Book Review - Following the Bend: How to Read a River and Understand Its Nature - Princeton University Press

 

     I have been a fluviophile for as long as I can remember, going back to the earliest recollections of childhood when walking along the banks of a local stream was a favoured activity, and to fish for minnows in the shallows was the very essence of joy. Along the way I observed birds, newts, snakes, mammals that came to the water to drink or lived alongside it, and learned more than a little about riparian vegetation. I distinctly recall going to the library at a very young age to borrow books, and always being instructed to wash my hands first! Good advice to this day.

     Obviously, at that stage my involvement was primarily experiential, but the die was cast for a lifetime of fascination with rivers, and I learned what makes a river a river, and came to understand some of the forces involved in the dynamics of a river, estuary, watershed, or floodplain. For some reason sedimentation has been a particular focus, although I am not sure why.

     I have been horrified more than once at the degradation I have witnessed as magnificent rivers are turned into sewers and repositories of all manner of human junk, especially the pernicious, never-ending stream of plastic waste. 

      This book, therefore, is a veritable source of wonder for me. Ellen Wohl is a distinguished scientist who has received many awards throughout her illustrious career, yet in this book she presents herself as a story teller, delivering a pleasing combination of history, geography, geology, hydrology and personal recollection. She does not shy away, even for a moment, from delivering scientific facts, yet it is done in a manner that enables the reader to follow along without feeling overwhelmed. She eschews the use of arcane terminology unless it is critical to the text, but makes sure always to accompany it with an explanation when she does.

     We learn a great deal about how the flow of rivers influences landscape and climate, wildlife and vegetation, and how deleterious human meddling and interference has often been - and continues to be. 

     It is trite to state that water is the essence of all life, yet we continue to value it less than destructive anthropogenic activity, or the quest for profit at all costs. To change our ways seems to be an impossible goal.

     In the final chapter entitled The Future, Wohl examines the forces at play in the 21st Century - too much water in one place, drought in another, rivers drained of their water in so profligate a manner that they are dry riverbeds when they reach the ocean. In some jurisdictions rivers are now accorded legal personhood and perhaps therein lies a glimmer of hope for the future. After all, if a corporation - even one that systematically inflicts environmental Armageddon upon us all - can be granted legal protection in the courts, surely we can see the logic in extending the privilege to a river. 

      Indigenous wisdom would tell us it's the right thing to do. It is past time to listen. 

Following the Bend: How to Read a River and Understand Its Nature - Princeton University Press

Ellen Wohl

Hardcover - US$29.95 - ISBN: 9780691272474

304 pages - 5.5 x 8.125 inches (13.75 x 21.25 cm)

38 black-and-white illustrations

Publication date: 09 September, 2025