SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL WRITING AWARDS 2024
''As epic as it is engaging'' Tom Holland
''Jaunty, highly informative and ultimately sobering'' New York Review of Books
''A fine book... Leon McCarron''s tough journey paints a rich and enthralling portrait'' Sir Michael Palin
The river Tigris is in danger. It has been the lifeblood of ancient Mesopotamia and modern Iraq, but geopolitics and climate change have left the birthplace of civilisation at risk of becoming uninhabitable. In 2021, adventurer Leon McCarron travelled by boat along the full length of the river, in search of hope.
From the source, where Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, McCarron and his small team journeyed through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq. Passing by historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul and Baghdad, McCarron kept the company of fishe
