Sign In Join Now
User Accessibility
  • Increase Font

  • Invert Colours

Search for a Book Browse Books Menu
Is a River Alive? Cover Play Sample

Sample may contain unsuitable content.

Open Audiobook

Audiobook streaming provided by:

OverDrive Logo

Share this book:

Is a River Alive?

AuthorRobert Macfarlane

NarratorThe Author

Duration10h 41m

CategoriesAdult Non-Fiction, Science and Nature

PublisherPenguin Books Ltd

VersionUnabridged

  Save to Wish List
  Add to Favourites List

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

0 (0 Reviews)
0
0
0
0
0

Related Titles

The Lost Spells Cover

The Lost Spells

Author: Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris

The Lost Spells

Author Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris

Narrator Various

Duration 40m

As the nights get darker and colder, curl up with voices of hope and renewal - feel the natural world come back to life around you . . .The Lost Spells is an audio treasure, a new collection of 'spells' - acrostic poetry and artwork - by writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris. For those who loved The Lost Words -...

View Book
Bringing Nature Home Cover

Bringing Nature Home

Author: Douglas W. Tallamy

Bringing Nature Home

Author Douglas W. Tallamy

Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross

Duration 6h 40m

As development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity. There is an unbreakable link between native...

View Book
The Lost Words Cover

The Lost Words

Author: Jackie Morris, Robert Macfarlane

The Lost Words

Author Jackie Morris, Robert Macfarlane

Narrator Various

Duration 48m

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, read by Edith Bowman, Guy Garvey, Cerys Matthews and Benjamin Zephaniah. All over the country, there are words disappearing from children's lives. Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich land...

View Book
No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference Cover

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference

Author: Greta Thunberg

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference

Author Greta Thunberg

Narrator The Author

Duration 1h 15m

'Everything needs to change. And it has to start today' In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day. Her actions ended up sparking a global movement for action against the climate crisis, inspiring millions of pupils to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning he...

View Book
Talking To Strangers Cover

Talking To Strangers

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Talking To Strangers

Author Malcolm Gladwell

Narrator Malcolm Gladwell

Duration 8h 47m

The highly anticipated new book from Malcolm Gladwell, host of Revisionist History and No.1 international bestselling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw and David and Goliath. The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of...

View Book
Underland Cover

Underland

Author: Robert Macfarlane

Underland

Author Robert Macfarlane

Narrator Roy Mcmillan

Duration 13h 9m

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Underland by Robert Macfarlane. A Guardian Best Book of the 21st Century The highly anticipated new book from the internationally bestselling, prize-winning author of Landmarks, The Lost Words and The Old Ways Discover the hidden worlds beneath our feet... In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journ...

View Book
Down To Earth Cover

Down To Earth

Author: Monty Don

Down To Earth

Author Monty Don

Narrator Monty Don

Duration 7h 38m

Written as he talks, this is Monty Don right beside you in the garden, challenging norms and sharing advice. Discover Monty's thoughts and garden ideas around nature, seasons, color, design, pests, flowering shrubs, containers, and much more. Read about the month-by month jobs he does in his own garden that he hopes are relevant to you. 

View Book
Conscious Cover

Conscious

Author: Annaka Harris

Conscious

Author Annaka Harris

Narrator Annaka Harris

Duration 2h 22m

As concise and enlightening as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, this mind-expanding dive into the mystery of consciousness is an illuminating meditation on the self, free will, and felt experience. What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist? We take our experience of being in the world for...

View Book
The Gene Cover

The Gene

Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Gene

Author Siddhartha Mukherjee

Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris

Duration 19h 31m

*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2016* The Gene is the story of one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in our history, from bestselling, prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee. Spanning the globe and several centuries, The Gene is the story of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans, th...

View Book
The Old Ways Cover

The Old Ways

Author: Robert Macfarlane

The Old Ways

Author Robert Macfarlane

Narrator Roy McMillan

Duration 10h 44m

In The Old Ways Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast network of routes criss-crossing the British landscape and its waters, and connecting them to the continents beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghost...

View Book