Nature and the natural world: general interest Books

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Book SynopsisEtta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved the Birds is the story of a pioneering conservationist who led the campaign against the slaughter of wild birds for extravagantly feathered hats and coaxed the world to care for birds.Trade Review'Boase has done a superb job of linking her personalities, and painting vivid pictures of their life struggles and fighting techniques. This book is an unputdownable account of a forgotten campaign, and of a group of women who have been hidden from history for too long.' * Women's History Review *'A fascinating book...packed with interesting facts. A great read for all people' * Birdwatching Magazine *Table of ContentsPrologue viiPart 1 – Feathers 1 Alice Battershall 2 Inspector Lakeman 3 97 Lever Street 4 Women Undercover 5 ‘Crewe Factory Girl’ 6 The SkylarkPart 2 – Birds 7 Young Etta 8 Young Emmeline 9 The Train Carriage 10 Of Bird-Wearing Age 11 The Tea Party 12 Emily Williamson 13 A Very Ambitious Title 14 Flight 15 Impracticable Dreamers 16 Courting the Men 17 Winifred, Duchess of Portland 18 The Crème de la CrèmePart 3 – Hats 19 Dying to Get Out 20 The Millinery Detectives 21 Queen Alix 22 ‘Egret’ Bennett 23 Deeds Not Words 24 The Frontal Attack 25 Mrs Pattinson 26 The Countess Fabbricotti 27 Royal Approval 28 The ‘Suffragette’Part 4 – Votes 29 Onto the Street 30 The Antis 31 The Feminine Arts 32 The Advice of Men 33 Maternal Weakness 34 Peak Rage 35 The Feeding Tube 36 Dumb CreationPart 5 – Power 37 At War 38 The Ballot Box 39 But What Do Women Care? 40 Etta and Emmeline: Two Portraits 41 The Coup Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Index Picture Credits

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES' BESTSELLER AND SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT CONSERVATION AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE This is a book about abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man's lands and fortress islands and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place.In Chernobyl, following the nuclear disaster, only a handful of people returned to their dangerously irradiated homes. On an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild. In Detroit, once America's fourth-largest city, entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves, looters slipping through otherwise silent neighbourhoods.This book explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live or survive in tiny, precarious numbers to give us a possible glimpse of what happens when mankind's impact on nature is forced to stop. From Tanzanian mountains to the volcanic Caribbean, the forbidden areas of France to the mining regions of Scotland, Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world and shows how, against all odds, they offer our best opportunities for environmental recovery.By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written world study is pinned together with profound insight and new ecological discoveries that together map an answer to the big questions: what happens after we're gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone?More praise for Islands of AbandonmentExtraordinary Just when you thought there was nowhere left to explore, along comes an author with a new category of terrain Dazzling' SPECTATORA haunting look at how nature fights back Beautiful, evocative' SUNDAY TIMESFlyn's brave, thorough book sets out to explore places where angels fear to tread The result is fascinating, eerie and strange There is some thrilling writing here' KATHLEEN JAMIE, NEW STATESMANWonderful' ADAM NICOLSONExhilarating' DAILY TELEGRAPHTrade Review‘Extraordinary … Just when you thought there was nowhere left to explore, along comes an author with a new category of terrain – not scenes where man has never trod, but places where he has been and gone … Dazzling’Spectator ‘Exhilarating … A story of the extraordinary resilience of life in some of the most desolate, ravaged and polluted landscapes on earth’Daily Telegraph ‘Fascinating and brain-energising. It is full of detail and colour that sends one googling, to look up pictures and find out more. It is also an optimistic book … I’ll cling to that bit of unfashionable hope’The Times ‘Brave, thorough … The result is fascinating, eerie and strange … There is some thrilling writing here, a fine way with the telling detail, and a plea for radical revisioning of what we mean by “nature” and “wild”’Kathleen Jamie, New Statesman ‘Consistently rewarding, eloquently provocative … a brave book, in more ways than one’New Humanist ‘Scintillating … she writes beautifully … Flyn's research is meticulous, but what makes the book so extraordinary is the originality of her thought’The Herald ‘A thoughtful, fascinating read’Independent ‘Brilliant … Flyn paints vivid pictures … both clear and compelling’Daily Telegraph, five stars ‘Filled with understanding and adventure … Written with a beautiful attention to detail and a generous and imaginative frame of mind. The wonderful and surprising thing is how much reassurance and sense of possibility comes out of it at every turn’Adam Nicolson ‘Certainly a book of the year for me’ Sebastian Faulks ‘Cal Flyn takes us on a mercurial expedition into the strange lands of human surrender … Thoughtful, careful, fascinating, poignant, mysterious, surreal, compelling, pace pitch-perfect. I could go on … and on’Keggie Carew, author of Dadland

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Book SynopsisIn ''The Voyage of the Beagle'' Charles Darwin chronicles the landmark expedition which would forever alter the course of scientific thought. First published in 1839, The Voyage of HMS Beagle remains a foundational text in the fields of biology, geology, and anthropology, inspiring subsequent generations of scientists and scholars.And his descriptions of the diverse flora, fauna, and geological formations he encountered laid the groundwork for his revolutionary theory of evolution by natural selection.This facsimile edition has been reproduced from a copy of the generously illustrated 1891 edition held by the Library of the Natural History Museum, which includes Darwin? s preface to 1845 second edition.Darwin? s account is structured as a detailed travelogue, cataloguing his observations, discoveries, and reflections during his travels, which encompass South America, the Galá pagos Islands, Australia, and beyond.

