The Murray River in south-eastern Australia, one of the world's oldest and slowest rivers, meanders more than 2000 km across a dry ancient landscape from the mountains to the sea, following a course evolved over millions of years. The Darling River winds over an even longer distance from the mountains on the east coast of Queensland to join the Murray River at Wentworth in the semi-arid western lowland plains. These river systems are full of mysteries, in the way that their unique flora and fauna have developed clever strategies to survive in widely varying conditions which swing between droughts and floods.

This book seeks to explain these mysteries in a natural history of the Murray-Darling Rivers, aiming to fulfill an ambition of Anne's colleague and PhD supervisor, the late Associate Professor Keith Walker of the University of Adelaide. Keith wanted to share his knowledge and love of the river ecosystems with a wide audience, to describe the Murray River as it was naturally, while generating wider understanding of actions needed to make sure the rivers and their ecosystems survive into the future.

In this book, Anne Jensen shares stories she learnt from Keith Walker and many other colleagues about Murray-Darling rivers and wetland ecosystems, illustrated with a selection of quality photographs from her extensive collection. Her aim is to generate understanding of the need for sufficient water to be returned to river ecosystems so the rivers can continue to support the human communities of the Basin, as well as the plants and animals.