Nile

“[A] vivid travelogue.” New Statesman“Has much to offer.” The Spectator"Sparks the imagination." BBC History Magazine "A fascinating study." BBC History Revealed Magazine “Essential reading." All About History"Valiant, valuable and entertaining." Times Literary SupplementThe greatest river in the world has a long and fascinating history. Professor Terje Tvedt, one of the world's leading experts on the history of waterways, travels upstream along the river’s mouth to its sources. The result is a travelogue through 5000 years and 11 countries, from the Mediterranean to Central Africa. This is the fascinating story of the immense economic, political and mythical significance of the river. Brimming with accounts of central characters in the struggle for the Nile – from Caesar and Cleopatra, to Churchill and Mussolini, and on to the political leaders of today, The Nile is also the story of water as it nourished a civilization.

In his vivid travelogue and cultural history, the Norwegian professor Terje Tvedt journeys from mouth to source, presenting a deluge of detail about the sediments of history, folklore and nature along the Nile's banks… Tvedt, switching effortlessly from history to reportage, also brings the Nile into the present with discursions on everything from Barack Obama's family origins in Kenya and George W Bush's role in South Sudan's gaining independence in 2011 to Idi Amin feeding human bodies to the crocodiles., When Terje Tveldt’s survey of the great river leaves Egypt for the upper reaches, we begin to learn some satisfyingly arcane facts… For those with time to spare — perhaps when taking a long sail up the great river — the book has much to offer if treated as a compendium to dip into judiciously., A wide-ranging, idiosyncratic exploration of the ways in which the river Nile has shaped life throughout Africa across the course of centuries… This book sparks the imagination, encouraging readers to discover more about lives lived along the Nile, past and present., [Tvedt] is an engaging, idiosyncratic guide, charting the ways in which the river has shaped everything from culture and agriculture to empire and religion. Packed with surprising detours and larger-than-life characters, it’s both a fascinating study of a specific region and an illuminating look at the relationship between humans and the physical world we inhabit., In this involving and richly nuanced narrative, [Tvedt] invites the reader to join him on his journey in a book that is part history, part travelogue, and always involving… Tvedt’s love for his subject is evident on every page. Readers will find much to enjoy here, whether they are students of history, or simply looking for a book that is as accessible as it is ambitious. With a scope as vast as the Nile itself … The Nile is essential reading.

Terje Tvedt is Professor of Geography at the University of Bergen and Professor of Political Science and of Global History at the University of Oslo, Norway. He has published extensively on water related topics and presented three successful television documentaries on water, shown in 150 countries worldwide. He is the Series Editor of the pioneering History of Water Series, published by I.B.Tauris.