Description

A captivating new book from Wade Davis – winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Into the Silence – that brings vividly to life the story of the great Rio Magdalena, illuminating Colombia’s complex past, present, and future.

For Wade Davis, Colombia was the first country that captured his heart and gave him license to be free. Here, he tells of his travels on the mighty Magdalena, the river that made possible the nation. Along the way, he finds a people who have overcome years of conflict precisely because of their character, informed by an enduring spirit of place, and a deep love of their remarkable land.

Braiding together memoir, history and journalism, Magdalena is at once an absorbing adventure through a spectacular landscape and a kaleidoscopic picture of Colombia as it stands on the verge of a new period of peace.

‘Outstanding… Davis tells epic tales of passion, violence and ambition with tremendous narrative verve’ Sunday Times, Books of the Year

‘A wonderful evocation of a lifetime’s travel in Colombia’ Spectator, Books of the Year

Publisher Review

Anyone who wishes to understand this mysterious corner of the world deserves Magdalena. It is a capacious, generous and illuminating book -- -Juan Gabriel Vasquez After all our agonies, Wade Davis, through the evocative power of his writing and the clarity of his understanding, gives us all reason to once again love Colombia. That is the wonder of his book, which in many ways reads as a love letter to a nation -- Hector Abad, author of Oblivion Davis stocks his lively narrative with piquant characters, dramatic historical set pieces, and lyrical nature writing. The result is a rich, fascinating study of how nature and a people shape each other * Publishers Weekly * Shimmering... Never wincing from dark histories, yet never abandoning hope, Wade Davis shows us why Colombia stole his heart as a young traveller and holds it still -- Kate Harris, author of Lands of Lost Borders A magnificent, hugely important book, breathtaking in its scope and vision ... a masterpiece ... an epic journey across the nation and into its beating heart ...essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Colombia -- Anna Lewington