美しい景観を創り出し、あらゆる生き物に水を与え、大地を潤す川。川の流れは、詩人や画家などの芸術家だけでなく、探検家や科学者をも魅了してきました。本書はこうした多様な角度から川を見つめるべく、自然地理学、神話、産業、文芸などの観点からその真の姿を分析します。
    

• Wide-ranging account of the impact of rivers on land, human history, animal and plants, and in artistic expression
• Explores the cultural resonances of rivers with their own myths and romance
• Considers the role rivers have played in human history from settlements and trade to warfare
• Looks at the human impact upon rivers by dams, cutting of channels, and the effects on wildlife
• A global look at rivers with examples from all continents, including Egypt, India, and Bangladesh

　　
Rivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. 
　
This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet.