A leading freshwater ecologist, Mike Joy is a powerful advocate for the conservation of our waterways. In this memoir, he offers a rare first-hand look at the life of a scientist whose research led him to activism. Vividly describing the environmental damage, he has witnessed in New Zealand’s rivers, lakes and streams, he writes also about the political challenges he has met along the way. At a perilous time for our universities, his story is an inspirational account of staying true to academia’s function as ‘critic and conscience’ of society.