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Magdalena

River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia

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Magdalena

Written by: Wade Davis
Narrated by: Wade Davis, Xandra Uribe
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A captivating new book from Wade Davis--award-winning, best-selling author and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence for more than a decade--that brings vividly to life the story of the great Río Magdalena, illuminating Colombia's complex past, present, and future

Travelers often become enchanted with the first country that captures their hearts and gives them license to be free. For Wade Davis, it was Colombia. Now in a masterly new book, Davis 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 a land that is home to the greatest ecological and geographical diversity on the planet. As Gabriel García Márquez once wrote during his own pilgrimage on the river: "The only reason I would like to be young again would be the chance to travel again on a freighter going up the Magdalena." Only in Colombia can a traveler wash ashore in a coastal desert, follow waterways through wetlands as wide as the sky, ascend narrow tracks through dense tropical forests, and reach verdant Andean valleys rising to soaring ice-clad summits. This rugged and impossible geography finds its perfect coefficient in the topography of the Colombian spirit: restive, potent, at times placid and calm, in moments explosive and wild.

Both a corridor of commerce and a fountain of culture, the wellspring of Colombian music, literature, poetry, and prayer, the Magdalena has served in dark times as the graveyard of the nation. And yet, always, it returns as a river of life.

At once an absorbing adventure and an inspiring tale of hope and redemption, Magdalena gives us a rare, kaleidoscopic picture of a nation on the verge of a new period of peace. Braiding together memoir, history, and journalism, Wade Davis tells the story of the country's most magnificent river, and in doing so, tells the epic story of Colombia. Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Travel Writing & Commentary Latin America Inspiring Heartfelt Adventure Africa Mexico Ecosystem

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If you want to know Colombia and its people. The culture and the wild beauty.

From south to north

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Anyone who loves this beautiful country must read/listen to this fantastic book. Encaptures the romance, beauty, and tragedy of this stunningly powerful nation.

There is no more thorough love story to Colombia.

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Wade Davis is as outstanding as a reader as he is as a writer!! One of the best books about life, history, and the beauty of nature that I have ever read/heard.
EP

Magdalena - Wade Davis : Oustanding

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This is classic Wade Davis, in the spirit of a latter-day von Humboldt. Lyrical, eloquent, and perceptive, Davis redresses the troubled narrative of Colombia.

Beautiful

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I thoroughly enjoyed the poetic style, the personal touching stories of resilience and all the details about the geography, history, music and culture of Columbia. The main reason I didn't give all 5-stars is that, at first, some of the narration was a bit hard to understand until I got used to it - that was because of the narrator/author's way of omitting some vowels.

excellent

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