100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Fast Overnight NZ-wide Delivery 🚀

Cry Me A River

The Tragedy of the Murray-Darling Basin: Quarterly Essay 77
4.09 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 191 ratings, 25 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Cry Me A River by Margaret Simons delves into the intricate relationship between water management and ecological sustainability in Australia. It explores the impacts of human activities on the continent's rivers, addressing challenges around conservation and the balance between natural ecosystems and human demands. The narrative combines scientific insight with a profound appreciation for the natural world.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3200
Elsewhere:
$3500
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by the intricate relationships between natural ecosystems and human societies. The author delves into environmental challenges and solutions, emphasising story-telling that combines expert insights with compelling narratives. Science and nature enthusiasts keen on exploring these connections will find it especially engaging.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Award-winning journalist Margaret Simons journeys through the troubled Murray-Darling Basin exploring the politics of water, drought, and food.

The Murray-Darling Basin is the food bowl of Australia, and it's in trouble. What does this mean for the future—for water and crops, and for the people and towns that depend on it?

In Cry Me a River, acclaimed journalist Margaret Simons takes a trip through the Basin, all the way from Queensland to South Australia. She shows that its plight is environmental but also economic, and enmeshed in ideology and identity.

Her essay is both a portrait of the Murray-Darling Basin and an explanation of its woes. It looks at rural Australia and the failure of politics over decades to meet the needs of communities forced to bear the heaviest burden of change. Whether it is fish kills or state rivalries, drought or climate change, in the Basin our ability to plan for the future is being put to the test.

"The story of the Murray-Darling Basin ... is a story of our nation, the things that join and divide us. It asks whether our current systems—our society and its communities—can possibly meet the needs of the nation and the certainty of change. Is the Plan an honest compact, and is it fair? Can it work? Are our politics up to the task?" - Margaret Simons, Cry Me a River

This issue also contains correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 76, Red Flag, from Amy King, David Walker, John West, Richard McGregor, Henry Sherrell, Wanning Sun, Caroline Rosenberg, Sam Roggeveen, and Peter Hartcher.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781760642280

Publisher: Black Inc.

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 March 2020

Country: Australia

Imprint: Quarterly Essay

Edition: 77th edition

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 11.0mm

Width: 168.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 240g

Pages: 128

About the Author

Margaret Simons is an award-winning journalist and the author of thirteen books, including biographies of Malcolm Fraser and Penny Wong. She won the 2015 Walkley Award for Social Equity Journalism and has been honoured with several Quill Awards for journalistic excellence.

Also by Margaret Simons

View all
  • Tanya Plibersek
    A fascinating portrait of one of Australia's most influential women. Unputdownable ... If you're looking for an entertaining and informative insight into the rollercoaster ride of Australian politics over the last twenty-five years, as well as an inspiring read about one of our most powerful women, look no further. - Books+Publishing Elected to federal parliament aged just twenty-eight, Tanya Plibersek...
    Paperback
    $4100
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Six Square Metres
    Life lessons from the ground up. Sometimes you reap what you sow. Sometimes you reap what other people sowed. Sometimes you haven't got a clue what you are sowing, and sometimes you just get lucky, or unlucky. All these things are true of life, as of gardening. In this thoughtful and beautifully observed book, journalist and gardening enthusiast Margaret Simons...
    Hardback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Science & Nature

View all
  • John and Paul
    THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    19% off
    What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
    CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' — BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' — TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' — NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...
    Hardback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Anxious Generation
    A powerful argument for reclaiming childhood—and all human relationships—from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces—communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Prisoners of Geography
    Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...
    Paperback
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
    It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    20% off
    The Place of Tides
    To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Usually:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Ultra-Processed People
    Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. ‘Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ — A.A. Gill ‘Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ — Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • That's not my... Zoo
    A perfect introduction to zoo animals with eye-catching illustrations, touchy-feely patches and a noisy finale! Discover the fun of the zoo in this sound-book addition to the bestselling That's not my... series. Turn the pages to explore the zoo and meet a monkey, an elephant, a tiger and a parrot in this larger format touchy-feely book. Press the sound button...
    Board book
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Sapiens
    Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is an extraordinary exploration of humanity's history from the dawn of our species to the present day. Harari delves into our evolution, offering insights into the cognitive revolutions that allowed Homo sapiens to rise above other animal species. Traversing through various stages of human development, he examines the Agricultural Revolution, the unification of humankind through...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Invisible Women
    Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is a groundbreaking and meticulously researched exploration into the pervasive gender bias that infiltrates every aspect of our society. Through compelling case studies and thorough analysis, this book unveils the hidden ways women are systematically disadvantaged in a world predominantly designed by and for men. Perez's revelations stretch across various sectors including government policy,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Clean & Green
    Simple swaps and innovative ideas for cleaning and maintaining your home that won't cost the Earth. Learn how easy it is to make simple swaps in your cleaning and tidying methods for a more eco-friendly home. This beautifully illustrated black and white guide with 101 hints and sustainable, natural cleaning tips and hacks will help you take small steps that...
    Paperback
    $2999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.