public resource— the stuff that comes out of your tap."

— Peter Gleick, president, Pacific Institute for Development, Environment and Security

"A terrific read— startling and motivating. Thirst helps us see that the fight for the right to water is in fact a struggle for democracy itself. Read Thirst and dive into the twenty-first century's core challenge: Do we save ourselves by the market's logic, or as citizensdo we deepen democracy's logic?"

— Frances Moore Lappé , author, Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life