# Is a River Alive?

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- Book: [Is a River Alive?](https://www.bookquiver.com/robert-macfarlane/is-a-river-alive) ([Is a River Alive?.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/robert-macfarlane/is-a-river-alive.md))
- Authors: [Robert Macfarlane](https://www.bookquiver.com/robert-macfarlane)
- Publisher: Penguin
- ISBN: 978-02-4199-821-2
- Pages: 384
- Published: 2026-03-05
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

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