Is a River Alive?

"This view, readily reflected in many native traditions, is entirely absent from the Western canon, absent from our legislature and our imagination. It is what Robert Macfarlane champions with passion and rigor in Is a River Alive? ( public library ) — a portal of a book, lucid and luminous, hinged on something particular and urgent (the rights of nature movement) but (because this is Robert Macfarlane) opening into the deepest recesses of the existential and the timeless: the measure and mean…"

"Robert Macfarlane gives the river a voice in this extraordinary work of nature writing. In pursuit of an answer to the titular question, he explores the lives of three very different rivers, explicating their perils and potential triumphs. What is epic in scope, Macfarlane makes feel intimate and urgent. His thorough knowledge of the subject matter is rivaled only by his mastery of language. These pages are full of passion; of clarity and poetry, fascinating and absolutely gorgeous. I think Macfarlane is one of the best writers working today. Don’t miss this one. If you are interested in life, it’s for you."