This is the author's seventh book on agricultural development and disaster management in Bangladesh. He draws upon his 35 years experience in the country to describe the causes and impacts of the floods which periodically ravage Bangladesh and to review the efforts made to mitigate the damage and suffering they cause. The three chapters in Part I provide background information on the physical environment. They contain a comprehensive description of conditions in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna catchment area which determine Bangladesh's vulnerability to floods; a description of how climate change and a rising sea-level might affect the country's flood vulnerability; and an attempt to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings about floods, flood impacts and flood mitigation in Bangladesh. The five chapters in Part H describe how floods affect the people and economy of Bangladesh and how the people and government have responded to the country's exposure to floods and cyclones. The single chapter in Part HI addresses the question which gives the title to the book by reviewing the technical, economic and institutional issues raised by the changes in policy and strategy, and draws conclusions regarding the implications of these changes for the government and people of Bangladesh.