Includes bibliographical references (514-567) and index.

Acknowledgements;
Note on Geography, Spelling, Illustrations, and Referencing Style;
List of figures and tables;
Introduction;
Part 1;
Chapter 1: The River and Its Floodplain Environment;
Chapter 2: Life in a Floodplain Environment;
Chapter 3: Boats on the River;
Chapter 4: The Ebb and Flow of Riverine Pursuits;
Part 2;
Chapter 5: Enter the Steamer;
Chapter 6: Redesigning an Enigmatic River;
Part 3;
Chapter 7: Unruly Landscapes, Fluid Geographies;
Chapter 8: Tea Plants Move to the Uplands;
Chapter 9: Jute in the Floodplains;
Chapter 10: In the Time of Earthquakes;
Part 4;
Chapter 11: Reining in the Recalcitrant River;
Chapter 12: The Nation's River;
Afterword;
Select Bibliography;
Index;
About the Author.

The unruly Brahmaputra has always been an agent in shaping both the landscape of its valley and the livelihoods of its inhabitants. But how much do we know of this river's rich past? Historian Arupjyoti Saikia's biography of the Brahmaputra reimagines the layered history of Assam with the unquiet river at the centre. The text combines a range of disciplinary scholarship to unravel the geological forces as well as human endeavour which have shaped the river into what it is today. Wonderfully illuminated with archival detail and interwoven with narratives and striking connections, the work allows the reader to imagine the Brahmaputra's course in history. This evocative volume will be interesting reading for anyone trying to understand the past and the present of a river confronted by the 21st century's ambitious infrastructural designs to further re-engineer the river and its landscape.

Also available as an e-book