This is an evocation of the beautiful and exotic world of the marsh Arabs, who inhabit the cradle of civilization. The author first went there in the 1950s taken by the Arabist, Wilfred Thesiger. On his return after more than twenty years, he found not only that he was remembered, but that the changes, unlike those in many societies around the world, were for the better. Sadly, this book, first published in 1973, is now an elegy for a land and a lifestyle which have been decimated by the Gulf War; Gavin Young has written a short epilogue, bringing the story up to date. His other acclaimed books include Slow Boats to China, Slow Boats Home and Worlds Apart.