The indisputable relevance of dam construction to understanding present-day China and its economy, environment, and society makes Bryan Tilt's new book, Dams and Development in China, an easy one to pick up. It also is hard to put down. Not only is this efficient volume usefully packed with a wide array of compelling data, some surprising survey results, and a remarkably navigable mapping of government policy processes and decision-making models, it also manages to indulge in some lovely scenery descriptions and offer some hope that there are some signs of improvement. This book will be of interest to anyone curious about contemporary China or global environmental studies. Although it assumes a fair amount of knowledge and is geared toward scholars, it is accessible enough for use in a college classroom.

As an anthropologist, Tilt focuses on human and social questions associated with dam development. This book, however, is not a typical anthropological study. Tilt's approach holds true to his repeated refrain that the study of dams and solutions to their associated problems requires “cross-disciplinary collaborative arrangements” (p. xii). As such, he has integrated into his study scientific data, historical contextualization, analysis of the transboundary impacts of dams, and an exploration of decision-making modeling around dam construction (IDAM, or Integrative Dam Assessment Model), in addition to the more anthropological coupling of the experiences with dam construction and planning in two specific river systems (Lancang and Nu) in Yunnan Province. The study also spans from such micro-level investigations as dialogues with individual displaced peasants to macro-level analysis of the geopolitical impact of China's new exports, namely dam construction expertise and funding. While such a scope may seem overly ambitious, Tilt maintains a disciplined approach to interweaving the various components comprising this study. The weft that holds these threads together is Tilt's persistent pursuit of a pragmatic moral economy.

China has some 25,000 large dams, which astoundingly is approximately equal to the combined number of large dams in every other country around the globe (p. xi). Aware of China's plans for many more dams, Tilt does not entertain any romantic notions that the PRC government might cease dam construction anytime soon. Instead, he has decided to examine this phenomenon from different angles in an effort to bring together the many and varied perspectives on dams that currently constitute a cacophony of controversy. This effort has moved him beyond a willingness to accept the possibility that dams might be a legitimate response to China's goliath air pollution crisis to the remarkable assertion that “[w]hen we acknowledge the moral dimensions of hydropower development and the complex trade-offs that it entails, we can more clearly see the things that we value and the things that we sometimes willfully ignore” (p. 195).

Placing his study within the framework of a moral economy—a notion that Tilt himself readily acknowledges is well traversed and also notes is currently enjoying an academic revival (p. 165)—might not be the approach that best showcases the contributions of this volume. That being said, his ability to push past the simple advocacy for the vulnerable peasants who are displaced by dams, and actually imbue dam construction with moral dimensions, unveils additional layers of nuance in the well-explored concept. Tilt's analysis may be a reflection of his multiple encounters with representatives of various sectors, from government officials to engineers who genuinely seemed to respect the moral challenges of hydropower construction. It may also stem from an assertion that a moral economy can only be achieved by providing space for moral engagement in every sector that touches dam construction.

Such a perspective may seem extremely idealistic but, in fact, is highly pragmatic. Tilt's approach is solution-oriented. He seeks various means to mitigate the many problems of dam construction by, among other approaches, literally finding common vocabulary that representatives of various sectors can use to communicate with each other. His efforts to interweave perspectives also involve efforts to detangle such misunderstandings as the assumption that the cost of displacement can be measured in monetary terms alone. He notes that displacement also leads to “a disruption in the social networks of trust and reciprocity with other villagers that provide economic and social support; and a fundamental alteration in the cultural ties between people and place” (p. 55). Tilt demonstrates an agility in his ability to see the perspectives of various contesting interests in the world of hydropower development. Although Tilt documents notable improvement in relocation experiences over the years, his examination of shifts that occurred with China's change in central leadership and trends in China's dam development on the global stage make it difficult to embrace some of the measured optimism that seems to fuel his research on bettering the inevitable damming being done in China.