Two billion people worldwide are without access to safe water. But solutions are hard to come by when causes are not clearly defined. In a whirlwind tour of global water insecurity, one of the world's leading experts on water politics chronicles the massive impact of climate change; the insatiable water demands of industry and agriculture; and the widespread lack of state investment in infrastructure. Filippo Menga focuses in particular on the high priests of global developmentalism - celebrities, CEOs, and sustainability directors - who have emerged as some of the loudest voices about water issues while offering few tangible solutions. Thirst shows that if humanity is to escape the deadlock that bedevils access to clean water, it has to reconsider both its faith in the market and its relationship with nature.

Takes the reader on a spectacular and comprehensive journey through the ways celebrities, charities, corporations, and communities engage with the water crisis. It is an essential book that sparks critical reflection and inspires action. -- Farhana Sultana, Professor of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University
A great and truly original book about the world's water condition. But it is much more than that. Menga dives into the forces that make and shape capitalism today. It is both an eye-opener and a call to act. -- Erik Swyngedouw, Professor of Geography, University of Manchester
Warns of the dangers of charity-focussed philanthrocapitalism and corporate-led environmental governance. -- Lyla Mehta, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
From micro-loans backed by big finance to running marathons to fund new water projects, Thirst details how the spirit of capitalism seeks - but fails to find - redemption through an industry of water charities and the celebrity priesthood that fronts them. -- Jeremy Schmidt, author of Water: Abundance, Scarcity, and Security in the Age of Humanity
Thirst develops a provocative critique of mainstream analyses of the 'global water crisis' by demonstrating how capital thrives on apocalyptic predictions. By focusing on celebrities, corporate philanthropy, and NGOs, Menga provides an original account of how the idea of a global water crisis has generated a distinct cultural politics of neoliberal capitalism that parasitically extends to everyday life. -- Maria Rusca, Lecturer in Global Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
Shows how a neoliberal version of charity and philanthropy feeds on our emotionsto elicit donations that further uphold, and validate, a market-based solutionism that remains unchallenged. This is a much-needed unpacking of how capitalism generates, but also absorbs and thrives on, the global water crisis. -- François Molle, Director of Research at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

Filippo Menga is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Bergamo, Italy and Associate Editor of the journal Political Geography.