Three of Europe’s greatest rivers, the Rhine, the Rhône and the Po, share the same geological cradle: one fertile patch of Alpine ice in the jagged heights of central Switzerland. In Three Rivers: The extraordinary waterways that made Europe (Elliott & Thompson, August 28), Robert Winder, the writer and former literary editor, traces the rivers’ journeys “from their increasingly fragile sources, revealing in shimmering detail their impact on Europe’s rich history as they flow towards the sea”.

An early reader, Robert Twigger (author of Red Nile), says Three Rivers is “a wonderful excursion into history, travel and stories about some of the most fascinating rivers of Europe – do yourself a favour and take a holiday with this book”.

Winder, who was literary editor of The Independent (where he ran the Foreign Fiction Award for translated novels) and deputy editor of Granta, has written both fiction and non-fiction, including Bloody Foreigners, a story of how Britain has been enriched by immigration, and The Last Wolf: The Hidden Springs of Englishness. The former led to his becoming a founder-trustee of the Migration Museum.