The Water Book

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To jest książka "dla każdego", nie wymaga żadnej wcześniejszej wiedzy, przygarnia wszystkich jak przyjaciel i przekazuje swoją mądrość, w sposób płynny i kojący - jak sama woda.

What makes this fascinating book stand out from other accounts of how water has shaped human history across the ages is Boccaletti’s brilliant and nuanced treatment of the political and economic dimensions of water’s role in history. The breadth and substance of the narrative are outstanding. The book is a tour de force!” —Michael Hanemann, Julie A. Wrigley Chair in Sustainability, Arizona State Boccaletti brilliantly traces the history of how human civilization has been shaped by its attempts to control water for economic and societal benefit. As the impacts of climate change become clearer, policymakers the world over would be well-served to recognize water as a public good, respecting the importance of this invaluable, shared resource to our very survival.” —Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior 2013-17 Now, in Be Water, My Friend , Lee’s daughter Shannon shares the concepts at the core of his philosophies, showing how they can serve as tools of personal growth and self-actualization. Each chapter brings a lesson from Bruce Lee’s teachings, expanding on the foundation of his iconic “be water” philosophy. Over the course of the book, we discover how being like water allows us to embody fluidity and naturalness in life, bringing us closer to our essential flowing nature and our ability to be powerful, self-expressed, and free. Water exhibits some very peculiar properties, which are nicely summarized in the book. There are a few effects such as Mpemba Effect, which is difficult to explain why. This effect is the property of hot water that freezes faster than cold water when both are placed in the same freezer at sub-zero temperatures. The molecular weight of water is very low, as it is a compound of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. This is lighter than even air, which is mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, in both of which the molecule consists of two atoms. Now, the strange part! Even though water is thus lighter than air, it is a liquid at room temperature whereas the heavier air is a gas! Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), which is nearly twice the molecular weight of water, is also a gas! Similar is the case with ammonia. This was a paradox to the scientific world until the concept of hydrogen bonding was developed. Water is a polar liquid, with the two hydrogen atoms connected to the lone oxygen atom at an angle of 104 degrees with each other. These hydrogen atoms possess positive charge which induces attraction with nearby oxygen atoms that are negatively charged. This affinity is not as strong as the conventional covalent or ionic bonds, but sufficient enough to change its physical properties. This weak interaction with fellow molecules causes water to remain a liquid at normal temperatures. As we know, water is essential to life in the liquid form. If not for this quirk of water, life would not have existed on earth – at least, not in the way we are so familiar with. However, not all the water on earth is available for life. As per scientific estimates, only 1% of the terrestrial water is accessible to the flora and fauna as a liquid.Against this expansive vision Wilson-Lee sets the work of Luís de Camões, Portugal’s greatest poet. Of particular interest here is The Lusiads, his epic account of Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese heroes who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope opening a new route to India. The title itself clangs with nationalist pomp, being derived from the ancient Roman name for Portugal, Lusitania. In addition, De Camões transforms Da Gama and his crew into Jason and the Argonauts, semi-divine heroes questing east in search of miraculous treasures. Despite his impeccable humanist credentials, the Iberian Shakespeare’s narrative is one of triumphalist place-naming, land-staking and colonial bluster. The British Victorians, naturally, loved him. Ritengo che i presupposti di partenza per questo libro fossero molto interessanti, ma ne ho trovato la realizzazione povera.

This heavy-duty science is leavened by a first person account of the author’s experience on a scientific cruise to Antarctica. This provides the starting point of descriptions of ice formation (although the book is a bit thin on glaciology), the oceanic circulation system and the existence of life at extremes of temperature, and so forth. Be Water, My Friend: The True Teachings of Brue Lee, written by Shannon Lee (2020). Shannon Lee is an American Actress, Martial Artist and Businessperson, and is the only living child of the legendary Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee died when she was just 4 years old. In the book, Shannon Lee has shared some teachings or ideologies that her father discovered and lived upon. The book also a reflection of her own life and how she had applied her fathers' ways in her life journey. In the epilogue to The Water Book, Alok Jha writes of water: It has been our wellspring of stories and culture, the source of creation and death; it has shaped our language and politics and been at the core of how we built civilization. I've been a fan of Bruce Lee for as long as I can remember. My father was a big fan of Green Hornet when I was growing up. The only thing I remember from that show is the character Bruce Lee played: Kato. I had no idea what kung fu was. I had no idea who Bruce Lee was. But for me, he was the star of the show. The wonders that De Camões wrote about were really not that different – he was particularly keen on mermaids while De Góis favoured mermen – but the point was that he took enormous pains to make sure his version kept European man at the centre of the world. And it worked. The Lusiads, first printed in a relatively modest form, was soon being published in elaborate editions crammed with notes that explained the poet’s meaning and placed his works among the great authors of the European tradition. Before long the book was being translated into Latin, Spanish, English and French. Three hundred years later, the Romantics adopted De Camões as their beau idéal of what a poet ought to be, with Wordsworth, Melville and Poe all taking him as their inspiration. Meanwhile Friedrich Schlegel and Alexander von Humboldt wrote admiring commentaries on The Lusiads – “the most perfect of epics” – sealing its author’s place in the literary canon.There is a state of mind known as "The flow state" first coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. A flow state is a state of existence where we are fully immersed in the present moment and we are performing at our optimum level with the least stress. It is also known as being in the zone. The story of Bruce Lee is the story where he discovers himself, and learn his own way to attain flow state. He compares the flow state to be like water. Water always changes itself to fit its surroundings. Bruce is telling everyone to find their path while being not restricted to one certain way. Being restricted to one thing can sometimes be what that is limiting us. Hence, we must free ourselves of all dogma and be boundless and find our own paths to our goals. Water as itself is expressing fully itself with respect to its surroundings, it does not restrict its movements while in particular surroundings. Hence, Be Water, My Friend! This is not a biography of Bruce Lee, nor a memoir of his daughter, Shannon Lee. It's more of a self-help book with Bruce Lee's life long ideas and teachings, which could be appplied to obstacles in every day life and not only martial arts. Although the book was not what I expected at all since I never read self-help books, it should be an enjoyable read for none "die hard" fans, especially those that are not Chinese and non martial art practioners. Shannon Lee was only 4 when her Dad died, I was a teenager. To be fair, I grew up reading and knowing everything about Bruce Lee, including some of his writings and journals in Chinese, which, sadly, were not included in this book. He also inspired me to learn martial arts, a very similar form as his jetkundo, at a young age. So we're going online for the duration of the crisis to see if we can keep the food and toilet paper flowing.... (we live in boats - what even IS toilet paper.. ?) The Water Book will change the way you look at this ordinary substance. Afterwards, you willhold a glass of water up to the light and see within it thestrangest chemical, something thatconnects you to everything andeveryone else in the universe. As a kid, I grew up watching Bruce Lee movies. I remember them vividly. The fight sequences were always so impressive. I also remember a poster that hung on the closet door - Bruce Lee is in his iconic pose ready to strike.