Marq De Villiers

Born in South Africa, Marq De Villiers is the author of nine books on exploration, history, politics, and travel, including Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, which won the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2010. PRAISE FOR MARQ DE VILLIERS WORK Winner, Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction, Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource (1999) “The author’s argument is exceptionally persuasive here because he does not scold or inveigh but lucidly and reasonably reports …” — The New Yorker (Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource) “[A] lively, engaging treatise on wind and the weather it makes.” — The New York Times (Windswept: The Story of Wind and Weather) “Water is emerging as one of the central issues of the new century. Marq de Villiers presents in this book a compelling and engrossing account of why this is so. Timely, authoritative, and eminently readable.”– Maurice Strong, former UN Undersecretary General & chairman of the Earth Council (Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource) “A deft and fluid intermingling of travelogues with cultural and political history. Rarely is so ambitious a book so resoundingly successful.”– The Globe and Mail (Into Africa: A Journey Through the Ancient Empires) “Marq de Villiers takes us on his subject with passion and compassion…. [He] writes about what he knows and loves and despises, without apology or polemic.” — The Washington Post (Into Africa: A Journey Through the Ancient Empires) “A serious-minded, probing, knowledgeable report.” — Publishers Weekly (Down the Volga: A Journey Through Mother Russia in a Time of Troubles) “A phenomenal story … with this broad perspective, the authors weave together the ongoing life of the desert that is forever changing.” — New Scientist (Sahara: The Life of the Great Desert)