!['Down The Nile'](http://media.assettype.com/outlooktraveller%2Fimport%2Foutlooktraveller%2Fpublic%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ftravelnews%2Ffiles%2F2014%2F08%2FFS_012211110A10000751-Book2.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Writing Down The Nile by Rosemary Mahoney (Little, Brown and Company, Rs 960) Mahoney&rsquos plan is straightforward &mdash &rdquoto buy a small Egyptian rowboat and row myself along the 120-mile stretch of river between the cities of Aswan and Qena&rdquo.
It&rsquos a journey through an ancient civilisation and a slightly edgy and impoverished present, interwoven with older travel accounts.