Aridity: Droughts and Human Development

General Introduction.- 1 The Spatial Framework, the Concepts of Aridity and Drought: the Soils and the Vegetation.- 2 Resources vs. Hydrological and Aeolian Constraints.- 3 Human Genius: The Search for Water and Its Management - Battle Against the Wind.- 4 From Ingenuity to Decadence: Geohistory of an Actual Decline - Grounds for Hope?.- General Conclusion.- References.- Geographic Index.