This book was a disappointment. The basic structure is a chapter by chapter account of 15 species of UK raptor, each described in a different place, stretching from Hen Harriers on Orkney in Chapter 1 to Devon Sparrowhawks in Chapter 15. Wrapped into this structure is a tale of the life, and a previous journey,…
Category: Book review
Review of Inglorious from the USA
I’ve had a few conversations with American friends about grouse shooting and several have started with the American being sympathetic to grouse ‘hunting’ and them ending up saying ‘but that’s not hunting at all’. Correct! Driven grouse shooting is the most unsporting of sports and is akin to a computer game where one blasts away…
Sunday book review – Wild Island by Jane Smith
This is a lovely book about a lovely place – the island of Oronsay. I’ve seen Oronsay from afar but never visited. This book by artist Jane Smith opens the door to the island and its wildlife. Since Oronsay is an RSPB nature reserve I know some of the characters in the pages of this…
Sunday book review – the Sacred Combe by Simon Barnes
Simon Barnes’s new book is a very readable collection of stories, memories and short essays on places that are important to him – all with a strong link to the natural world. I enjoyed reading them. And I enjoyed the illustrations by Pam Guhrs-Carr too. I wasn’t completely convinced that the book deserved the handicap…
Sunday book review – Shetland by Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves is probably known to most people for her crime novels, the Vera and Shetland series. Back in the fairly distant past, Ann was the assistant cook at the Fair Isle Bird Observatory despite, she says, not being interested in birds and not being that great a cook. It was there that she met…