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Book Synopsis___ Live a life in step with the seasons. In this enchanting book, Rebecca Beattie – a Wiccan priestess who has practised witchcraft for over twenty years – takes us on a magical journey around the Wheel of the Year. Every six weeks, from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice, from the Autumn Equinox to Imbolc, these restorative moments in nature’s cycle offer a moment to pause and reflect, to reconnect with the seasons and ourselves. The Wheel of the Year is alive with the ebb and flow of the natural world, full of nurturing rituals, rejuvenating wisdom and journal prompts to help you sow seeds of change and thrive. ‘Warm, friendly… Encourages us to pause, rather than rush headlong through life. It's a way to make time and space to really experience the world around us.’ Resurgence & Ecologist ‘An enchanting celebration of eight restorative moments in nature’s cycle’ Caught by the RiverTrade ReviewAs heard on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 ‘Supernature’ 'A powerful concoction of poems, spells, incantations and rituals' Resurgence & Ecologist ‘A sensitive and poetic work, full of anecdote and poignant self-disclosure’ The Enquiring Eye ‘A great guidebook to assist one to live life in step with the seasons of nature’ Pagan Pages  ‘A lovely volume, beautifully written and full of inspiring ways to develop a nature-based spiritual path’ A Bad Witch’s Blog ‘An enchanting celebration of eight restorative moments in nature’s cycle’ Caught by the River ‘This book will be of interest to many who appreciate nature and the changing seasons’ The Countryman The Bookseller – Editor’s Choice ‘It’s a book to help you connect with your world, the seasons and nature and to yourself’ Netgalley reader

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Book SynopsisFrom source to sea, go on a breath-taking adventure along a river and explore some of the greatest waterways of the world, with fold-out pages.Rivers flow across every continent on our planet, shaping the land and bringing life. Towns, cities and entire civilisations have grown up on their banks, from the Ancient Mesopotamians 5,000 years ago. Turn the pages to follow the incredible journey of a river from its source in high up in the mountains, along its gorges, through its valleys, down its waterfalls and into the sea. Explore the river's geography, discover the unique wildlife it supports, see how the waterways have shaped our world - and how we have shaped them.Featuring fold-out pages of six great rivers from around the world: Amazon (South America), Nile (Africa), Mississippi (North America), Rhine (Europe), Ganges (Asia) and Murray (Australia).Written by self-confessed explorer and children's author Simon Chapman, expertly checked by river ecologist François Edwards and beautifully illustrated by Qu Lan.Trade ReviewWith six spectacular fold-out sections depicting The Nile, Rhine, Amazon, Mississippi, Ganges and Murray rivers this highly illustrated large format hardback is packed with accessible information about the environment, topography, impact of humans, and unique features of each watercourse. Highly recommended for KS2. * School Reading List *Highly recommended for use in class, or to enjoy at home, whether bought (because who wouldn't want a copy?) or borrowed from a library. * ReadingZone *This beautiful book is perfect for future pub quiz champions, with fold-out pages of 6 rivers. * Saturday Times *

