The Universal Solvent

About the Book

What readers and reviewers say about The Universal Solvent:

"I like your strong, sassy voice. Your writing voice is quick, take-no-prisoners, smart, informed." Audrey DeLaMartre, book reviewer, The Phoenix.

"I am enjoying The Universal Solvent immensely…it is scary to contemplate the possibility of running out of water. Our son-in-law is a marine biologist and runs a wetland remediation business, so the topic is not new to us. . . I will certainly propose The Universal Solvent to our book club. . . you are such an accomplished author!"

Mrs. T. M. Bowes, Carlisle PA

"As a resident of what is said to be the driest State (South Australia) in the driest Continent, The Universal Solvent is, to me, both timely and thought-provoking. It gives a clear message concerning a serious environmental problem in a readable and entertaining style, which would be of interest to anyone concerned with water conservation and related issues." Trevor Scott, Curator of Fishes, South Australia Museum, Berkely CA, USA lecturer (ret.)

"The Universal Solvent takes the reader on a leap of connected energy to face the imminent possibility of a shortage of fresh drinkable water: this effect has already begun to be evident. The plot shifts the reader at a breathtaking pace along various exciting locations with the main participants so real you sense their presence and character. Fully packed with emotion and intrigue. . .the best piece of work I´ve read in the last sixty years."

Sikung Lowe Head of National Qi Gong College info@nqc.ac

The plot is fiction. The problem is fact.

The time is tomorrow. The problem is water: It´s contaminated. Governments and think tanks strive to solve the water crisis, but too many unscrupulous politicians and crooks profit from this worldwide shortage of potable water to pursue viable solutions seriously—a fact Rusty Sinclair learns at personal cost.

Using an alias, Rusty moves across America like an elusive underground stream—hiding, surfacing, hiding. When he surfaces in Fort Trust, a town that´s seen better times, he decides to work for a few weeks then shove off for the open road again. His plan changes. He spars with a woman co-worker who reminds him all too much of the guilt-stained past he´s trying to elude, yet he must rely on her to help him dust off a retired scientist´s project that might be the key to solving the water crisis…on the other hand the project might only be a senile lunatic´s fantasy.

Clete Shatz, owner of the company Rusty works at, and an acute judge of mortals´ weaknesses, draws Rusty into an embezzlement scheme to bilk American citizens of mega-millions of tax dollars in return for potable water.

At the ethical crossroads, each man must make decisions that will not only put himself at risk, but change the lives of the people he loves and the lives of everyone who thirsts for water. For both Rusty and Clete, the easy path is not the best path. Lives hang in the balance either way.

Using facts, statistics and predictions currently available from the U.S. Government and its agencies and from environmental groups, Fowler´s The Universal Solvent takes readers on an entertaining ride that will change the way they think about humanity´s most precious resource.

About the Author

Who would've thunk it? A small-town English teacher traveling the world, writing about it and having her byline appear in national newspapers, inflight magazines, Buddhist newsletters, slick periodicals and now this? Which goes to show, If you can dream it, you can do it. A native Pennsylvanian, Beth Fowler has had hundreds of articles and two books published in America and internationally. She's still trying to decide if getting a master's degree in education contributed to her current status or if true education happens after one leaves school and steps out into the great big world. For now, she's veering toward the latter.