This multidisciplinary book by the author of The Geology of Egypt is the result of many years of research. It attempts to reconstruct the history of the River Nile from its origins to its present shape and regimen and also to ascertain the amount of water which has been carried by the river during the course of its history. It examines the manner in which this water was utilized in the past and the ways in which it will have to be used in future if the inhabitants of the river basin are to cope with their anticipated needs.

Part One traces the geological history of the Nile from the time it started to excavate its valley some six million years ago until the present shape was assumed during the wet period which affected Africa after the retreat of the ice of the last glacial age some 10,000 years ago. Part Two deals with the amount of water that the river and its tributaries carry at present and have carried in the past. Part Three discusses the utilization of the water of the Nile from the time of the first appearance of man in the valley until the present time. It traces man's attempt to harness the river from the earliest time to the building of the Aswan High Dam. The book evaluates the effects of the dam after twenty years of operation. Part Four covers the present water supply-demand balance in each basin state and discusses the future plans of these countries to use the waters of the Nile. The rapidly growing populations and the prolonged droughts of recent years have put pressure upon the available waters of the river.