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Book SynopsisAided by this book the gardener can now answer the question "What's in a name?" and they and their garden will benefit from understanding the wealth of information that has hitherto lain hidden within the mysterious world of Latin names.' - Financial Times OnlineRHS Latin for Gardeners is an informative, entertaining and beautifully illustrated unravelling of the mysteries of botanical Latin. Over 3,000 Latin names are listed alphabetically, showing how plant names can reveal where a plant originally comes from (and thus its preferred growing conditions), along with such properties as its shape, form, colour, taste, and smell. Each name is clearly defined and accompanied by a pronunciation guide, and the pages are filled with attractive botanical illustrations. Fascinating feature spreads retell the adventures of important plant hunters such as Sir Joseph Banks and Alexander von Humboldt, and explain how their discoveries affect the way our gardens look today. Individual plants are also profiled throughout, showing how their names can illuminate their hidden histories. Aided by this book, every gardener, and their garden, will benefit from uncovering the wealth of information that lies within the remarkable world of Latin binomials. A little Latin can do a lot of good - apply the lore of Latin to your own garden!Contents includes...The A-Z Listings of Latin Plant NamesPlant ProfilesPlant HuntersPlant Themes...And Much More!Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION HOW TO USE THIS BOOK THE HISTORY OF BOTANICAL LATIN BOTANICAL LATIN FOR BEGINNERS LATIN PLANT NAMES A from abbreviatus to azureus B from babylonica to byzantinus C from cacaliifolia to cytisoides D from dactylifera to dyerianum E from ebenus to eyriesii F from facetus to futilis G from gaditanus to gymnocarpus H from haastii to hystrix I from ibericus to ixocarpus J from jacobaeus to juniperinus K from kalmiiflorus to kurdicus L from labiatus to lysimachioides M from macedonicus to myrtifolius N from nanellus to nymphoides O from obconicus to oxyphyllus P from pachycarpa to pyriformis Q from quadrangularis to quinquevulnerum R from racemiflorus to rutilans S from sabatius to szechuanica T from tabularis to typhina U from ulicina to uvaria V from vacciniifolia to vulgata W from wagneri to wulfenii X from xanthina to xantholeuca Y from yakushimanum to Yunnanense Z from zabeliana to zumi PLANT PROFILES Acanthus Achillea Alyssum Digitalis Eryngium Eucalyptus Foeniculum Geranium Helianthus Jasminum Lycopersicon Parthenocissus Passiflora Plumbago Pulmonaria Quercus Sempervivum Streptocarpus Tropaeolum Vaccinium PLANT HUNTERS Alexander von Humboldt Sir Joseph Banks Meriwether Lewis and William Clark Francis Masson and Carl Per Thunberg John Bartram David Douglas Carl Linnaeus Jane Colden and Lilian Suzette Gibbs Joseph Hooker Andre Michaux PLANT THEMES Where Plants Come From The Shape of Plants The Color of Plants The Qualities of Plants The Fragrance and Taste of Plants Numbers and Plants Animals and Plants CREDITS

