The River Nile

Fülszöveg

The nile intrigues man's imagination more than any other river in the world. Unrivaled in length, it twists for 4,145 miles past primeval jungle, the haunts of big game, and the enigmatic stone faces of Pharaohs who forged the great civilization of Egypt. Ever reluctant to be outdone, the Nile whispers its final song through two great mouths as it dissolves at last into the Mediterranean Sea.
For centuries, the majestic river defied intrepid adventurers who sought its origin. No one knows who first began the search, but an obscure German explorer ended it when, in 1937, he found the Nile's southernmost source on a lonely summit in Burundi.
For millenniums, the wisest men were mystified by the Nile's annual flood, which watered and enriched its valley, sustaining generations of Egyptians and Nubians in an otherwise arid land.
Today, giant dams regulate the Nile in the interests of an expanding population. Although impounded waters necessarily drowned much of
(Continued on back... Tovább

Fülszöveg

The nile intrigues man's imagination more than any other river in the world. Unrivaled in length, it twists for 4,145 miles past primeval jungle, the haunts of big game, and the enigmatic stone faces of Pharaohs who forged the great civilization of Egypt. Ever reluctant to be outdone, the Nile whispers its final song through two great mouths as it dissolves at last into the Mediterranean Sea.
For centuries, the majestic river defied intrepid adventurers who sought its origin. No one knows who first began the search, but an obscure German explorer ended it when, in 1937, he found the Nile's southernmost source on a lonely summit in Burundi.
For millenniums, the wisest men were mystified by the Nile's annual flood, which watered and enriched its valley, sustaining generations of Egyptians and Nubians in an otherwise arid land.
Today, giant dams regulate the Nile in the interests of an expanding population. Although impounded waters necessarily drowned much of
(Continued on back flap)
the past in the Sudan and Egypt, the painstaking salvage of such temples as Abu Simbel testifies to modern builders' esteem for ancient artisans. The Society has sent photographers to record this mammoth, unprecedented undertaking.
Author Bruce Brander, widely traveled Geographic staff member, explored the Nile and its basin by felucca, river-launch, truck, and camel. His lively chronicle brings into perspective a multitude of strange and fascinating facts. It tells of ancient kingdoms and of countries newly independent. It covers more than a million square miles — the area drained by the Nile.
Mr. Brander's account of this liquid wonder of the world constitutes a skillful blend of geography, archeology, anthropology, and history. It is the result not only of travel but also of sensitive curiosity about the diverse peoples and cultures along the banks of the Nile. "I scuffed into a spiderweb of lanes," he wrote; "as long as even the local wise man could remember, no foreigner had walked here before."
This spirit pervades The River Nile in all its 208 pages, with 223 illustrations, 207 of them in color.
This saga of the Nile is the second in the National Geographic Society's new series of Special Publications. You and your friends are invited to write for a free publications catalog and for information on Society membership. Address inquiries to the Secretary: Vissza