Synopsis:
For centuries travelers have been drawn to the stunning and mysterious Dead Sea and Jordan River, a region which is unlike any other on earth in its religious and historical significance. In this exceptionally engaging and readable book, Barbara Kreiger chronicles the natural and human history of these storied bodies of water, drawing on accounts by travelers, pilgrims, and explorers from ancient times to the present. She conveys the blend of spiritual, touristic, and scientific motivations that have driven exploration and describes the modern exploitation of the lake and the surrounding area through mineral extraction and agriculture. Today, both lake and river are in crisis, and stewardship of these water resources is bound up with political conflicts in the region. The Dead Sea and the Jordan River combines history, literature, travelogue, and natural history in a way that makes it hard to put down.
Review:
A rare, full-bodied study . . . [that] combines fresh, imaginative writing and serious research. I cannot imagine another trip to this, the lowest point on earth, without the Kreiger book in hand. Source: Baltimore Jewish Times
Kreiger's remarkable literary gifts enable the book to be ranked with the best of travelogues as she makes it possible for the reader to participate in all facets of the region, natural, human, and political, as they have unfolded from the earliest to the present times. Source: Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Combines fresh, imaginative writing and serious research. Source: Baltimore Sun
A rare natural, political, and human history . . . Remarkable and timely. Source: Booklist
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