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 'I loved this book... An exhilarating romp through Orwell's life and times' Margaret Atwood 'Outside my work the thing I care most about is gardening' George Orwell In 1936 Orwell planted roses at his cottage in Hertfordshire. Over eighty years later Rebecca Solnit encounters them, and is inspired to explore a different side to the great writer and activist to the one we know so well. Following his journey from the coal mines of England to taking up arms in the Spanish Civil War, and his explosive critiques of Stalin and authoritarianism, here Solnit finds a more hopeful Orwell. And in her dialogue with the author and his fascination with nature, she makes unexpected connections with the colonial legacy of the flower garden, discovers photographer Tina Modotti's extraordinary roses, and reveals Stalin's strange obsession with growing lemons in impossibly cold conditions. A fresh reading of a towering figure of the twentieth century, Orwell's Roses finds solace and solutions for the political and environmental challenges we face today, and is a remarkable reflection on pleasure, beauty, and joy as acts of resistance. 'Luminous...It is efflorescent, a study that seeds and blooms, propagates thoughts, and tends to historical associations' New Statesman 'A genuinely extraordinary mind, whose curiosity, intelligence and willingness to learn seem unbounded' Irish TimesTrade ReviewI loved this book, and so will many... an exhilarating romp through Orwell's life and times and also through the life and times of roses -- Margaret AtwoodThis book is brilliant because it is true, and because it rescues Orwell from a kind of dourness and seriousness, and gives him back his humanity and yes, his Englishness. -- James Rebanks, author of English Pastoral and The Shepherd's LifeI so loved this book. It unfolds like the petals of a rose - the political rose, the personal rose - and enacts its subject in the ethics of its beauty and the grace of its resistance -- Jay Griffiths, author of Why RebelWe all know what Orwell hated but Solnit pays attention to what he loved. Orwell's Roses is an ingeniously fresh and unpredictable take on his life and times, and the values he held dear -- Dorian LynskeyThere is nothing more political than a garden, and Rebecca Solnit brings Orwell's life and writing vividly alive through his quiet determination to love the surface of the earth. Orwell's Roses shows how intimately aesthetics is intertwined with ethics, and in doing so, Solnit has given us a truly beautiful book -- Alex Christofi, author of Dostoevsky in LoveThis an enchanting book, as powerful in its arguments as it is enjoyable to read. From a surprising close-up of George Orwell planting three Woolworth roses, Solnit pans to a bracing new vista of the man and his fierce political aesthetic, taking in the injustices of the rose industry and lying Soviet science as she goes. Brilliant -- Lisa AppignanesiThis elegant rambling rose of a book muses on Orwell with all Rebecca Solnit's luminous intelligence and trademark optimism. If "Orwellian" has become synonymous with darkness and oppression, she opens up his life affirming love of gardening, of wild nature and life's physical pleasure, his antidote to the grim puritanism of ideologues -- Polly ToynbeeA tribute by one fine essayist of the political left to another of an earlier generation... the great pleasure of reading [Solnit] is spending time with her mind, its digressions and juxtapositions, its unexpected connections. Only a few contemporary writers have the ability to start almost anywhere and lead the reader on paths that, while apparently meandering, compel unfailingly and feel, by the end, cosmically connected . .. The book provides a captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker -- Claire Messud * Harper's Magazine *The green-fingered and the politically committed alike will want to curl up with this book as the gardening year draws to a close and we reflect on a time during which nature has been more of a solace than usual. * Observer *Elegantly light-footed and freewheeling... a marvellously bracing ramble that passes through a variety of intellectual terrain and physical landscapes * Daily Telegraph *Expansive and thought-provoking... In the hands of a skilled novelist or essayist like Solnit, biography becomes something else entirely * Independent *Idiosyncratic, immensely original work * i paper *Luminous ... part biography, part memoir, a historical and cultural analysis and a work of literary criticism, Solnit's book is a love letter in prose to those roses, to Orwell and to the enduring relevance of his ethical sensibility. It is efflorescent, a study that seeds and blooms, propagates thoughts, and tends to historical associations * New Statesman *The book itself, like petals of a rose unfurling, conveys hope for a better future... a genuinely exceptional mind, whose curiosity, intelligence and willingness to learn seem unbounded * Irish Times *An absorbing read for those with interests in politics and gardening alike * Sunday Telegraph *An entertaining ramble through the author's life and Solnit's consciousness... this rhizomatic exercise yields great blooms * Big Issue *Solnit makes us rethink "Orwellian" to mean not just what he was against but what he was for - nature. Her brilliant essays give colour back to an author we often think of as grey * Daily Telegraph *This hybrid volume blossoms with... insights, non sequiturs and epiphanies -- Margaret Drabble * TLS *A pleasing meditation on the small pleasures and intricate beauties of nature, and a book to see you through to spring -- Books of the year * The Times and Sunday Times *Wonderful and moving... Fine and thoughtful * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisMindfulness in Wild Swimming explores how swimming in rivers, lakes and seas is the epitome of conscious living, guiding the reader through practical mindful exercises and technique tips, and reveals how wild swimming can be the ultimate physical meditation.Table of ContentsContents Introduction Chapter One: Taking the Plunge Chapter Two: The Solo Swim Chapter Three: Swimming with Friends Chapter Four: Swimming Adventures Chapter Five: Reflections from the Riverbank Chapter Six: Water Wisdom Further Reading & Websites The Mindfulness Series Index Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wales Creative Nonfiction Book of the Year 2019; Rediscover the light in the dark...; 'A treasure of a book, wonderfully attentive in outlook and generous in spirit.' - Amy Liptrot; As November stubs out the glow of autumn and the days tighten into shorter hours, winter's occupation begins. Preparing for winter has its own rhythms, as old as our exchanges with the land. Of all the seasons, it draws us together. But winter can be tough.; It is a time of introspection, of looking inwards. Seasonal sadness; winter blues; depression - such feelings are widespread in the darker months. But by looking outwards, by being in and observing nature, we can appreciate its rhythms. Mountains make sense in any weather. The voices of a wood always speak consolation. A brush of frost; subtle colours; days as bright as a magpie's cackle. We can learn to see and celebrate winter in all its shadows and lights.; In this moving and lyrical evocation of a British winter and the feelings it inspires, Horatio Clare raises a torch against the darkness, illuminating the blackest corners of the season, and delving into memory and myth to explore the powerful hold that winter has on us. By learning to see, we can find the magic, the light that burns bright at the heart of winter: spring will come again.; __________; 'The natural world has life and light on even the coldest darkest days of winter and that is Clare's salvation.' - Susan Hill, Daily Mail Christmas Books; 'Magical, moving and deeply atmospheric' - Patrick Barkham; A Guardian 'best book of 2018'Trade Review"[Clare] is a fine observer, and the lushness of his prose offers a striking contrast with the stark lineaments of the winter landscape, both physical and spiritual." - Jane Shilling, Evening Standard; "This is a very powerful book indeed .... Supremely well-written ... Clare is a brilliantly inventive prose stylist, and some of his descriptive writing here is so good it makes you stop and smile and immediately read it again." - Roger Cox, The Scotsman; "Vivid, luminous prose" - The Observer; "Magical, moving and deeply atmospheric - this is a hymn to nature, to the north and to the hardest of seasons" - Patrick Barkham; "A treasure of a book, wonderfully attentive in outlook and generous in spirit" - Amy Liptrot; "Enchanting" - Emma Mitchell; "Cosy as a log fire, bracing as a moorland squall ... a potential life-saver for those of us who - like Clare himself - are wont to enter a state of low morale come November ... When the mercury plummets, forget hygge, save on scented candles, and read this instead" - Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller; "This sensuous evocation of winter darkness is a startlingly honest escape from seasonal depression. Horatio Clare beams through his own despair by exposing the intimacy of family love in the fiercely shafting light of his glittering prose." - John Lister-Kaye; "An enthralling book of beauty and pain, tenderness and imaginative absorption ... [Horatio Clare is a] prose-poet of mesmerising lyricism" - Juliet Nicolson, Spectator; "Thoughtful, careful writing that speaks from the heart ... ideal for curling up with during the darker days, especially if you suffer at all from the winter blues. ... This is a quiet celebration of life" - New Welsh Review; "Lyrical and beautiful" - Kate Blincoe; "A beautifully written book that struck a chord with me on many occasions ... insightful and thought provoking" - Books and Me blog; "The Light in the Dark is a moving and poetic look at this time of year and one book I rejoice in. This is a torch to guide us through the dark winter days until spring's first rays of light warm us" - John Fish, The Last Word Book Review; "Inspiring ... If you're a fan of Matt Haig, I would definitely recommend this too" -- Buttercupreview; "Throughout the book there's a real magical quality to the imagery... I found that I spent some time going back over particular sentences because they were so lovely ... There is much to reflect upon in this winter journal, particularly if you too struggle with darker days" -- Jaffareadstoo; "A beautiful, moving and poignant meditation on the changing of the seasons. It gave me solace as the nights draw in ever faster and left me with a sense of hope for the spring to come. I adored reading this book and I know it will be one I read again in the years to come. I'll definitely be buying copies for friends and I'll be recommending it every chance I get. It's a beautiful book and one I won't forget!" - RatherTooFondofBooks.com; "As we all approach another winter, this book may provide not only solace, but an exemplar for those whose personal shadows are amplified in dark times. The lesson, `Look outwards' is a good one" - Peter Reason, Shiny New Books; "This was such a stunning read, full of wonderful imagery and beautiful writing... Horatio Clare made me realise that there is beauty to be found outside in the depths of winter, if I will seek it out" - Secret Library Book Blog; 5* - "Clare's writing is taut, sparse and charged with emotion" - Half Man Half Book; "It is a book to be read aloud ... There is no end to the irrepressible courage that has made this book possible. It is a triumph over affliction by a great writer and when the light returns and he knows he is coming through, my heart is full and I am cheering" - Sue Brooks, Caught by the River

