10 rivers that shaped the world

Rivers have been a tremendous influence on the development of civilization and the evolution of cultures. Each of the 10 rivers detailed in this book has its own chapter, which includes chronological narratives about the groups of people who have called the river home. Full-color maps show each river's headwaters and terminus, and photographs detail major cultural attractions, wildlife, and artifacts. The rivers included are representative of major world cultures and provide a survey of the world's various biomes. Not only are the historical implications of each river valley explored but the future of each region is discussed and environmental concerns are described in detail. Source material is varied, drawing from archaeological findings, UNESCO reports, and ecological-impact studies. The book is intent on helping young readers make the connection between physical and human geography and on understanding the myriad of forces that shape a people's culture. With a colorful, engaging layout and a unique approach to its topic, this title is a solid entry point to both geography and world history.--Anderson, Erin Copyright 2015 Booklist

Ten great rivers (well, 11, but two are kissing cousins)and not just the obvious onesgive Peters a chance to fashion 10 fine stories. The rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates, Nile, Rhine, Amazon, Zambezi, Thames, Mississippi, Ganges, Yangtze, and Awash (which, by the way, is the second largest river in Ethiopia); each has much on offer for good storytelling. Peters keeps the narrative accessible and livelythere are lots of boxed items and much shifting of gears. Rivers tell us much about ourselves (between their banks lies the cradle of civilization, after all), and Peters freely ranges to tap all their mystery and social import: piracy, great aqueducts, Hammurabi's Code, the birth of jazz, pilgrimages, diseases, colonial malfeasance, poisonous caterpillars. She also cautions that as much as rivers promise, they are fickle creatures. Take the great Harappan Empire on the Indus River. The Harappan Empire? What Harappan Empire? Exactly. Numerous photographs, both contemporary and archival, allow for an intimacy with each river, and where there is no photographic evidence (as with the pharaohs and early-19th-century mudlarks along the Thames, for instance), Rosen obligingly paints the picture in striking colors. More captions would have been helpful, as would identifying which was the Euphrates and which the Tigris on the map of their coursessmall grouses in an otherwise crack effort. A well-turned, involving introduction to important waterways on six of the seven continents. (Nonfiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.