I’ve been talking to Yorkshire recently – has it been listening? I’ve never given exactly the same talk twice in my life – that’s partly because every talk is somewhat tailored to the audience (as best as one can – sometimes one doesn’t know that much about the audience) and they are usually of slightly…
Category: AUTHOR: Reflections, Inglorious, Message from Martha, Remarkable Birds etc
Marmite
It’s quite fun reading the reviews of Inglorious on Amazon. Now there are 22 of them and they average at 4 stars out of 5 stars. That’s pretty good. But I can’t help noticing that if you only look at the reviews that are from verified purchasers of Inglorious (eight of them) – then they…
Looking forward to speaking…
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I’m heading back ‘oop north’ tomorrow. Having spoken at the Ilkley Literature Festival on Saturday (hope to write a few words about that soon – but it was fun!) I’ll be quite nearby at the Geography Department in Leeds University tomorrow lunchtime (Garstang level 8 seminar room) and then at the Hebden Bridge Trades Club…
Reviews good and bad
I review quite a lot of books on this blog, and I’ve reviewed many books elsewhere over the years too. I’ve tried to adopt an approach of describing what I like or dislike about a book – the way it’s written, illustrated and the arguments inside it – rather than saying that it is a…
And another review of Inglorious
There’s a long review of Inglorious in October’s British Birds, by Chris Smout. ‘impassioned’ ‘singularly well-informed’ ‘the evidence he [that’s me] marshals for the deleterious effects of driven grouse shooting is impressive’ Where the good professor parts company with me is in my solution to the problems of driven grouse shooting, which of course,…
Another review of Inglorious
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There’s a very nice short review of… …by David Cobham, the author of… …reviewed here. Have a look at what David writes and then you might want to buy both of our books? A Sparrowhawk’s Lament by David Cobham (illustrated by Bruce Pearson) is published by Princeton University Press. Inglorious – conflict in the uplands…
I almost forgot
The paperback edition of A Message from Martha is published today. At less than a tenner (£10) it’s ridiculously cheap! ‘This absorbing book is an engaging and wistful, yet measured, chronicle about the tragic loss of one very special, iconic, species‘ – Guardian ‘An entertaining book … told with humour and disarming self deprecation‘…
Awful government response to our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting
To Rory Stewart, Defra Dear Minister The government response to the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting is simply awful. It is partial and inaccurate. I have previously asked Defra whether responses of this sort are seen and signed off by ministers and have never received a response. Did you sign off this response?…
Speaking in Maidenhead on Thursday evening
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I’m speaking to the East Berks RSPB group on Thursday evening – in Maidenhead at 730pm (doors open at 7pm). I’ll be speaking a little about Behind the Binoculars, a little about Passenger Pigeons and a little about why we should ban driven grouse shooting. And the meeting is open to non-RSPB members (£4) as…
Thank you from Chris Packham
Chris Packham has released a short video to thank the people who have supported him after the Countryside Alliance demanded that the BBC should sack him. It’s worth a look – it’s only a bit over six minutes long. As well as thanking the 70,000+ people who signed an e-petition to support him, Chris asks…