Great Rivers: An Illustrated History of the Waterways that Shaped Civilizations

by Geordie Torr

From the majestic waters of the Nile to the mighty Yellow and Yangtze rivers to the immense Amazon river, the great rivers of the world have captured the human imagination and shaped our history. In this fascinating guide, Geordie Torr explores the natural forces that have created these rivers, their impacts on the environment, and the myriad ways they have affected societies and cultures.



In this volume, you will:
- Explore the natural features of a river from their source in the mountains down to the estuaries where htey reach the sea.
- See how rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates rivers gave birth to the first civilizations.
- Learn how rivers like the Rhine and the Mississippi have facilitated trade along their lengths.
- Discover the importance of rivers to our well-being, through their impacts on agriculture, drought, migration and much, much more.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published November 30, 2023

About the author

Originally trained as a biologist, studying lizards in the rainforests of North Queensland. A sideline in freelance writing was then transformed into a career when he became a staff writer and then chief sub-editor on Australian Geographic. Following a short stint as science editor of Newton, a move to the UK saw him taking on the role of deputy editor of Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), and then assuming the editorship a few years later. This role gave him a wonderful opportunity to continue his long-running love affair with travel in all of its forms, which began in 1992 with an eight-month backpacking trip around Canada, Europe and Central America, and has now seen him visit more than 60 countries (see below). After completing a year-long, 25-country trip around Europe and then overland from the UK to Australia with his partner and their two children (an experience he blogged about here), he took over the editorship of the Australia/NZ edition of National Geographic Traveller. When the contract to produce that magazine changed hands, he began freelancing full time. He has since written books on the Silk Road, the Knights Templar and planet Earth. He is currently the editor of Engineering Designer, the journal of the Institution of Engineering Designers.