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Book: The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany
Author: David Blackbourn
Reviewed by: Oliver Gorf, executive director, Goethe-Zentrum, Atlanta’s German Cultural Center
Did you know that the word Technologie (technology) was first used in the title of a German book in 1777, Anleitung zur Technologie (instructions on technology)?
The book, with other like-minded studies of the time like Handbook of Hydraulics, inspired the engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla, who went on to become “The Man who Tamed the Wild Rhine” — quite a superhero title.
His name stands in a line with many inventors, engineers, philosophers, capitalists, politicians and heroes of industrialization who through their ingenuity contributed to the making of modern societies by making nature more predictable.
Rivers are the arteries of societies. Their waters are a fundamental commodity for industrial economies to grow, be it in production or transport. For that, rivers need to be tamed, their flow predictable, measured — unnatural.
The Conquest of Nature describes in breathtaking detail, yet in an entertaining way, how, beginning in the 18th century, great technical minds went forth to change the flow of Germany’s largest and most mythological river, the Rhine.
It is a story of how life by the Rhine became safer, even nicer, and more productive. It is a success story — until it isn’t. We now know that the powers that elevated (and continue to elevate) industrial and post-industrial production also cause the climate crisis. Citizens living near the Rhine know what that means. The Rhine, via climate change, has returned to unpredictability. Its waters recede or flood and kill people more and more often.
The Rhine, like so many rivers in the world, is a great example of the ambivalence of human progress. The book by Blackbourn is so inspiring, that at the Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta, we will begin a series on rivers as a cultural space, covering aspects of history, science, art, mythology, tourism and more.
The new year will bring the start of this new series, called FlussLaeufte/River Courses, beginning of course with the father of all German rivers — the Rhine.
Therefore, I believe it fair to say that The Conquest of Nature was my most inspiring book of 2022.
Editor’s notes: Global Atlanta will receive a 10 percent commission on any purchase of this book through the links on this page.
Each year, Global Atlanta asks influential readers and community leaders to review the most impactful book they read during the course of the year. This endeavor has continued annually since 2010.
See last year’s full list of books on BookShop here, and all 2021 reader picks here.
All books were chosen and reviews written independently, with only mild editing from our staff.