Name: Is a River Alive?
Price: 28.88 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: Robert MacFarlane
ISBN: 9780241624814

Type

Physical Book

Author

Robert MacFarlane

Publisher

Hamish Hamilton

Year

2025

Language

English

Pages

384

Format

Hardcover

Dimensions

240 x 160 x 33 mm

ISBN13

9780241624814

Is a River Alive?

Robert MacFarlane (Author) · Hamish Hamilton · Hardcover

New Book Imported to Austria

Delivery: 08 Jul - 09 Jul

28,88 €

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28,88 €

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Synopsis "Is a River Alive?"

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

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 - Alex Preston, Observer

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

It will change the way you think about rivers, and in turn, nature herself - iPaper

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

A rich and visionary work of immense beauty. Macfarlane is a memory keeper. What is broken in our societies, he mends with words. Rarely does a book hold such power, passion, and poetry in its exploration of nature. Read this to feel inspired, moved, and ultimately, alive - Elif Shafak

Robert MacFarlane

(Author)

View Author's Page

Robert Macfarlane es un escritor, ensayista y académico británico nacido el 19 de marzo de 1976 en Inglaterra. Es conocido por sus obras que exploran la relación entre los humanos y el paisaje, combinando naturaleza, geografía, historia y literatura.

Se formó en la Universidad de Cambridge, donde estudió Inglés y Filosofía, y posteriormente se especializó en literatura y geografía, desarrollando un estilo que mezcla narrativa, poesía y observación científica del entorno natural. Su obra destaca por la profundidad lírica y el compromiso con la conservación del medio ambiente.

Entre sus libros más conocidos se encuentran Mountains of the Mind, The Old Ways y Underland, todos ellos aclamados por la crítica por su capacidad de evocar lugares y explorar la memoria, la cultura y la percepción del paisaje. Además, ha trabajado como editor y colaborador en revistas literarias y ambientales.

Macfarlane ha recibido numerosos premios por su labor literaria, incluyendo el Guardian First Book Award y el Wainwright Prize. Su estilo ha influido en la literatura contemporánea de naturaleza, y es considerado una de las voces más importantes en el ámbito del ensayo ambiental y la exploración del paisaje.

Además, participa activamente en conferencias y talleres de escritura, fomentando la apreciación del entorno natural y la literatura como herramientas de reflexión sobre la relación humana con la Tierra.

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