CONTENTS

Prologue

Ancient Egypt and Papyrus, the Eternal Marriage

PART I

Ancient Heritage

1

First Encounter

2

Nature’s Bounty

3

Papyrus Boats, the Pride of Ancient Egypt

4

Rope, the Workhorse of Ancient Egypt

5

Papyrus Paper, in All the Offices of the World

PART II

When Swamps Are More than Just Wet Places

6

The Floating World

7

The Other Marsh Men, an African Perspective

8

Sacred Swamps and Temples of Immortality

9

The Field of Reeds as a Way of Life

10

Swamps Are the Future

11

Sarah Starts a War

12

The Revenge of the Sacred Sedge

PART III

Papyrus Swamps, the Last Frontier

13

The Congo, Economic Miracle or Pit of Despair

14

A Tragic Irony

15

The Battle for Lake Victoria

16

War Along the Nile

17

It Takes an Army to Save the Sudd

18

Blood Roses, Papyrus, and the New Scramble for Africa

19

The Zambezi, the Victorians, and Papyrus

20

An Unwanted Legacy

21

The Okavango, Miracle of the Kalahari

22

Papyrus Blooms Again in the Holy Land

23

The Rift Valley, a Safe Haven for Birds

24

The Egyptian Solution

25

2050, The New Delta

26

Conclusion

Further Reading

Acknowledgments

Endnotes

Index

Illustrations