2 out of 4 stars
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This is a review of the book Fluid Thoughts: Water: Structure and Mysticism by Dr. Vinod D. Shah. This is a non-fiction that provides information on various aspects of water. The book also impresses upon the reader how important water is and how to use it in a responsible fashion.
The book begins with scientific discoveries related to water. The characteristics of the three states of water (ice, water, and steam) and how those properties are helpful in the sustenance of life on Earth are explained. Details about Osmosis (which is the reason for the capillary action used by plants to suck water), water having a memory and a personality, water's effect on human physiology, and water treatment in ancient civilizations are also explained in detail. The mention of celebration of water in the various cultures and poetry makes the reader curious to seek out further information. There are useful discussions about water management, treatment and usage methods, current water crisis, and proposed solutions. I found the list of websites at the end of the book pretty valuable.
I would suggest several improvements in the book. Important topics like water management and treatment, water scarcity, and the proposed solutions are presented at the end of the book, while topics that won’t be of much interest to the contemporary reader like Vedic hymns and divinity of water are given centre stage. On some topics, there is too much of information that is not directly related to the objective of the book, for example, the discussions about Aristotle. Some of the concepts are not explained in detail, for example, the author does not elaborate on erstwhile Spanish alchemist Geber’s claim "calcinations lead to increase in a substance's weight because spirit is united with the body". There are too many references to ancient Indian thoughts on water. There are usages of many Sanskrit words that might put the reader off. It is not clear why the author appreciates the chemical properties of water on one hand and criticizes molecular analysis of water on the other. It would have been helpful if the author had added his research and observations in places where technical points about water are being discussed.
There are several mechanical errors in the book which could have been avoided by professional editing. There are incomplete sentences, redundant words, missing periods and commas, italicized words containing letters that are in regular font, and wrong capitalizations. There are formatting issues like empty pages without explanations, many spaces between two words, missing line breaks, spaces missing between all words in a paragraph, etc.
Overall, I found this book valuable to a beginner who wants to know more about water. Although the book has information about many topics related to water, the structure in which the information has been presented is not appealing. There is too much of dwelling on the celebration and treatment of water in the ancient times. Important information like contemporary management and treatment of water has taken a back seat. The book has not been thoroughly proofread. I could have rated this book 3 out of 4 stars owing to the presence of useful information about water. Because of the ineffective presentation style and several mechanical errors, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.
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Fluid Thoughts-Water(structural and mysticism)
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