Books with author Robert L. Bowden

Africa is a continent of extremes. It has the world's largest desert (the Sahara), its longest river (the Nile) and one of its biggest geographical features (the Great Rift Valley). It is a continent of many different cultures, of extraordinary wildlife, breathtaking scenery, and great cities like Cairo, Nairobi and Lagos. But Africa is also the world's poorest region - a continent troubled by disease, hunger and conflict, and one that struggles to keep pace with the rest of the world. This authoritative new series describes the history, landscape, culture, economy and people of this continent. This title is also packed full of fascinating facts, maps and statistics. A statistical compendium at the back provides a handy reference guide for key statistical data.

The Nile river is the longest river in the world. It stretches for an incredible 4,132 miles (6,650 km) and passes through seven countries. The Nile is actually two rivers – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. They join to become a single river, the Nile, at Khartoum in Sudan. Before this they are two quite separate rivers. In this book we focus on the White Nile. It is the route of this river that gives the Nile its crown as the longest of all the world’s rivers.

What does legend say will happen to you if you drink from the Indus? How old are the ruins of Mohenjo-daro? What are badghirs? This book follows a passage through time to explore important settlements along the Indus River. The journey starts with the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro and ends with the relatively modern city of Karachi, now one of the largest cities in the world. The book also considers the changing role of the Indus River in the lives of the people living alongside it.