Bay Books

A little bookstore with a whole lot of literature. We're here to support your reading needs.

  • Home
  • About Bay Books
    • About Us
    • Staff Picks
  • Book Clubs
    • ‘Books and Wine’
    • Books and Bourbon
    • Fiber Arts and Books Book Club
    • Silent Book Club
  • Book Discussion
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Ebooks
    • Audio Books
    • Gift Card
    • Bay Books Book Boxes
    • Gifts and Merch
  • Events
  • Contact Us
  • Cart

September 3, 2025 by

Is a River Alive

Is a River Alive

$31.99

Categories: Nature, Earth Wisdom & Science, Nonfiction
  • Description

Description

Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.

Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada–imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.

Powered by dazzling prose and lit throughout by other minds and voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers–and always has.

Related products

  • First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power

    First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power

    $28.99
    Add to cart
  • Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations

    Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations

    $17.00
    Add to cart
  • Semicolon

    Semicolon

    $19.99
    Add to cart
  • Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse

    Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse

    $27.99
    Add to cart
❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Phone

Bay Books offers a wider selection of both books and Ebooks through Book Shop. We are grateful for Book Shop’s diligent work to connect readers with independent booksellers.

Visit Book Shop through Bay Books. 

 

Preorder

Preorder: Half-Double Murder

PREORDER: Great Bakes

 

Quote of the Month

Events

 

‘Books and Wine’ | Book Club 2026

Books & Bourbon Book Club

Silent Book Club

Fiber Arts and Books Book Club

An Evening with Martin SorgeSaturday, October 24, 2026 | 5:00 PM

 

Looking for something?

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please reach out to us. We’ll be happy to find it for you or order it.

Remain in Touch

Give a book to a special child. Bay Books is partnering with Remain in Touch. Learn more about Remain in Touch program.

  • Privacy Policy

© Copyright 2022 BC Marketing Solutions · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BC Marketing Solutions