The Summer 2018 issue of Lapham’s Quarterly addresses the topic of water—its ubiquity and scarcity, its ineffable power to destroy and to console. From the rivers of ancient Mesopotamia to the lead pipes of Flint, Michigan, water is essential both to life and to our well-being. Contributors to the Water issue—including Rachel Carson on the danger of pesticides, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek on the aquatic life of microbes, Marco Polo on the commerce of the Grand Canal of China, and Elias Khoury on the domestic politics of water—show us that we are all made of water and are all driven by it. Lest we take for granted what occurs when we turn a spigot, we are enjoined by various voices to regard this resource with the greatest of care. Fresh water soon enough is fouled, and what remains is finite. Without water there can be no life, and without it there can be no joy. Water remains forever on the move. As Toni Morrison is quoted in this issue: “All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”