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Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilization
A journey along the Tigris River in search of hope as this lifeblood of civilization now faces the twin threats of geoplitics and climate change.
Starting at the source of this storied river, where ancient Mesopotamians and Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, explorer Leon McCarron and his small team will journey through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq.
Along the way, they will pass through historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul and Baghdad. We will meet fishermen and farmers, along with artists, activists and archaeologists, who rely on the flow of the river. Occasionally harassed by militias, often helped by soldiers, McCarron rode his luck in areas still troubled by ISIS and relied on the generosity of a network of strangers as he follows the river to it's end in the Persian Gulf.
For readers of Simon Winchester, Erika Fatland, and Kevin Fedarko, Wounded Tigris is the story of what humanity stands to lose with the death of a great river, and what can be done to try to save it.
Starting at the source of this storied river, where ancient Mesopotamians and Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, explorer Leon McCarron and his small team will journey through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq.
Along the way, they will pass through historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul and Baghdad. We will meet fishermen and farmers, along with artists, activists and archaeologists, who rely on the flow of the river. Occasionally harassed by militias, often helped by soldiers, McCarron rode his luck in areas still troubled by ISIS and relied on the generosity of a network of strangers as he follows the river to it's end in the Persian Gulf.
For readers of Simon Winchester, Erika Fatland, and Kevin Fedarko, Wounded Tigris is the story of what humanity stands to lose with the death of a great river, and what can be done to try to save it.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2023
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596 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 27, 2025
Leon McCarron is no stranger to Iraq, having spent 6 years their establishing the Zagros Mountain Trail. After returning to set himself up in London, and finding himself needing more action, he packs up with girlfriend Emily Garthwaite, a photographer, and sets out to travel the length of the Tigris River, from its headwaters in Turkey to the sea in the Persian Gulf. Joining them are Claudio von Planta (the Swiss cameraman best known for his journey with Ewan McGregor & Charlie Boorman on their motorcycles in various locations) and local guides for each country. Some time in Turkey and briefly Syria, but the lions share of the journey is in Iraq. In Iraq they are assisted by environmental activist Salman Khairalla and interpreter Hana Ibrahim, both of who feature a lot.
McCarron's intent was to travel as much of it by boat as possible, meeting those who live adjacent the river, learning their stories, and combine them with the river's history. Given this travel occurs during covid, and also through areas where ISIS remain active (if not very successfully active), the journey is quite an undertaking, and while they travel predominantly by boat, there are many periods where we it is just not safe, or permitted to be on the river. In the end the calculation is around 68% of the distance travelled is on the river (approx a 1200 mile journey).
Initially there is no real mention of the environmental condition of the river, but this quickly becomes a major feature of this book - the environmental damage being done to the river, the impacts of this, and really, to raise the issue to the public. Having read Rory Stewart's Occupational Hazards I have some understanding of the complexities of governing and the disfunction in Iraq. Army, police, other factions, militias with conflicting intents, power struggles and lack of cohesive intents mean that the river is treated for local issues not national issues - this becomes readily apparent as they progress downstream. There are many issues, but water control based on the dams is a major factor. Changing the flows, releasing or not releasing water effects all downstream people. This includes the flooding of many villages within the dam catchments, often with little or no assistance in relocating these suddenly homeless people.
There are just so many other issues - excavation of aggregates for concrete and asphalt, depleted uranium left over from military caches, waste from oil refineries, effluent pipes dumping sewerage, the river used as mass grave by ISIS, medical waste discharging directly into the river bypassing a broken treatment plant and water salinity and stagnation in the marshes.
McCarron does a good job of cataloguing all of these depressing things while still identifying some cultural positives, as anyone who has read of the Middle East will know the extent of hospitality, especially from people with so little. Many Iraqi people go out of their way to be of assistance to the travellers, or share their stories with them.
