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Is a River Alive?
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79/99
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About This Book
The renowned nature writer and author of the best-selling author of Underland delivers a revelatory book that transforms how we look at the natural world—and life itself. Hailed as "a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler" (Holly Morris, New York Times), Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reporting, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyous exploration into an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law. Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada—imperiled by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane's house, which flows through his own years and days. Powered by Macfarlane's dazzling prose and lit throughout by other voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has.
Reviews
"Not just informative but frequently beautiful, full of luscious lines ..."
"Extending out from this water body is a rich web of human allies, each of whom plays a key role in its protection."
"Macfarlane delivers a lucid, memorable argument in the affirmative."
"The revelations in this passionate book will make that quiet, common experience even more life-giving."
"Macfarlane's touch is deft, giving us exactly enough to consider the question while also showing us how this is not just about rivers but about us ..."
"This book is so potent that I felt baptized by the flow of its prose-poetry."
"Macfarlane's book is a grand gesture in the direction of honoring Jonas's plea to reimagine our human obligation to the planet."
"The result is a ravishing and enlightening inquiry shaped by hydropoetics and a deeply considered commitment to rejuvenating, cherishing, and protecting rivers and all of nature."
"His prose aspires to poetry throughout ..."
"It is the author's language that takes the biggest leaps."
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