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Is a River Alive?

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book – which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.

At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings – who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Is a River Alive? takes the reader on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.

The book flows first to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened by goldmining.

Then, to the wounded rivers, creeks and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is under way.

And finally, to north-eastern Quebec, where a spectacular wild river – the Mutehekau or Magpie – is being defended from death by damming in a river-rights campaign.

At once Macfarlane’s most personal and most political book to date, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, spark debates and lead us to the revelation that our fate flows with that of rivers – and always has.

© Robert Macfarlane 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

Everyone who has ever found something to love in a river should find something to love in this book. It is a masterpiece
The Economist
One of the big publishing events (if not the biggest) of 2025 – a new book by Robert Macfarlane . . . Personal as well as political, it’s almost as certain to shift readerly perspectives as it is to be a bestseller
Observer, ‘Nonfiction to look forward to in 2025’
The book is a delight . . . So stirring, so surprising, so acute
The Times
Is a River Alive? is a powerful synthesis of literature, activism and ethics, reshaping the way we perceive the natural world
Observer
Whether fiction or non-fiction, all great books make you look at the world anew – and Macfarlane’s has changed the way I think about the natural world. In it, he explores the idea that rivers are not objects or resources but living beings, and by the end, that idea feels self-evident . . . A lyrical, persuasive invitation to look again at how we treat the systems that sustain us – and one of the year’s most necessary books
I Paper, '10 Best Books of the Year'
The narrative pull is strong in this book. I kept wanting to go back to it. Macfarlane has yet again demonstrated his genius as an author in creating a book that is alive, that has personality, that talked to me. I was sad when it ended. It has flowed into my daily thoughts ever since, much like a river continues to flow into the sea
Evening Standard
Beautiful, wild and wildly provocative
New Scientist
Macfarlane confronts the realities of the living, beating heart of the riverine world . . . With crystalline clarity and force, Macfarlane confronts the gross failure of our existing laws to protect rivers from harm . . . Such ideas are brought to life by the quality of the writing, the evocation of mood and place, the raw smells and energies that accompany Macfarlane, whether on a gentle walk into a Cambridge wood, or hurtling with mortal speed down a Canadian rapid
Financial Times
Impassioned and invigorating . . . Macfarlane is erudite and eclectic, and, though charismatic, doesn’t press his presence upon you. His books are adventurous, often involving truly remarkable companions; and at the sentence level no one could accuse him of painting by numbers . . .
Spectator
Macfarlane is England’s best nature writer, and once again his prose sings, its rhythm mirroring the subject matter. It’s liquid (or riverine) – surging, eddying and magnificently alive
The Spectator, 'Books of the Year II'

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
Author Robert Macfarlane
Narrator Robert Macfarlane
Duration 10 hours and 41 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405975162
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Climate change, Conservation of wildlife and habitats, Ecological science, the Biosphere, Environmentalist thought and ideology, Green politics / ecopolitics / environmentalism, Human geography, Rivers and lakes
Collections Exploring Nature
Availability AU, GB, IE
Rating
5.0 (3 reviews)
Narration
5.0 (3 reviews)

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