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING Wishing to leave behind the isolation of her Orkney island life, Amy Liptrot books a one-way flight to Berlin. She rents a loftbed in a shared flat and starts to look for work - and for love - through the screen of her phone. The Instant tells of the momentous year that follows, encountering the city's wildlife in the most unexpected places, tracing the cycles of the moon, the flight paths of migratory birds and surrendering to the addictive power of love and lust.Trade ReviewI loved this book, such an intimate portrayal of emotional landscapes and the pull of the moon - it's one I'll return to often -- RAYNOR WINNA slim, luminous account of living and loving in Berlin, picking up where The Outrun left off * * Sunday Times * *Brilliant on the addictive bliss of romance . . . [The Instant is] a parable about the quicksands of internet dating, and a survivor's handbook 'for the heartsick' * * Telegraph * *Beautiful . . . brilliant . . . The truest thing I've read in a long time. It feels revelatory to read serious, thoughtful writing on the sorts of experiences that so rarely receive it. . . The Instant is the most elegant examination of the internet's distance pain I have ever read -- EVIE WYLD * * New York Times * *Elegant, melancholic and deeply yearning, The Instant captures something vital about our age: its strange dislocations and connections. I drank it in -- KATHERINE MAYGlorious * * Times Literary Supplement * *Intoxicating, generous and refreshingly original. The way Liptrot weaves her inner life with the natural world and the digital world is utterly absorbing. This book is so alive and so wild -- LUCY JONESThe Instant is magical, it is sexy, it is redolent of the natural world and it is all the things that makes Liptrot one of the most unique voices writing today . . . We simply cannot get enough Liptrot in our lifetimes. I want her to write a book every year * * Caught by the River * *Wildness lurks in the edges of this book - nature in its more feral state, and unashamed eroticism. I gulped this slim, powerful, ravishing little book down in one -- CAL FLYNA book of rare power. Part heartbreaking love story, part pin-sharp exploration of relationships in the digital age, The Instant is an intense and intensely beautiful book about connection, longing and the gravitational power of nature, and human nature, on the heart -- ROB COWEN

