Water: Sacred and Profaned

After an especially grueling day in the trenches, I sometimes crave a hot bath, and what I've come to think of as the healing power of water. The six writers/naturalists interviewed in this short tape apparently feel the same way: they all see water as "sacred...a purveyor of life...a precious gift which is everywhere, enveloping our lives." Accompanied by compelling cinematography, poetry, and art works, their spiritual-yet-corporeal insights present a picture of a resource of paramount importance to all earthly life. Although the program touches on concerns such as pollution and conservation, the focus here is on the sacred and philosophical. Water: Sacred & Profaned is recommended as part of a nature, religion, or ecology collection, though not necessarily recommended for kids who have generic homework assignments on water (although a leaflet inside the tape--instantly lost in library collections--does provide 23 hard facts on the topic). (K. Glaser)