This volume is the first of three that explore all aspects of water - social, cultural, political, religious, historical, economic and technological - from ancient times to the present day. The contributors examine the changing histories of water as a private or common good; the politics of water at local, urban, national and international level; water in cities; great river plans; dams; river biographies; and images of water in religion, myth, literature and art. Empirical and ethnographic case studies from around the world feature.