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…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
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…
Sunday book review – Horus the Peregrine Falcon by John Miles
This book is aimed at children but I’m just a big kid so I enjoyed it too. Horus, a young Peregrine, lives in London and visits many well-known London landmarks. The point is made that he may be safer in the city than if he ventured onto a grouse moor (which did make me smile)….
Sunday book review – Ten Million Aliens by Simon Barnes
If you are a fan of Simon Barnes then you will love this book – it is essence of Barnes. If you love nature then you will probably love this book – it is essential reading for nature lovers. Quirky views, beautifully written, and dispensing fascinating facts every few sentences, this is a thoughtful celebration…
Sunday book review – Penguins – close encounters by David Tipling
Did you like the John Lewis advert? That is what Christmas is all about after all – which retailer has the best advert to get you spending your money. Which of the world’s 17 species of penguin was it? I’ve never seen a penguin in the wild, only a few in zoos, but then very…
Sunday book review – Claxton by Mark Cocker
This is a lovely book. It has appeared in lots of lists of nature books of the year over the last few weeks as it was published in 2014, but I’ve only just been reading it over Christmas and the New Year and so, for me, it is a book of 2015. Day by day…
Books of the year
I seem to have reviewed 32 books on this site in 2014. They are all listed below. Reviewing books is a personal affair. I try not to say that books are good or bad – only that I like them or not. From that, you’ll have to make your own minds up. And I know…