From the celebrated writer and observer 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. Inspired by the activists, artists and lawmakers of the young -Rights of Nature- movement, Macfarlane takes the reader on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.
Is a River Alive? flows like water from the mountains to the sea, over three major journeys:
The first is to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened with destruction by gold-mining.
The second is to the wounded rivers, creeks and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is under way.
The th