As much as a nautical journey down the Tigris in a traditional boat appeals, that was never viable with the unrest and uncertainty in Iraq. This was certainly an alternative that had plenty to keep me satisfied - still an epic journey, massive challenges and ultimately a really sad state that the Tigris River is now in. The only hope is that this sort of exposure may raise enough concern for changes to be made.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
McCarron's intent was to travel as much of it by boat as possible, meeting those who live adjacent the river, learning their stories, and combine them with the river's history. Given this travel occurs during covid, and also through areas where ISIS remain active (if not very successfully active), the journey is quite an undertaking, and while they travel predominantly by boat, there are many periods where we it is just not safe, or permitted to be on the river. In the end the calculation is around 68% of the distance travelled is on the river (approx a 1200 mile journey).
Initially there is no real mention of the environmental condition of the river, but this quickly becomes a major feature of this book - the environmental damage being done to the river, the impacts of this, and really, to raise the issue to the public. Having read Rory Stewart's Occupational Hazards I have some understanding of the complexities of governing and the disfunction in Iraq. Army, police, other factions, militias with conflicting intents, power struggles and lack of cohesive intents mean that the river is treated for local issues not national issues - this becomes readily apparent as they progress downstream. There are many issues, but water control based on the dams is a major factor. Changing the flows, releasing or not releasing water effects all downstream people. This includes the flooding of many villages within the dam catchments, often with little or no assistance in relocating these suddenly homeless people.
There are just so many other issues - excavation of aggregates for concrete and asphalt, depleted uranium left over from military caches, waste from oil refineries, effluent pipes dumping sewerage, the river used as mass grave by ISIS, medical waste discharging directly into the river bypassing a broken treatment plant and water salinity and stagnation in the marshes.
McCarron does a good job of cataloguing all of these depressing things while still identifying some cultural positives, as anyone who has read of the Middle East will know the extent of hospitality, especially from people with so little. Many Iraqi people go out of their way to be of assistance to the travellers, or share their stories with them.
As much as a nautical journey down the Tigris in a traditional boat appeals, that was never viable with the unrest and uncertainty in Iraq. This was certainly an alternative that had plenty to keep me satisfied - still an epic journey, massive challenges and ultimately a really sad state that the Tigris River is now in. The only hope is that this sort of exposure may raise enough concern for changes to be made.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
January 18, 2024
This was a difficult book to read. I expected a book about travel down the Tigris river in a traditional type of watercraft where those on the journey have some travails, recount meetings with local people, describe the history of the 'cradle of civilization' and such. What I got instead is a lesson in environmental politics in Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq; descriptions of environmental degradation of the Tigris River in all three countries it crosses and insight into the young activist communities in the region trying against hope to save the Tigris River for the future. It's a bit disheartening but very important to learn of all this. More of of should care about the future of the Tigris River and Leon McCarron's new book will, I hope, inspire activism and policy change on the part of Western nations to assist the Near East to see this happen.
I would definitely give Wounded Tigris 5* for content, I knocked off a star for lack of an index which I think is important for any work of non-fiction.
I would definitely give Wounded Tigris 5* for content, I knocked off a star for lack of an index which I think is important for any work of non-fiction.
June 14, 2023
Informative enjoyable scary and sad. Isis features in the background but in no way as scary as the results of pollution. Told by and Irishman who loves Iraq.
May 19, 2023
We’ll written, and so sad
This travelogue of a trip down the Tigris by boats ( and often over roads) is a portrait of present-day Iraq. The dysfunction of that fractured society and the decline of this oil-rich, poor economy are illustrated time and again in the book. For me, it is a telling illustration of the insight that institutions (habits, customs, laws and their enforcement) matter. In that pathetic, riven nation of Iraq, trust- building institutions and compromises are sadly lacking, and so the people of course suffer. The only consolation for this despicable, nature- and hope- destroying state of affairs is the tradition of Oriental hospitality, which those intrepid Tigris travellers encounter every now and then along the way.
This travelogue of a trip down the Tigris by boats ( and often over roads) is a portrait of present-day Iraq. The dysfunction of that fractured society and the decline of this oil-rich, poor economy are illustrated time and again in the book. For me, it is a telling illustration of the insight that institutions (habits, customs, laws and their enforcement) matter. In that pathetic, riven nation of Iraq, trust- building institutions and compromises are sadly lacking, and so the people of course suffer. The only consolation for this despicable, nature- and hope- destroying state of affairs is the tradition of Oriental hospitality, which those intrepid Tigris travellers encounter every now and then along the way.
