Through these “first-person accounts,” readers learn the rivers’ histories, current environmental health status, and evolving relationships with humanity. In addition, Irland discusses innovative practices for addressing pollution, recycling wastewater, and what steps—if any—are being taken to remedy their ailments.

What Rivers Know presents us with 25 intimate portraits of rivers from around the world, such as the Seine (France), the Yaqui (Mexico), the Colorado (US), the Singapore (Malaysia), and the Chaobai (China). These accounts are accentuated with an introduction by noted land artist and feminist Lucy Lippard and a foreword by Sandra Postel, recipient of the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize, the “Nobel Prize” for water.

Irland’s unique writing style tells a nature story unlike any before, delivering within the writing the experience of being a river.