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Book Synopsis**Winner of the 2023 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize**Discover the world as you've never seen it before - through the eyes of animals.'Immersive and mind-blowing' Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of TreesThe Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving only a tiny sliver of this world.In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, welcoming us into previously unfathomable dimensions - the world as it is truly perceived by other animals. Showing us that in order to understand our world we don't need to travel to other places; we need to see through other eyes.A NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST, SPECTATOR, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT and NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR**Winner of 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction**'Suffused with magic' Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Song of the Cell'A book that prompts awe at the world around us' Sunday TimesSunday Times bestseller, July 2023Trade ReviewStanding out even during a recent golden age of nature writing, Ed Yong dazzles with a deeply considered exploration of the many modes of sensory perception that life has evolved to navigate the world, written with exhilarating freshness * Winner of 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction *[A] wondrous, lustrous, captivating book: Ed Yong's An Immense World... left me awed and stunned - and revolted by humanity's destructive pride and planetary abuse * Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year* *Full of extraordinary discoveries... an encyclopaedic, rigorously researched journey... recasts the world in breath-taking, bewildering immensity * Daily Telegraph *A hymn to the wonders of evolution... fascinating * Mail on Sunday *Yong succeeds in bringing a sense of grandeur to life on every scale * Financial Times *Not just a study of the myriad wonders of the natural world - though wondrous they are - but also a panoramic, complex portrait of the sensory capacities that underpin a multitude of life. ... In uncovering all this, Yong also shows why we should give more thought to our place in the world. * New Statesman, *Best Books of 2022* *An Immense World is an exploration of the ways in which our fellow creatures navigate, understand and interact with one another and their environment through senses. ... The result is so mind-boggling, it's tempting to say 'forget looking in deep space for astonishment'. But let's not do that. Let's continue searching there while also paying better attention to the miracles right under our noses. Yong's marvellous book shows us how. * Spectator, *Best Books of 2022* *This book lifts the shroud on previously invisible dimensions of the world itself * Economist, *Books of the Year* *A magic well of surprising, enlightening discoveries about the sensory worlds of other species... A brilliant book, marvellous and mesmerizing -- Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of BirdsA stunning achievement - steeped in science but suffused with magic -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, author The Emperor of All MaladiesA delight... it prompts a radical rethink about the limits of what we know - what the world is, even. It is quite a book. And, I felt, putting it down, quite a world * Sunday Times *I love this book. Reading it is a delightful sensory experience... I truly enjoyed Yong's adventures in Wonderland! * Gaia Vince, author of Transcendence *A journal of discovery and animal magic, a sensory exploration that is a joy to read -- Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid ThiefMagnificent - an unbelievably immersive and mind-blowing account of how other animals experience our world -- Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of AnimalsLike stepping into a new kind of Alice in Wonderland. The perfect mixture of revelation, curiosity, science, beautiful prose and buckets full of wonders -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New WorldA cornucopia of wonders... a fascinating reminder of the humbling truth that most of what happens among life forms on Earth is beyond our ken -- David Quammen, author of SpilloverAn expansive, constantly revelatory exploration of the biosphere's sensorium... Ed Yong is my favourite contemporary science writer -- William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and The PeripheralEvery page finds the reader mouthing quiet whoa's, as the world she thought she knew opens out into a hundred others, improbable, strange, and fabulous. -- Mary Roach, author of Fuzz and StiffAn Immense World took my hand and brought me on a journey I'll never forget. After reading this book, I'll never look at our planet the same way again -- Clint Smith, author of How the Word is PassedA whirlwind tour of animal perceptual abilities. A magnificent book * Frans de Waal, author of Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist *

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Book SynopsisThe third book in The Corfu Trilogy (after My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts and Relatives), the beloved books that inspired ITV''s television series The Durrells.Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Through glorious silver-green olive groves and across brilliant-white beaches Gerry pursued his obsession . . . causing hilarity and mayhem in his ever-tolerant family.''A wild and amusing chronicle'' Daily Express''This book, an evocation of a budding naturalist''s life as a boy on Corfu, will delight many readers, even those who can''t stand spiders...'' Evening Standard''Delightful, charming, funny'' The TimesTrade ReviewDelightful, charming, funny * The Times *A wild and amusing chronicle * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisCan a tiny vehicle provide the space to rebuild a life? Thunderstone: a sculpted & fearless memoir from the award-winning author of Fifty Words for SnowTrade Review‘A memoir of great honesty and clarity, intimacy and subtlety . . . It asks profound questions about how to live through the storms of life with authenticity.’ Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being ‘A courageous, compassionate, uncanny chronicle of life and loss on the fringes. Striking in its candour, brilliant in its breadth, often very funny.’ Dan Richards, author of Outpost

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Book SynopsisThis practical pocket field guide, published in association with the Wildlife Trusts, includes 170 species of coastal birds from Britain and the near Continent. Each species account contains accurate artworks that show details of variations in plumage for male, female and juvenile birds, as well as breeding and non-breeding birds. A concise written account outlines further essential information, such as size, description, voice, habitat, distribution and habits.The easy-to-follow layouts and illustrations aid quick and precise identification, and make this book an indispensable reference in the field as well as at home. It is compact enough to fit in the pocket yet packed with essential information for nature enthusiasts.Table of ContentsIntroduction Birds of coastal habitats The basics of identification Using this book Coastal Birds Wildfowl Divers Grebes Fulmar and Shearwaters Storm-petrels Gannet Cormorants Herons Spoonbills Hawks & Allies Osprey Falcons Rails Oystercatchers Stilts Avocets Plovers Waders Skuas Gulls Terns Auks Pigeons Cuckoos Barn Owls Typical Owls Swifts Kingfishers Woodpeckers Larks Swallows & Martins Pipits & Wagtails Chats Thrushes Warblers & Allies Flycatchers Bearded Tit Crows Starlings Finches Buntings

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Book SynopsisDid you know culinary salt is the mineral halite? Or that the pigment vermillion is powdered cinnabar, a mineral whose name comes from the Persian for dragon''s blood?Discover the extraordinary mineral treasures that form our planet and that today we use in everything, from makeup and cookery to agriculture and high-tech.Rocks and Minerals is your essential collector''s companion, with illustrated entries on hundreds of minerals, gems, and rocks from actinium to zirconium. Its breathtaking array includes organic minerals, such as pearls and corals, as well as silicates and native elements like gold.Browse to find wonderful gems, including opals, or pyropes - a deep-red garnet the size of a hen''s egg. Rocks and Minerals reveals each mineral''s defining characteristics, and explains how and where they were formed, how they were first identified, their uses, and their chemical composition.Whether you are a geology student, or starti

