A source-to-sea journey along the Tigris, through the birthplace of civilisation in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, investigating the environmental and geopolitical challenges that threaten the future of this once-great river.

The River Tigris – the birthplace of civilisation – has been the lifeblood of ancient Mesopotamia and modern Iraq, but geopolitics and climate change have left it at risk of becoming uninhabitable. Writer, broadcaster and explorer Leon McCarron shares stories from his incredible, beautiful and occasionally dangerous journey by boat along the full length of the river, recounted in his book Wounded Tigris. Sometimes harassed by militias and relying on the generosity of a network of strangers to reach the Persian Gulf, McCarron explains why it’s crucial to save this extraordinary river, and what its survival, or destruction, could mean for us all.

Leon McCarron is an award-winning writer, broadcaster  and explorer from Northern Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Geographical Society of Philadelphia's Explorer of the Year, and is known for long-distance expeditions and immersive multimedia storytelling. In the past decade he has travelled over 50,000km by human power, and is currently based in Iraq. 
 
He has bylines for National Geographic, Noema, New Scientist, Smithsonian, BBC, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph. His two previous books have been Top Ten Bestsellers on Amazon, and shortlisted for both the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award and the Adventure Travel prize at the Banff Mountain Book competition. Leon has also presented films for the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery, and regularly lectures in the UK, US and around the world.