The European Beaver is a Marmite species – people do seem either to love it or hate it. And by ‘hate’ I am not exaggerating ‘mildly dislike’; some people really do hate it. Considering this is a species that has been absent from the UK for centuries and is still found only in relatively few…
Category: BOOK REVIEWS
Sunday book review – Beastly Britain by Karen R. Jones
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There are times, particularly if I listen to the news, read a paper or scroll through social media when I think that the the UK is considerably more beastly than it used to be and that the same applies to the world at large. But this book is about the role that animals play in…
Sunday book review – Pine Marten by Dan Bagur
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This is a timely book as this native UK (and Ireland) species is making a strong comeback and so may be appearing in a wood near you soon. Pine Martens are spreading on their own once released from the pressure of illegal killing but also because they are being reintroduced in several parts of their…
Sunday book review – Uncommon Ground by Patrick Galbraith
I’m a fan of Patrick Galbraith’s writing – his book In Search of One Last Song –see my review – was my blog’s book of the year in 2022 but this is an even better read. Here, again, Galbraith travels the land and talks to some interesting people in some interesting places and the subject…
Sunday book review – Rare Plants by Peter Marren
The first thing that strikes you on picking up this book is that it is heavy. That’s what 400 pages of high quality paper feel like. On those 400 pages are high quality images and high quality words from an author who knows how to write and who knows his subject very well. What more…
Sunday book review – The Borders: The Lands We Share by Andrew Bibby
This is an account of a walk from Edinburgh to the River Swale. Each of 21 chapters tells the tale of a section of the walk but also discusses a land use or issue relevant to that part of the journey. Such an approach must take quite some planning but the account has a steady…
Sunday book review – The Secret Life of a Cemetery by Benoît Gallot
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‘In the midst of death, we are in life’ might be the subtitle of this book about the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where wildlife shares a place of rest with its human occupants. For many town-livers, the few green spaces, with their somewhat limited wild species, are important oases of peace. The author celebrates…
Sunday book review – Scientists on Survival by Scientists for XR
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These are personal stories – by interesting people. What brings them together is that they are all from scientists involved with activism in the area of climate change. I know a few of the authors, and know of some more, so I read those first and they got me off to a good start. Unusually,…
Sunday book review – A Wilding Year by Hannah Dale
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The author is an illustrator who lives on a farm in North Lincolnshire that she and her husband have rewilded – or allowed to rewild itself. We don’t hear a lot about the farming but it is clear that this was difficult land to farm and some of it has reverted to sogginess and other…
Sunday book review – The Restless Coast by Roger Morgan-Grenville
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This is a good read and goes straight into my list of contenders to be this blog’s book of the year. The format involves the author walking stretches of the coast of Britain investigating the places, talking to the people and trying to figure out what he makes of the issues that affect these…