We may be leaving the EU but we can’t turn our back on the geographic region in which ‘our’ birds sit (and fly). This book lists our birds – all 1,148 species recorded in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (including Iran and the Arabian Peninsula). It is a phenomenal work of summary by…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
Sunday book review – The Shark and the Albatross by John Aitchison
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Reviewed by Ian Carter John Aitchison is, justifiably, one of our most acclaimed wildlife filmmakers, having worked on well-known series such as Frozen Planet, Yellowstone, Hebrides and Springwatch. This book tells the background story to some of his most memorable trips. If you watch these programmes regularly then some of the scenes he describes will…
Sunday book review – Foxes Unearthed by Lucy Jones
I enjoyed reading this book (which is now out in paperback). This book is about Foxes: hunted Foxes, urban Foxes, hen-eating Foxes, Foxes in literature and country lore. Foxes in our heads and in our hearts. It’s a well-written largely affectionate but not sentimental look at Foxes from lots of angles and it’s a very…
Sunday book review – What Good are Birds by Antonio Sandoval Rey
Reviewed by Ian Carter Not What Birds are Good? as I initially thought having misread the title but What Good are Birds?, a somewhat broader and altogether more interesting question. His initial answer (to an inquisitorial family passing his regular sea-watching spot in Galicia, north-west Spain) was rather good I thought – ‘for flying’…
Sunday book review – Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: a photographic guide by Frederic Jiguet and Aurelien Audevard
This is a photographic field guide which covers all European bird species including vagrants and some species which have not yet occurred but are quite likely to do so eventually. In one slimmish volume the reader has images (over 2200 of them) of every species of bird (860) they might see on the continent….
Sunday book review – Kingfishers by David Chandler
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This book, published on Thursday, is a celebration of one of our favourite birds; everyone loves a Kingfisher. If you are out with other birdwatchers and one of you spots a Kingfisher then there is always a note of excitement as the bird is mentioned – ‘Kingfisher!!’. Nobody ever announces a Kingfisher with a…
Sunday book review – Birding in the Bristol region (edited by William Earp)
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The Bristol Ornithological Club is 50 years old and this book is a celebration of its first half century. I was a member from 1970-76 and so my memories are mostly from its early years when I was a schoolboy and starting (mad) keen birding. This is a friendly warm book which sketches the…
Sunday book review
Sunday came early this week – see here
Book review – Climate Change by HRH The Prince of Wales
It’s a while since I bought a Ladybird book – but I still have a lot of the original series dotted around the house. This book, published today, is one of the ‘Expert’ series and the three authors can rightly be classed as such (but even if they weren’t, this book has been peer-reviewed by…
Sunday book review – A Tree Miscellany by Ian Parsons
This is a small book (88 pages) of interesting facts about trees written by Ian Parsons, an occasional Guest Blogger here. They are the sort of facts that you can use to amaze your friends with your knowledge. That’s what I shall be doing anyway. Do you know what is the oldest tree in the…