Seven Rivers
A Journey Through the Currents of Human History
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- 16,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
Rivers are the great natural arteries that run through our lives. We have navigated them, dammed them and worshipped at them. From the ancient ecosystems of Egypt to the sinking cities of Shanghai and London, what we do with our rivers tells us about who has power and what we value. Now, when a passion for wild swimming is flourishing but the Amazon is on fire and some of our major river systems are dying, it has never been clearer that rivers are intertwined with humanity at our best and our worst.
Seven Rivers is story of the Nile, Danube, Niger, Mississippi, Ganges, Yangtze and the Thames. It is a story of imperial frontiers, alluvial gold, kidnappings, slavery, anticolonialism and creation myths. It is about those who've lived and died on these rivers and their endless capacity for invention: their lotus pools and hanging gardens, their gigantic canal systems and elaborate fishing rituals, their absolute powers and their sly rebellions. At its heart are the empire-builders of the Chinese dynasties, Romans and Hindus and their river gods, the Habsburgs and Ottomans, Mughal emperors, the people of the Niger from Mali's golden age to today, struggles of life and death on the Mississippi, and the dethroning of the British on the rivers of their unruly imperial subjects.
This is the story of us, in seven rivers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Taylor, environmental history lecturer at the University of Greenwich, offers a deeply researched exploration of how seven rivers have shaped human societies around the world. From the Nile to the Mississippi, rivers are the "lifeblood" of civilization, offering drinking water, trade access, and navigation routes, Taylor explains. They've served as sites of powerful empires and sparked wars, and while humans have adapted waterways to meet their needs—building dams, levees, canals, and water mills—they've also been devastated by floods, droughts, and water-borne diseases. Taylor details how the Nile—the world's longest river—sustained dynasties in Ancient Egypt, the Danube was the site of geopolitical conflict and cultural exchange between East and West Europe, and the Ganges influenced Hindu and Buddhist practices, and became a vital artery for trade in India. In a similarly sweeping fashion, Taylor covers how human history unfolded along the Niger, Yangtze, Mississippi, and Thames rivers. The narratives at times get bogged down in extensive details, including a meticulous timeline of regime changes throughout Egyptian history, but useful maps and intriguing trivia keep the pages turning. History buffs will have a blast. Illus.
