The Old Ways

SHORTLISTED FOR BLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION WRITING 2025<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2026<BR><BR>From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book - which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>The book flows first to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened by goldmining.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO SPECTATOR, I PAPER, ECONOMIST, ESQUIRE, TIME<BR><BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE SHERBORNE PRIZE FOR TRAVEL WRITING 2026<BR>LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2026

Robert Macfarlane folgt den alten Wegen - jenen Pfaden, Hohlstraßen, Fuhrten, Feld- und Seewegen, die seit der Antike die menschlichen Siedlungsräume miteinander verbinden und noch immer als unsichtbare Wegweiser unsere Bewegungen bestimmen. Seine Reise führt den wichtigsten Naturschriftsteller Großbritanniens von den englischen Kreidefelsen zu den einsamen Vogelinseln Schottlands, von den Kulturlandschaften Spaniens zu den Pilgerrouten Palästinas und bis in den Himalaya. Sie lässt ihn in fünftausend Jahre alte Fußstapfen treten und in einem kleinen Segelboot auf den nächtlichen Atlantik hinaustreiben. Er lauscht den Geschichten, die diese alten Wege noch immer erzählen, und den Stimmen derjenigen, die er auf seinen Fußmärschen begegnet: andere Wanderer, Spaziergänger und Sinnsucher, sogar tibetanische Mönche. Diese alten Pfade, begreift er bald, sind mehr als Möglichkeiten, einen Raum zu durchmessen. Nach ihrer jahrhundertelanger Begehung sind sie vielmehr auch Knotenpunkte unseres Denkens, Netzwerke unseres Wissens und ein geographisches Gewebe unserer Gefühle geworden.

With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak<BR><BR>'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...'So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection.<BR><BR> In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world's most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets.<BR><BR> 'You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people's hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime.<BR><BR> 'You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right.<BR><BR> 'And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.'<BR><BR> Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading.<BR><BR>Inspired by Robert Macfarlane<BR><BR> Curated by Jennie Orchard

SHORTLISTED FOR BLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION WRITING 2025<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2026<BR><BR>From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book - which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>The book flows first to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened by goldmining.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO SPECTATOR, I PAPER, ECONOMIST, ESQUIRE, TIME<BR><BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026<BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE SHERBORNE PRIZE FOR TRAVEL WRITING 2026<BR>LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2026

Robert Macfarlane folgt den alten Wegen - jenen Pfaden, Hohlstraßen, Furten, Feld- und Seewegen, die seit der Antike die menschlichen Siedlungsräume miteinander verbinden und noch immer als unsichtbare Wegweiser unsere Bewegungen bestimmen. Seine Reise führt den wichtigsten Naturschriftsteller Großbritanniens von den englischen Kreidefelsen zu den einsamen Vogelinseln Schottlands, von den Kulturlandschaften Spaniens zu den Pilgerrouten Palästinas und bis in den Himalaya. Sie lässt ihn in fünftausend Jahre alte Fußstapfen treten und in einem kleinen Segelboot auf den nächtlichen Atlantik hinaustreiben. Er lauscht den Geschichten, die diese alten Wege noch immer erzählen, und den Stimmen derjenigen, die er auf seinen Fußmärschen begegnet: andere Wanderer, Spaziergänger und Sinnsucher, sogar tibetanische Mönche.

A beautiful gift for the intrepid explorer in your life by one of the most acclaimed and beloved nature writers working today, the internationally bestselling, prize-winning author of Landmarks, The Lost Words and The Old Ways<BR><BR>A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER<BR><BR>WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2019<BR>WINNER OF THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020<BR><BR>'You'd be crazy not to read this book' The Sunday Times<BR><BR>A Guardian Best Book of the 21st Century<BR><BR>In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers, to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea-caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future. Global in its geography, gripping in its voice and haunting in its implications, Underland is a work of huge range and power, and a remarkable new chapter in Macfarlane's long-term exploration of landscape and the human heart.<BR><BR>SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2020 <BR><BR>'Macfarlane has invented a new kind of book, really a new genre entirely' The Irish Times<BR><BR>'He is the great nature writer, and nature poet, of this generation' Wall Street Journal <BR><BR>'Macfarlane has shown how utterly beautiful a brilliantly written travel book can still be' Observer on The Old Ways<BR><BR>'Irradiated by a profound sense of wonder... Few books give such a sense of enchantment; it is a book to give to many, and to return to repeatedly' Independent on Landmarks<BR><BR>'It sets the imagination tingling...like reading a prose Odyssey sprinkled with imagist poems' The Sunday Times on The Old Ways

Wo gibt es heute noch Wildnis? Robert Macfarlanes Suche nach den letzten unberührten Flecken Natur wird zum lebendigen Streifzug. Er entdeckt abgelegene Inseln und verborgene Gebirge, durchwandert unwegsame Moore und undurchdringliche Wälder. Er schwimmt in brandender See und in stehenden Gewässern, erklimmt windumtoste Gipfel, schläft in Sandkuhlen. Und er begibt sich auf die Spuren derjenigen, die diese Orte vor ihm aufsuchten: Pilger und Philosophen, Forscher und Literaten. Eine sprachmächtige Einladung zum Staunen.

Lascia che la natura ti prenda lo sguardo, ti colmi la voce, t'invada il cuore. Lepri bianche, falene, civette, volpi, ghiandaie ma anche betulle, querce, margherite e molti altri animali e piante comuni o di rara bellezza immortalati in parole e illustrazioni che scorrono tra le pagine e nella mente come (in)canti perduti. La poesia dei testi di Robert Macfarlane e le illustrazioni ad acquerello di Jackie Morris sono musicali e magiche come fiabe lontane, perdute reminiscenze, paesaggi dimenticati. Leggere questo libro ad alta voce è avere di nuovo il mondo naturale a portata di mano e ricordare cosa succede quando gli permettiamo di scivolare lontano da noi. Un balsamo per l'anima che cura come un incantesimo, un piccolo miracolo della natura che nutre cuore e mente e che apre tra le mani di grandi e piccini un prezioso scrigno di incanto e conoscenza. Età di lettura: da 7 anni. Das Urheberrecht an bibliographischen und produktbeschreibenden Daten und an den bereitgestellten Bildern liegt bei Informazioni Editoriali, I.E. S.r.l., oder beim Herausgeber oder demjenigen, der die Genehmigung erteilt hat. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam