Island Press Staff Picks - Bottled and Sold

Today's staff pick, Bottled and Sold, comes from our Production Assistant, Caroline Sperry. When my new roommate told me she had a PUR water filter installed in our kitchen sink my first thought was to hand her my copy of Bottled and Sold. I had lived in my apartment for four years and never had a problem with the taste of the municipal tap water. She explained to me that she grew up on well water so the tap water tasted funny to her. To this day I maintain that the best water I’ve ever tasted came from a moss covered stalactite that was the destination of a two hour hike I took when I was twelve; so I reluctantly conceded the point. Unfortunately my new roommate is only the last in a long line of friends, family, and even cabbies that make me want to hand out pamphlets of Chapter 6 of Bottled and Sold. In his chapter “The Taste of Water,” Gleick swiftly summarizes the many blind taste tests that prove that bottled isn’t better so that he can examine why we work so hard to alter the taste of water. He doesn’t dispute the fact that water can taste different, only that those differences are usually minor to non-existent. Gleick gives us more than the 20/20 snapshot in this engaging chapter; because without the draw of a distinctive taste what does bottled water have to offer? Get Bottled and Sold for 70% off at islandpress.org. Offer valid until October 28th!