February 17, 2024
What a read… A book that I devoured in a few days only. A journey on the Tigris through stories of adventures, people, environment, geopolitics and history; all wrapped in a beautifully well written book with poignant pictures.
August 8, 2024
A tough expedition along a tortured dying river in a landscape of violence
August 15, 2024
A pretty depressing, yet enlightening , journey down a river that has faded in importance. It's hard to summon up any optimism about the fate of the river...or Iraq itself
August 19, 2023
An epic journey down one of the world’s most important rivers, introducing readers to Iraq’s modern and ancient history and the environmental plight of the region. The writing is immersive, and each character the author meets along the way is fascinating to meet. This will be my top recommendation for books on Iraq
October 8, 2025
The real voyage of discovery consists not only in seeking new landscapes but also in having new eyes
Marcel Proust
I read this book with quite a heavy heart. This travelogue is so excruciatingly taxing to digest as the author is so brutally honest and keenly observant in his accounts of all kinds of miseries and deterioration: natural resource over-exploitation, pollution, 2 senseless wars in less than 2 decades, lingering remnants of war, extreme sectarianism, abject poverty, failed government, uprooted lives and more. The prestigious Cradle of past Civilization is now regrettably, depressingly crumbling with no realistic hope for a restorative recovery any time soon! Before this book, Levison Wood is the only "tough" traveler I know of. Now, the author holds the same honorary position as Mr. Wood.
The author even admits early in the book of his hopelessly unrealistic and naive plan of his paddling expedition along the entire Tigris. The only non-depressing part of the expedition is in the beginning of the book where the team visited the lush and naturally intact origin of the Tigris in Turkey. Once the team entered Syria, the narratives turn bleaker in ascending degree. for me, all the details in this book help confirm what I read from reputable news pieces and watched from news documentaries about the current sorry state in Iraq and nearby.
In the end, I admire keen, attentive observation and mental tenacity of the author and his entire team in making this entire Tigris expedition. Their spirit, determination and perseverance are the merits I can only envy. The author helps his readers realize what real life miseries are really like! Whatever miseries I think I have pale in comparison!
For other similarly enlightening travelogue and chronicle as good as this one, I recommend these: Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road.
Marcel Proust
I read this book with quite a heavy heart. This travelogue is so excruciatingly taxing to digest as the author is so brutally honest and keenly observant in his accounts of all kinds of miseries and deterioration: natural resource over-exploitation, pollution, 2 senseless wars in less than 2 decades, lingering remnants of war, extreme sectarianism, abject poverty, failed government, uprooted lives and more. The prestigious Cradle of past Civilization is now regrettably, depressingly crumbling with no realistic hope for a restorative recovery any time soon! Before this book, Levison Wood is the only "tough" traveler I know of. Now, the author holds the same honorary position as Mr. Wood.
The author even admits early in the book of his hopelessly unrealistic and naive plan of his paddling expedition along the entire Tigris. The only non-depressing part of the expedition is in the beginning of the book where the team visited the lush and naturally intact origin of the Tigris in Turkey. Once the team entered Syria, the narratives turn bleaker in ascending degree. for me, all the details in this book help confirm what I read from reputable news pieces and watched from news documentaries about the current sorry state in Iraq and nearby.
In the end, I admire keen, attentive observation and mental tenacity of the author and his entire team in making this entire Tigris expedition. Their spirit, determination and perseverance are the merits I can only envy. The author helps his readers realize what real life miseries are really like! Whatever miseries I think I have pale in comparison!
For other similarly enlightening travelogue and chronicle as good as this one, I recommend these: Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road.
March 7, 2025
Wounded Tigris is a monumental accomplishment in cataloguing the current state of the Tigris. McCarron's bold journey from source to sea, through intimate encounters with the broken peoples who inhabit the in-between, sounds terrifying alarm bells about the ecological catastrophe playing out along this moribund river. The Tigris isn't just wounded, it's in death's grip.
What you'll take away from the book depends upon what you arrive with. If it's a curiosity of the current state of affairs in Iraq, especially focusing on the ecology and managerial politics, you're going to love this.
If, like me, you're hoping for some personal stories from an insanely ill-advised adventure (think Redmon O'Hanlon's 'In Trouble Again'), then you may find it a bit of a slog.
And I say that without harbouring any disappointment in what McCarron has produced. It's as phenomenal as it is important. His historical additions are gripping, his interactions with locals are visceral, and the occasional humorous quips are charming reminders that we are above any pretentiousness.
The reality is simply that the entirety of the Tigris is in a similar state of decay. From one section to the next politicians have thrown up absurd red tape, militants have destroyed infrastructure, dams have stymied most of the flow, and grotesque thoughtlessness has poisoned the little remaining.
So about halfway through, it all started blending together. So much grim tragedy eventually had me feeling numb to any more. Stories of the locals broke the repetition, though I still found my mind wandering away from the narrative.
At the end of the work, McCarron borrows an Iraqi phrase in apologizing if the book "isn't perfect". I don't see what he could have done any better considering the state of the river - and in that sense it is perfect. For me, bringing different expectations, it didn't satisfy. Though, nonetheless, kudos to McCarron for producing a book that I'm very happy exists.
What you'll take away from the book depends upon what you arrive with. If it's a curiosity of the current state of affairs in Iraq, especially focusing on the ecology and managerial politics, you're going to love this.
If, like me, you're hoping for some personal stories from an insanely ill-advised adventure (think Redmon O'Hanlon's 'In Trouble Again'), then you may find it a bit of a slog.
And I say that without harbouring any disappointment in what McCarron has produced. It's as phenomenal as it is important. His historical additions are gripping, his interactions with locals are visceral, and the occasional humorous quips are charming reminders that we are above any pretentiousness.
The reality is simply that the entirety of the Tigris is in a similar state of decay. From one section to the next politicians have thrown up absurd red tape, militants have destroyed infrastructure, dams have stymied most of the flow, and grotesque thoughtlessness has poisoned the little remaining.
So about halfway through, it all started blending together. So much grim tragedy eventually had me feeling numb to any more. Stories of the locals broke the repetition, though I still found my mind wandering away from the narrative.
At the end of the work, McCarron borrows an Iraqi phrase in apologizing if the book "isn't perfect". I don't see what he could have done any better considering the state of the river - and in that sense it is perfect. For me, bringing different expectations, it didn't satisfy. Though, nonetheless, kudos to McCarron for producing a book that I'm very happy exists.
October 30, 2024
I love the region, and I was excited when I learned about the book. I like the way of storytelling. Perhaps I am biased a little bit, as I know some parts of the river and part of the story well, so I had moments: Why didn't he also say this and that? But this story wasn't mine, so I accept it.
It is a great story of the missing world. It shows how the mighty river which has shaped our ancient and recent history is disappearing. It speaks about the space and the people inhabiting it. It sings about the loss, hope, and daily struggle. It is not easy to write a story of a river and even more difficult is to experience the river itself. And this the author and his team did, they made the journey and they took us on it.
It is a great story of the missing world. It shows how the mighty river which has shaped our ancient and recent history is disappearing. It speaks about the space and the people inhabiting it. It sings about the loss, hope, and daily struggle. It is not easy to write a story of a river and even more difficult is to experience the river itself. And this the author and his team did, they made the journey and they took us on it.
February 18, 2024
This is an outstanding book. It is sensitive to the deep fissures of environmental damage that is destroying Iraq, as well as to the wider political violence ordinary people have suffered; and it locates these in specifics, of geography and place, so that you feel the texture of the Tigris river as it limps wounded across Iraq. The writer never seems to get lost in the indulgences of sweeping generalities about place and culture. It clearly cost a lot to the writer, photographer and local team - emotionally and physically - to create this visionary project. I was moved and touched, despairing and hopeful in turns.
October 17, 2024
A wonderful, disturbing narrative of a journey along the Tigris from its source in Turkey, through a corner of Syria into Iraq to its mouth on the Persian Gulf. Taking place during the Covid pandemic, Leon and his party discover the ruins of mighty civilizations, a mix of cultures, religions and ethnic groups, militias including Isis and other terrorist groups, ruinous devastation of the river and its people by continuing wars, inefficient Iraqui bureaucracy and dams and river-polluting industries. Despite this they meet people with hope, who want to preserve the history of cultures, prevent and reverse further destruction, and those who despite all great them with hospitality and kindness.
