Sometimes a book arrives in the post, out of the blue, and I wonder why I was sent it. That applied to this book although I wasn’t complaining as it’s beautiful and has an interesting story to tell. The ‘people’s mountain’ refers to the Kinder Mass Trespass of 1932 which hastened (or just perhaps delayed,…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
Sunday book review – Chasing the Ghost by Peter Marren
I’m no botanist (have I said that before recently? – yes) but this book, had it existed decades ago, might well have won me over. Peter Marren writes with such knowledge and affection for plants, and in such a modest and winning manner that few could help wanting to be a plant spotter in this…
Sunday book review – Food you can Forage by Tiffany Francis
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Reviewed by Ian Carter There are plenty of books about wild food these days, describing how to find it and how to make best use of it. This one deals with a comprehensive selection of plants, including seaweeds. It also includes a handful of fungi (just 7 species) but, rather oddly I thought, it ignores…
Sunday book review – Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn
I’m no botanist (and I can produce references if needed) but I loved this book – and many of the readers of this blog will love it too. The idea is simple – see all the orchids of Britain in a year. Do you think the author succeeded or not? If not, how close…
Sunday book review – Inheritors of the Earth by Chris Thomas
Reviewed by Ian Carter The full title of this book tells you most of what you need to know about its main message. While conceding the point that there have been significant losses of wildlife, the book focusses on the positive aspects of a human-dominated world. It is one of a growing number of recent…
Sunday book review – The Long Spring by Laurence Rose
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is written by a former RSPB colleague of mine and his knowledge of birds and nature conservation are clearly demonstrated in this book. But he can write too! The long spring starts in Spanish Ceuta on the north African coast at the beginning of February, and ends…
Sunday book review – A Shadow Above by Joe Shute
This book, by a Sheffield-based journalist, is about the Raven and its comeback. It’s a good read as the author travels around the country visiting places where Ravens live, many of them places where Ravens have recently returned. He interviews naturalists and land owners from Orkney to Kent, and has also done a good…
Sunday book review – A Wild Life by Anthony Milbank
Sir Anthony Milbank who passed away in 2016 was a lovely man whose family’s grouse moor is at Barningham on the North Yorkshire/Durham border. He started this project, a photographic record of the impressive wildlife of his grouse moor, and the book was completed by the family after his passing. The words are by…
Completely impossible to choose
What is the nation’s favourite nature book? The shortlist of 10 alleged nature books is open for you to vote for your favourite. How one can possibly choose between Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by my mate Chris Packham (which is a superb book but not really what I would class a nature book) and…
This blog’s books of 2017
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Thanks to Ian Carter, this blog has reviewed more books than ever in 2017 – I think there were 37 in all. For a change I have simply chosen my favourite three books of the year here. A favourite book is a very personal choice. These then are my personal choices but I have expanded…