Magdalena

Wade Davis, an anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has worked as a National Geographic explorer, calls Colombia the first country to win his heart and to make him feel free. He is also the author of Into the Silence, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize. In this book he follows the Río Magdalena, the waterway that helped build the Colombian nation, traveling its length and meeting people who came through years of armed conflict on the strength of their character, their attachment to their homeland, and their love of a landscape he describes as remarkable.

The book blends memoir, history and reportage. Its journey through the river country is also a portrait of a nation in transition, showing Colombia as it moves toward a new era of peace.