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING AND THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY New in paperback: an exhilarating, moving account of life on the wild Danish coast, from one of Denmark's most acclaimed writers 'A beautiful, melancholy account of finding home on a restless coast' Katherine May, author of Wintering This is the story of the windswept coastline that stretches from the northernmost tip of Denmark to the Netherlands, a world of shipwrecks and storm surges, of cold-water surfers and resolute sailors' wives. In spellbinding prose, award-winning writer Dorthe Nors invites the reader to travel through the landscape where her family lived for generations and which she now calls home. It is an extraordinarily powerful and beautiful journey through history and memory - the landscape's as well as her own. ________ FURTHER PRAISE FOR A LINE IN THE WORLD 'A place brimming with memories and strangeness, where storms surge and lighthouses blink... fascinating' Financial Times'A singular prose stylist... Nors is such a great companion, honest and curious and surprising' Max Porter, author of Lanny 'Brilliant... a personal, poetic meditation on this remote edge of windswept landscapes and wildwaters' New York Times 'The perfect winter read, making a virtue of dark nights and frost-bitten winds on the author's native North Sea coast' Observer 'A deep dive into a coastal landscape, both breathtaking and hypnotic' Natasha Carthew, author of Undercurrent: A Cornish Memoir of Poverty, Nature and ResilienceTrade Review'Touchingly personal and poetic, A Line in the World . . . see[s] Nors tussle with a place brimming with memories and strangeness, where storms surge and lighthouses blink . . . fascinating.' - Financial Times'Dorthe Nors's A Line in the World is the perfect winter read, making a virtue of dark nights and frost-bitten winds on the author's native North Sea coast' - Johny Pitts'A personal, poetic meditation on this remote edge of windswept landscapes and wild waters... immediacy and an intimacy filter through her spare, brilliant prose' - Editor's Pick'At its heart this is a book that will speak to anyone who has ever felt their identity being wrought in the schism between urbanism and the wilder beyond. Nors has been forged there, and her poetic, wave-tossed writing speaks of its hold.' - New Statesman'Magic... sometimes funny, sometimes chilling, always involving. This is a wonderful holiday in a very fine writer's heart' - Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are

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Book SynopsisHumans are the most inquisitive, emotional, imaginative, aggressive and baffling animals on the planet. But how well do we really know ourselves?How to Be Animal offers a radical take on what it means to be human and argues that at the heart of our psychology is a profound struggle with being animal. Tracing the history of this thinking through to its far-reaching effects on our lives, and drawing on a range of disciplines, Challenger proposes that being an animal is a process, beautiful and unpredictable, and that we have a chance to tell ourselves a new story; to realise that if we matter, so does everything else.Trade ReviewThe best critique of the myth of human exceptionalism I have read. Clearly and beautifully written, compellingly argued and packed with powerful and moving stories, it shows how the fact that we humans are animals has been denied and repressed, with profoundly damaging consequences for the way we live and for the planet. But this brilliant book is not only a critique. By showing that being human means being animal, it reveals how much joy in life we can gain if we recognise and accept the truth about ourselves. Read and digest this book, and you will not only be wiser but also happier -- JOHN GRAY * * author of Feline Philosophy * *Melanie Challenger's wonderful book teaches me this: our blazing continuity with the depth of time and the whole of life. It is a huge, complex and triumphant thing: challenging, but also celebratory, courageous, mournful and apprehensive. Her language is lovely: exact and lyrical and sparklingly full of suggestion and implication. It is a hymn to generosity. I know it will be something I will return to again and again -- ADAM NICOLSON * * author of The Seabird's Cry * *This is a brilliant book that, like many brilliant books, explores what it means to be human. The difference here is that the author answers this by highlighting one central human dilemma: we are an animal in denial that we are actually an animal -- MATT HAIG * * Observer * *What an interesting book! The recognition that we are animals should come less as a slap in the face than as a welcome reminder of the great resources that can come from paying attention to the ways we and our various cousins handle our journeys on this difficult but beautiful planet -- BILL McKIBBEN * * author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? * *With this book, Melanie Challenger fearlessly plunges into the biggest question of our time: how can we rediscover our animal selves, before it is too late? How can we discover our true place in the wider world we are destroying? Each of us has to answer this question for ourselves. This book is a guide for you on the journey -- PAUL KINGSNORTHErudite, lyrical, delightfully troubling and full of unexpected convergences. A wonderful exploration of the tensions that beset the human animal trying to find our way. I was entranced by this beautiful weave of history, biology and philosophy -- DAVID GEORGE HASKELL * * author of The Forest Unseen * *Deepened my understanding of the world . . . An illuminating, beautifully written and unique philosophical inquiry by a wide-ranging and original thinker and a powerful call for a new ethic for our relationship with the rest of the living world . . . Quite simply, a rare and important marvel -- LUCY JONES * * author of Losing Eden * *A provocative, incisive and worried book, carried off with no small degree of élan . . . an excellent primer to the problems we have caused and that we face * * Scotsman * *Provocative . . . Challenger [writes] with the logic of a researcher and the lyricism of a poet * * Herald * *Blending personal experience with scientific observation, Challenger has a talent for making the known seem unexpected or unsettling * * Irish Times * *

