Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilization

A fascinating journey down the Tigris River—the lifeblood of human civilization—in search of history and hope.

Starting at the source of this storied river, where ancient Mesopotamians and Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, explorer Leon McCarron and his small team will journey through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq.

Along the way, they will pass through historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul, and Baghdad. We will meet fishermen and farmers, along with artists, activists, and archaeologists, who rely on the flow of the river. Occasionally harassed by militias, often helped by soldiers, McCarron rode his luck in areas still troubled by ISIS and relied on the generosity of a network of strangers as he follows the river to its end in the Persian Gulf.

For readers of Simon Winchester, Erika Fatland, and Kevin Fedarko, Wounded Tigris is the story of what humanity stands to lose with the death of a great river, and what can be done to try to save it.