June 3, 2023
An amazing journey through an area I have little knowledge of. The trip was not easy, but I was very impressed by the hospitality shown to the travelers all along the way. Made me wonder if travelers would find the same when following the Mississippi or other rivers here in the States. I pulled out an atlas to follow along as I read
June 8, 2023
A superbly written travel adventure, blended with history (both ancient and modern), taking a view from a river most have heard of but little actually know.
I was hooked from the start of this cracking read, and his writing really brings the trip to life with great description of both the world through which he travels, the local customs and the characters met along the way.
A great read.
I was hooked from the start of this cracking read, and his writing really brings the trip to life with great description of both the world through which he travels, the local customs and the characters met along the way.
A great read.
November 21, 2023
Really 4.5 stars. While this is non-fiction, Leon McCarron weaves the eternal journey motif in a story of the various cultures, people, politics, and souls along the Tigris. It’s a good read and brings faces to the struggles in the Middle East. It also allows the reader to see the similarities and differences between western and eastern cultures.
March 10, 2024
"Wounded Tigris" offers a captivating narrative of a voyage through Iraq. The book delves into aspects of history, cultural heritage, and ecology, intertwined with poignant personal stories of Iraqi people. I have yet to discover many of the places vividly depicted in the text. Through L. McCarron's narrative, I find inspiration to explore more and better understand Iraq.
May 16, 2024
3.6 or so - but it's great to get this perspective travelling down the length of the Tigris in modern times. A modern day adventure story shorn of any old-timey derring-do bravado. Grounded in a modern realism the reader can feel free to get to know the characters along the way. Also being a quick read makes it easy to take the journey with them without the dangers and heat.
August 28, 2024
I enjoy travel yarns and books linked to rivers and this one mostly did not disappoint. I did find the prose about uneven - at times lyrical, at others a bit forced, slowing the narrative flow like a river. But I learned a thing or two about region I have spent only a little time in and do not read enough about ...
May 26, 2025
“Iraq is eternal. The only constant is change, and Iraq has always suffered. But it will always come back.”
Picked this up randomly at Daunt Books in London and I’m so glad I did. It is heartbreaking, but also beautifully captures Iraqi culture and history through the people the author meets along the way. You can tell it was written with a lot of love for both the land and its people.
Picked this up randomly at Daunt Books in London and I’m so glad I did. It is heartbreaking, but also beautifully captures Iraqi culture and history through the people the author meets along the way. You can tell it was written with a lot of love for both the land and its people.
July 2, 2023
No doubt this is an important river and journey but it felt less of an adventure and more like a history book without passion and emotional depth. I applaud his endeavor and am happy to know more about Iraq
May 5, 2024
Did not finish.
There was no continuity between chapters, the Author was in a hurry. There was no setting the scene, he wrote about many of the people he travelled with and assumed the readers were as familiar with them as he was.
There was no continuity between chapters, the Author was in a hurry. There was no setting the scene, he wrote about many of the people he travelled with and assumed the readers were as familiar with them as he was.
November 5, 2023
A really fascinating book, it gives a varied and insightful account of a momentous journey down one of the most significant rivers on Earth
November 27, 2023
Outstanding. Fantastic storytelling to relay a really ambitious project.
June 28, 2024
Very enjoyable - McCarron blends history, culture and ecology in his trip down the Tigris, keeping all the themes (along with the journey itself) well balanced
October 4, 2024
Such an epic journey! It’s well written and engaging. I especially like the characters and human stories which are rare to hear in media reporting about Iraq.
April 12, 2025
Interesting at times but overall very bleak and pessimistic. Found it also seemed repetitive from town to town and city to city.
May 3, 2025
Dam(n).
February 11, 2024
Written by an Irish travel writer, this book follows the Tigris River through southern Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. It contains interesting travel writing, both about the region's past, and about its present day culture. There is a lot of emphasis on the environmental problems that the Tigris (and the region in general) is experiencing, as well as discussion of the persecution and flight of many minority Iraqis. In general, I found it interesting, while also thinking the author could have provided more analysis.
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