Christopher Ondaatje
Watching The River Flow
The Nile
By Robert O Collins
Yale University Press 260pp £30
AS ROBERT O COLLINS admits in the bibliographical essay that concludes this excellent book, there is no shortage of literature about the Nile. From works about the search for its source to those about the discovery of the origins of man on its banks, and from Herodotus to Agatha Christie, the Nile's waters have flooded writers' imaginations and scientists' curiosity.
Perhaps it is no surprise that the world's longest river should inspire so much typescript. For over four thousand rmles, the Nile weaves its way through nine countries and passes through almost every conceivable landscape - through glacier-topped mountains to the lush forests of the equatorial region, and on into
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Under its longest-serving editor, Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair was that rare thing – a New York society magazine that published serious journalism.
@PeterPeteryork looks at what Carter got right.
Peter York - Deluxe Editions
Peter York: Deluxe Editions - When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter
literaryreview.co.uk
Henry James returned to America in 1904 with three objectives: to see his brother William, to deliver a series of lectures on Balzac, and to gather material for a pair of books about modern America.
Peter Rose follows James out west.
Peter Rose - The Restless Analyst
Peter Rose: The Restless Analyst - Henry James Comes Home: Rediscovering America in the Gilded Age by Peter Brooks...
literaryreview.co.uk
Vladimir Putin served his apprenticeship in the KGB toward the end of the Cold War, a period during which Western societies were infiltrated by so-called 'illegals'.
Piers Brendon examines how the culture of Soviet spycraft shaped his thinking.
Piers Brendon - Tinker, Tailor, Sleeper, Troll
Piers Brendon: Tinker, Tailor, Sleeper, Troll - The Illegals: Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West by Shaun Walker
literaryreview.co.uk