Robert Macfarlane
Is a River Alive?
This book is a journey into an idea that changes the world – the idea that a river is alive.
“Is a River Alive?”, the latest work by renowned writer on nature, people and place Robert Macfarlane, is an intrepid exploration of the multitudinous lives of rivers which takes us from the cloud-forest in Ecuador to Chennai in India, and then to Quebec.
In each location Macfarlane encounters extraordinary river creatures and heroic human river defenders. And in between, the narrative loops back to the clear-watered stream who (note that ‘who’) flows unnamed from a spring which rises in Nine Wells Wood, a mile from his home in Cambridge.
Like a water course with different tributaries, “Is a River Alive?” blends beautiful writing, a sense of natural wonder, deep-dive natural history and a pounding sense of urgency about environmental crisis. We are thrilled to welcome Robert to discuss this marvel of non-fiction writing.
