*SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD* The Rhine is one of the
world's greatest rivers. Once forming the outer frontier of the Roman Empire it flows 800
miles from the social democratic playground of the Netherlands through the industrial and
political powerhouses of Germany and France to the wealthy mountain fortresses of Switzerland
and Liechtenstein. For five years Ben Coates lived alongside a major channel of the river in
Rotterdam crossing it daily swimming and sailing in its tributaries. In The Rhine he sets
out by bicycle from the Netherlands where it enters the North Sea following it through Germany
France and Liechtenstein to its source in the icy Alps. He explores the impact that the Rhine
has had on European culture and history and finds out how influences have flowed along and
across the river shaping the people who live alongside it. Blending travelogue and offbeat
history The Rhine tells the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent.
