It is a truism to say that rivers connect the world or that they are the lifeblood of trade and culture. The fact remains rivers are more than mere arteries to trade and culture; whole dynasties and geopolitical realities are founded on the presence, or absence of rivers. Günther Komnick has given us a few evocative examples, ranging from the Ganges in India, to the Yangtze in China, Antarctica and Egypt…Rivers make it possible for people to trade. If people can trade they exchange not only goods but also money and ideas and customs. Rivers also flood and are a relatively predictable source of nutrients when they do flood for crops to be grown. Once the predictability of harvests are established, civilisations emerge over time, over centuries, over millennia. Just think of the role of the Nile in Egypt, the Danube, Elbe and the Rhine; the Amazon or smaller rivers such as the Tiber in Italy or the Thames in England. Their role is cardinal in our culture and yet we take them so for granted. Komnick shows us the Ganges which has enormous religious and cultural significance, watered by the melting snows of the Himalayas. The Amazon and its forest, watered by the Andes – the list is plentiful. Through this maze of networks there is also the wild life that flourishes in the rivers or on their banks. From Iceland to Dubai, join Günther on this fascinating tour of some of the world’s most awe-inspiring waterways.