Synopses & Reviews
The Nile is the longest river in the world. In its route from the Lake Plateau of East Africa to the Mediterranean, the Nile flows for more than four thousand miles through nine countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, the Sudan, and Egypt. The river begins in volcanoes and mountains with glacial snows and ends in arid deserts.
Throughout history, the banks of the Nile have been home to many peoples, from Bantu cultivators, Nilotic herdsmen, and Ethiopians in their highlands to the Sudanese, Nubians, and Egyptians on the plains below. No other river in the world has embraced such human diversity. But the huge and varied populations that have thrived on the waters of the Nile have also exerted extraordinary pressures on the river and its environment. From the early canals dug by the pharaohs to the building of the Aswan High Dam in 1971, civilizations have struggled to tame the Nile and control its resources. In The Nile, Robert Collins charts this dynamic interplay between man and nature in chronicling the past, present, and future of this great river.
Review
"A compelling interdisciplinary study of Africa's longest, most intensely studied, and most fabled river. Collins writes about the Nile with the same verve as the pharaohs did several millennia ago." Robert Tignor, Princeton University
Review
"The discussion is primarily historical, with particular emphasis on the adventures and explorations of Europeans. Equally intriguing are the final chapters, which examine the monumental engineering projects that have been undertaken to control the Nile and provide fresh water to parched regions." Library Journal
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-244) and index.
Table of Contents
Tyranny of dependency --Lake plateau --Sudd --Land beyond the rivers --Blue Nile --From Khartoum to Kush --Egyptian Nile and its delta --British engineers on the Nile --Plans and dams --Nile ends at Aswan --Jonglei --Who owns the Nile? --Waters of the world and the Nile.