Elizabeth Royte has written for the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, National Geographic, Outside, Smithsonian, and The New Yorker. She is the author of Garbage Land and The Tapir's Morning Bath.
"Fantastic." - Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times""Ingenious....
Amiably, without haranguing or hyperventilating, this veteran
environmental writer has produced what could be, assuming enough
people read it, one of the year's most influential books." -
"Boston Globe" """An easy-to-swallow survey.... after you read it
you will sip warily from your water bottle (whether purchased or
tap, plastic or not), as freaked out by your own role in today's
insidious water wars as by Royte's recommended ecologically
responsible drink: "Toilet to tap."" "--"Lisa Margonelli," New York
Times Book Review""Light and easy-to-read narrative...lots of
interesting factoids..." "--Providence Journal-Bulletin""At a time
of climate change and increasing risks to global water supplies, we
must change the way we think about this crucial resource and begin
treating it as a public good to be preserved, rather than the
equivalent of an oil deposit or timber forest, ripe for corporate
exploitation." "--New Scientist""An intriguing look at a totem of
the ultramodern, perhaps selfish, way we live now" "--Time Out
Chicago""a well-balanced, interesting and instructive book about
our fundamental human need to drink water" "--Chicago Sun
Times""Seamlessly blending scientific explanation and social
observation" "--LA Times Book Review""Bottlemania makes the case
that it's not in our interests to let private multinational
corporations float their boats on our nation's water. That's not
democracy, it's dam-ocracy, and it could damn us all if we let
their unquenchable thirst for profit take precedence over our right
to clean, safe, free drinking water." --Kerry Trueman,
"Huffingtonpost.com""Anintrepid, intelligent analysis of Americans'
raging thirst for bottled water." "--BookPage""An essential, if
somewhat disturbing, read." "--VeryShortList.com""A breezy,
accessible history of water through the ages....a good account of
the tensions in the little town of Fryeburg, Maine." "--New York
Post""A sharp indictment of the bottled-water industry" "--New York
Observer""Informative" --Meghan O'Rourke, "Slate.com""Compelling
and dynamic" "--Library Journal""Entertaining and eye-opening"
"--Publishers Weekly" "Bottlemania is eye-opening and informative;
you will never look at water - either "designer" or tap - in quite
the same way. Royte demonstrates how everything is, in the end,
truly connected." --Elizabeth KolbertRoyte deserves credit for her
tenacity and well-balanced approach....Lively investigative
journalism."" --Kirkus Reviews"
"An easy-to-swallow survey.... after you read it you will sip
warily from your water bottle (whether purchased or tap, plastic or
not), as freaked out by your own role in today's insidious water
wars as by Royte's recommended ecologically responsible drink:
"Toilet to tap."" "--"Lisa Margonelli," New York Times Book
Review""Light and easy-to-read narrative...lots of interesting
factoids..." "--Providence Journal-Bulletin""At a time of climate
change and increasing risks to global water supplies, we must
change the way we think about this crucial resource and begin
treating it as a public good to be preserved, rather than the
equivalent of an oil deposit or timber forest, ripe for corporate
exploitation." "--New Scientist""An intriguing look at a totem of
the ultramodern, perhaps selfish, way we live now" "--Time Out
Chicago""a well-balanced, interesting and instructive book about
our fundamental human need to drink water" "--Chicago Sun
Times""Seamlessly blending scientific explanation and social
observation" "--LA Times Book Review""Bottlemania makes the case
that it's not in our interests to let private multinational
corporations float their boats on our nation's water. That's not
democracy, it's dam-ocracy, and it could damn us all if we let
their unquenchable thirst for profit take precedence over our right
to clean, safe, free drinking water." --Kerry Trueman,
"Huffingtonpost.com""An intrepid, intelligent analysis of
Americans' raging thirst for bottled water." "--BookPage""An
essential, if somewhat disturbing, read." "--VeryShortList.com""A
breezy, accessible history of water through the ages....a good
account of the tensions in the little town ofFryeburg, Maine."
"--New York Post""A sharp indictment of the bottled-water industry"
"--New York Observer""Informative" --Meghan O'Rourke,
"Slate.com""Compelling and dynamic" "--Library
Journal""Entertaining and eye-opening" "--Publishers Weekly"
"Bottlemania is eye-opening and informative; you will never look at
water - either "designer" or tap - in quite the same way. Royte
demonstrates how everything is, in the end, truly connected."
--Elizabeth KolbertRoyte deserves credit for her tenacity and
well-balanced approach....Lively investigative journalism.""
