Routledge Handbook of Water and Health

The knowledge that water makes up approximately 60 percent of a human body indicates that life truly cannot exist without water. Writings of Hippocrates, as early as 400 BCE, detailed a connection between water and health. The first chapter of this book includes a chronological account of advances in water treatment that predate the germ theory and awareness of aesthetic and environmental hazards associated with water. Contributions to this volume are divided into eight major themes, which are then augmented, detailed, and embellished by a series of generally short paragraphs. These themes include water hazards, exposure pathways, interventions, tools used for investigation, and lessons learned from history. Water-based diseases are presented in multiple-page charts in chapter 5. Summary treatment charts include water toxins, hazards, and technologies. A historical retrospective on the 1854 investigation of the London cholera epidemic by Dr. John Snow is included, as Dr. Snow’s revelation connecting the Broad Street pump and the cholera outbreak is considered one of the greatest medical achievements. A map and a picture of the historic Broad Street pump are prominently included. Overall, the book’s chapters range from trivial to profound, but the references are replete for most submissions. --R. M. Ferguson, Eastern Connecticut State University, March 2017 issue of CHOICE