In praise of floods : the untamed river and the life it brings / James C. Scott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scott, James C., author.

Series:

Yale agrarian studies

Yale agrarian studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Irrawaddy River Delta (Burma)--Environmental aspects.

Irrawaddy River Delta (Burma).

River engineering--Environmental aspects--Burma--Irrawaddy River.

River engineering.

Flood control--Environmental aspects--Burma--Irrawaddy River.

Flood control.

Stream ecology--Burma--Irrawaddy River Delta.

Stream ecology.

Valley ecology--Burma--Irrawaddy River Valley.

Valley ecology.

Physical Description:

xxi, 220 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"Rivers, on a long view, are alive. They are born; they change; they shift their channels; they forge new routes to the sea; they move both gradually and violently; they can teem (usually) with life; they may die a quasi-natural death; they are frequently maimed and even murdered. It is the annual flood pulse-the brief time when the river occupies the floodplain-that gives a river its vitality, but it is human engineering that kills it, suppressing the flood pulse with dams, irrigation, siltation, dikes, and levees. In demonstrating these threats to the riverine world, award-winning author James C. Scott examines the life history of a particular river, the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) of Burma, the heartland and superhighway of Burman culture."--Dust jacket.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-207) and index.

ISBN:

9780300278491

0300278497

OCLC:

1449673315