--Kirkus Reviews"
""Bottlemania "is eye-opening and informative; you will never look
at water - either "designer" or tap - in quite the same way. Royte
demonstrates how everything is, in the end, truly
connected.""--Elizabeth Kolbert""""Royte deserves credit for her
tenacity and well-balanced approach....Lively investigative
journalism."--"Kirkus Reviews"
Royte (Garbage Land) plunges into America's mighty thirst for bottled water in an investigation of "one of the greatest marketing coups of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries." As tap water has become cleaner and better-tasting, the bottled water industry has exploded into a $60 billion business; consumers guzzle more high-priced designer water than milk or beer and spend billions on brands such as Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Dasani that are essentially processed municipal water. It's an unparalleled--and almost exclusively American--"social phenomenon." With journalistic zeal, Royte chronicles the questionable practices of Nestle-owned Poland Springs and documents the environmental impact of discarded plastic bottles, the carbon footprint of water shipped long distances and health concerns around the leaching of plastic compounds from bottles. Not all tap water is perfectly pure, writes Royte, still, 92% of the nation's 53,000 local water systems meet or exceed federal safety standards and "it is the devil we know," at least as good and often better than bottled water. This portrait of the science, commerce and politics of potable water is an entertaining and eye-opening narrative. (June) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
Water. It's the essence of life, the main component of our bodies and our planet. It's free and seemingly accessible--yet millions of Americans pay for bottles of it every day. Environmental author Royte (Garbage Land; The Tapir's Morning Bath) discusses the historical, political, environmental, moral, and even culinary aspects of water. In a journalistic and often humorous manner, she recounts her travels to natural springs and the towns torn apart by their presence and her meetings with water executives and hydrogeologists while discussing the modern implications of the bottle vs. the tap. The story that emerges is an interesting one--there are enough backroom deals to make the plot seem fitting of the film Michael Clayton. Readers will be surprised at the many facets of the story of bottled water, and the blend of narrative with historical fact keeps the book compelling and dynamic. For those inspired to find out more about their water, Royte includes an appendix of Internet resources and a selected bibliography for further reading. Recommended for all public libraries and academic libraries with environmental science programs.--Jaime Hammond, Naugatuck Valley Comm. Coll., Waterbury, CT Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"Fantastic." - Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Ingenious.... Amiably, without haranguing or hyperventilating, this veteran environmental writer has produced what could be, assuming enough people read it, one of the year's most influential books." - "Boston Globe" """An easy-to-swallow survey.... after you read it you will sip warily from your water bottle (whether purchased or tap, plastic or not), as freaked out by your own role in today's insidious water wars as by Royte's recommended ecologically responsible drink: "Toilet to tap."" "--"Lisa Margonelli," New York Times Book Review""Light and easy-to-read narrative...lots of interesting factoids..." "--Providence Journal-Bulletin""At a time of climate change and increasing risks to global water supplies, we must change the way we think about this crucial resource and begin treating it as a public good to be preserved, rather than the equivalent of an oil deposit or timber forest, ripe for corporate exploitation." "--New Scientist""An intriguing look at a totem of the ultramodern, perhaps selfish, way we live now" "--Time Out Chicago""a well-balanced, interesting and instructive book about our fundamental human need to drink water" "--Chicago Sun Times""Seamlessly blending scientific explanation and social observation" "--LA Times Book Review""Bottlemania makes the case that it's not in our interests to let private multinational corporations float their boats on our nation's water. That's not democracy, it's dam-ocracy, and it could damn us all if we let their unquenchable thirst for profit take precedence over our right to clean, safe, free drinking water." --Kerry Trueman, "Huffingtonpost.com""Anintrepid, intelligent analysis of Americans' raging thirst for bottled water." "--BookPage""An essential, if somewhat disturbing, read." "--VeryShortList.com""A breezy, accessible history of water through the ages....a good account of the tensions in the little town of Fryeburg, Maine." "--New York Post""A sharp indictment of the bottled-water industry" "--New York Observer""Informative" --Meghan O'Rourke, "Slate.com""Compelling and dynamic" "--Library Journal""Entertaining and eye-opening" "--Publishers Weekly" "Bottlemania is eye-opening and informative; you will never look at water - either "designer" or tap - in quite the same way. Royte demonstrates how everything is, in the end, truly connected." --Elizabeth KolbertRoyte deserves credit for her tenacity and well-balanced approach....Lively investigative journalism."" --Kirkus Reviews"
"Light and easy-to-read narrative...lots of interesting factoids..." "--Providence Journal-Bulletin""At a time of climate change and increasing risks to global water supplies, we must change the way we think about this crucial resource and begin treating it as a public good to be preserved, rather than the equivalent of an oil deposit or timber forest, ripe for corporate exploitation." "--New Scientist""An intriguing look at a totem of the ultramodern, perhaps selfish, way we live now" "--Time Out Chicago""a well-balanced, interesting and instructive book about our fundamental human need to drink water" "--Chicago Sun Times""Seamlessly blending scientific explanation and social observation" "--LA Times Book Review""Bottlemania makes the case that it's not in our interests to let private multinational corporations float their boats on our nation's water. That's not democracy, it's dam-ocracy, and it could damn us all if we let their unquenchable thirst for profit take precedence over our right to clean, safe, free drinking water." --Kerry Trueman, "Huffingtonpost.com""An intrepid, intelligent analysis of Americans' raging thirst for bottled water." "--BookPage""An essential, if somewhat disturbing, read." "--VeryShortList.com""A breezy, accessible history of water through the ages....a good account of the tensions in the little town ofFryeburg, Maine." "--New York Post""A sharp indictment of the bottled-water industry" "--New York Observer""Informative" --Meghan O'Rourke, "Slate.com""Compelling and dynamic" "--Library Journal""Entertaining and eye-opening" "--Publishers Weekly" "Bottlemania is eye-opening and informative; you will never look at water - either "designer" or tap - in quite the same way. Royte demonstrates how everything is, in the end, truly connected." --Elizabeth KolbertRoyte deserves credit for her tenacity and well-balanced approach....Lively investigative journalism."" --Kirkus Reviews"
"""Royte deserves credit for her tenacity and well-balanced approach....Lively investigative journalism."--"Kirkus Reviews"
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