Shorebirds in Action: An introduction to waders and their behaviour, by Richard Chandler Reviewed by Ian Carter I’m a big fan of books that blend photography and the written word, though they sometimes struggle to reach their full potential. So often, it seems, photos are added to books almost as an afterthought, simply to help…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
Behind More Binoculars – readers’offer
A follow-up to Behind the Binoculars to be published in October. Behind More Binoculars follows the same model as its predecessor: we ask birdy people the questions we think you’d like to ask. Interviewees: Frank Gardner Ann and Tim Cleeves Roy Dennis Kevin Parr Tony Marr Tim Appleton Tim Birkhead Dawn Balmer Jon Hornbuckle Tony…
The Well-Read Naturalist (1)
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I have to admit that John (Johannes) Riutta’s excellent website, The Well-Read Naturalist, first came to my attention when he wrote a very kind review of my A Message from Martha, but I have been dipping into it regularly ever since. I like the ethos of the site ‘The Well-read Naturalist publishes reviews and news…
Bank holiday book review – The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
Reviewed by Ian Carter One of the joys of reviewing books is that you end up reading titles that would otherwise pass you by. Of course, it doesn’t always work out well, but I had high hopes for this one having read about all the awards and commendations it has received. Before reading…
Bank holiday book review – Images from a Warming Planet by Ashley Cooper
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This book is a tour de force in so many ways. The photographs, many of which are superb, are all taken by the author, and the words are all his and the book is published by him. This is the result of years of travel and is subtitled ‘One man’s mission to document climate change…
Bank holiday book review – Flock Together by B. J. Hollars
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Reviewed by Ian Carter I tried very hard to like this book and, in the end, despite the rather relentless ‘chatty’ style of writing, I think I just about got there. It’s certainly a hard book to categorise. In part, it’s a history of recently extinct birds in the USA and the individuals…
Sunday book review – Flight Lines by Mike Toms
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For me, this book is almost a perfect 10 – let’s give it a 9.6. I was handed this book by its author at the Bird Fair at the weekend and, after saying thank you, said I’d put it on the pile of books to review. But having unwrapped it from its cellophane I dipped…
Not really a book review – Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham
Chris Packham is a great guy – I admire his toughness and his persistence. But he gets an awful lot of very nasty flak from the shooters. Remember the Countryside Alliance called for the BBC to drop their best wildlife presenter a couple of years ago – well, don’t think that has gone away,…
Bird Fair books – some books already reviewed here
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The authors’ forum at the Bird Fair is packed with good talks by authors of good books on each of the three days. Here are examples of talks by authors of books that have been reviewed here: Friday 1315-1400, Ian Newton, Farming and Birds Saturday 1415-1500,…
Bird Fair books – review – RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife (2nd edition)
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Reviewed by Ian Carter This is clearly a book that has stood the test of time, deemed worthy of a new edition almost ten years on from its initial publication. After a few pages of introduction, the bulk of the book is taken up by the species accounts, roughly equally split into vertebrates, invertebrates…