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Is a River Alive?

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Is a River Alive?

By: Robert Macfarlane
Narrated by: Robert Macfarlane
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About this listen

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

 Ecosystems & Habitats Environment Natural Resources Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Politics & Government Science

Critic Reviews

Everyone who has ever found something to love in a river should find something to love in this book. It is a masterpiece
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
The book is a delight . . . So stirring, so surprising, so acute
Is a River Alive? is a powerful synthesis of literature, activism and ethics, reshaping the way we perceive the natural world (Alex Preston)
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
Beautiful, wild and wildly provocative
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
It will change the way you think about rivers, and in turn, nature herself
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 . . .
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)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a work of such beauty and significance. An essential read/listen in our times.

I’ve been listening along in flow as I work on my next body of artworks. There has been such fluidity of gesture and a purposeful emboldening in my own work as I’ve listened to your impassioned, prescient, honest, deeply curious and vital reflections of your journeys.

Before reading this book, I would often sit in the local park watching the trees and grass moving in the wind. Then the pointed realisation would come to me, that we are all streams (trees, plants, bodies, and so on), all poised to have the great fortune to live at a time where we can witness the macro and micro streams within and abounding, living interdependently with all that is.

Thank you for reminding me to tread with care and deep appreciation, moment by moment.

Thank you dear Robert

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Made me really think about how important it is to treasure and maintain our natural world
Maybe too late???

Love Roberts books

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.