This is a lovely book. I did wonder whether I was going to enjoy the travels of a lone woman through the rainforests of central and South America in search of lots of things including Harpy Eagles – but I very much did. Sarah Woods now works for the RSPB, which I didn’t realise until…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
Sunday book review – Undiscovered Owls by Magnus Robb and The Sound Approach.
What a hoot! This is a book about owls and owl sounds – it’s a Sound Approach Guide after all. It’s a very smart-looking and well-written book. And I found myself surprised by how much it gripped my interest. The description of the discovery of the new species, the Omani Owl, is a very good…
Sunday book review – How to clone a mammoth by Beth Shapiro
Comments Off on Sunday book review – How to clone a mammoth by Beth Shapiro
This is an interesting read. I like learning things and I learned a lot here. There is quite a lot of chatter about de-extinction – the process of bringing extinct species back to life through some genetic wizardry. Think Jurassic Park with proper science! It sounds far-fetched, and it isn’t imminent, but this book tells…
Sunday book review – Few and Far Between by Charlie Elder
This book is about the author’s travels to see 25 of Britain’s ‘rarest’ and ‘most threatened’ animals; five birds, five mammals, five ‘herptiles’, five fish and five ‘everything elses’ in one year. It’s a good read and we readers are taken to some interesting places, some which I would definitely like to go to in…
Sunday book review – The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks
I recommend this book as the antivenom to George Monbiot’s book on rewilding (Feral), and vice versa, for this is a book that will make you like sheep and those who, to some extent, look after them in the hills. It’s a very good read and I enjoyed it very much. However, this book is…
Sunday book review – Honourable Friends by Caroline Lucas
I was given this book as a birthday present and I’ve read it all now. Caroline Lucas is a very admirable politician. I’m sure she has lots of faults, we all do, but if only we had a few more politicians like her then environmental matters would get a much fairer hearing in the Westminster…
Sunday book review – Nature in Towns and Cities by David Goode
I’ve had this book for quite some time, and I have kept picking it up and putting it down. For me, that is usually a sign that it hasn’t grabbed me but I’m wondering whether it is me, or the book, or both. In this case I think it is mostly me. I’m not that…
Sunday book review – Britain’s Habitats by Lake et al.
Everybody loves a habitat don’t they? Well, up to a point, Lord Copper. This book is subtitled ‘A Guide to the Wildlife Habitats of Britain and Ireland‘ and that’s very much what it is. There is a lot of good stuff in here but somehow it’s not a book that I can imagine being on…
Sunday book review – Cuckoo by Nick Davies
Nick Davies is a top-scientist (he is a Fellow of the Royal Society), and a birder, and he was the external examiner for my PhD. So, he’s quite a guy. I remember once walking down Tennis Court Road in Cambridge, heading to see a flock of Waxwings which were reported to be nearby. I encountered…
Sunday book review – What Nature does for Britain by Tony Juniper
Is nature beautiful or is it useful? Should we protect nature for its own sake or for our own sakes? Is nature priceless or can it have a value put on it? The answer to these questions can all be ‘Yes to both’ but we don’t treat the natural world as though we would say…