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Book SynopsisMore than 100 poems about Britain''s nature in a beautifully illustrated bookSeven chapters touch on different aspects of the British countryside, including seasons, birds and wildlife, woods, water, moors and mountains. This carefully chosen collection will inspire you to explore nature through a poet's eye the perfect antidote to times when the world is too much with us', as Wordsworth so beautifully put it.There are celebrated poems by the greats Keats, Yeats, Tennyson, Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath, John Masefield, Robert Burns, Dylan Thomas as well as others by contemporary poets whose work you will want to seek out and explore further, including Carol Anne Duffy, Simon Armitage and Jean Sprackland. Where poems have links to National Trust sites, footnotes are included to explain the connections.

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Book SynopsisThis revised edition of the classic guide Keeping a Nature Journal has a fresh look, with full-colour art and expanded sections on journaling styles, drawing techniques, and how nature journaling can be a valuable means of self-expression and a tool for fostering mindfulness and connection with the natural world. Originally published in 2000 with endorsements from E.O. Wilson and Jane Goodall, Clare Walker Leslie's Keeping a Nature Journal was at the forefront of the nature observation and journaling movement. Leslie's approach has long been acclaimed for its accessible style of teaching people to see, witness, and appreciate the wonders of nature, and her classic guide is still used by individuals, groups, and educators ranging from elementary school teachers to college-level instructors. The third edition features more of Leslie's step-by-step drawing techniques, a new selection of pages from her own journals (which she's kept for 40 years), and an expanded range of prompts for observing particular aspects of the natural world in any location. With an emphasis on learning to see and observe, Leslie shows how drawing nature doesn't require special skills, artistic ability, or even nature knowledge, and it is a tool everyone can use to record observations and experience the benefits of a stronger connection to the natural world. AUTHOR: Clare Walker Leslie is a nationally known wildlife artist, author, and educator. For more than 30 years, she has been connecting people of all ages to nature using drawing, writing, and observation of the outdoors. Her books include the bestsellers Keeping a Nature Journal and The Nature Connection, as well as The Curious Nature Guide, Nature Journal, and Drawn to Nature. She lives with her husband and family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Granville, Vermont. SELLING POINTS: Update of a classic bestseller. First published in 2000, Keeping a Nature Journal has 126,000 copies in print and is widely acclaimed as a classic guidebook on the topic. Since its first printing, author Clare Walker Leslie has become a prominent, passionate advocate, teacher, and practitioner of nature journaling as she's travelled and taught workshops around the world. Provides people of all ages with an accessible way to connect with nature. From forest bathing to nature-deficit disorder, evidence of the health and emotional benefits gained by developing a connection to nature is stronger than ever, for both adults and children. Leslie has developed drawing and observation instructions, prompts, and guidance that effectively engage people of all ages and abilities - no special artistic skill or nature knowledge required. New features include expanded drawing instructions and more inspiration from the author's personal notebooks. This third edition features new selections from the author's own nature journals, which she's kept daily for more than 40 years, along with her easy-to-follow drawing techniques and expanded sections on mindfulness, reflective writing, and citizen science.

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Book Synopsis**AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4**''A master nature writer'' (New York Times) provides the ultimate natural, social and cultural history of the Arctic landscape.The author of Horizon''s classic work explores the Arctic landscape and the hold it continues to exert on our imagination.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT MACFARLANELopez''s journey across our frozen planet is a celebration of the Arctic in all its guises. A hostile landscape of ice, freezing oceans and dazzling skyscapes. Home to millions of diverse animals and people. The stage to massive migrations by land, sea and air. The setting of epic exploratory voyages. In crystalline prose, Lopez captures the magic of the Arctic: the essential mystery and beauty of a continent that has enchanted man''s imagination and ambition for centuries.''The Arctic dreamland seen and described by a writer of rare perception and poetic descriptive power... The pages sparkle with Arctic light'' ScotsmanTrade ReviewThe Arctic dreamland seen and described by a writer of rare perception and poetic descriptive power... The pages sparkle with Arctic light -- David Stephen * Scotsman *A marvellous evocation of the Arctic by a naturalist, who is part poet... A magical book to read slowly and savour -- Gillian Somerville-Large * Irish Times *Barry Lopez by some rare magic manages to combine a poetic vision with accuracy of observation; and although he writes mainly about Eskimos, polar bears, and other denizens of the frozen north, many of his perceptive insights apply the world over -- Paula Johnson * Mail on Sunday *Dazzling... Treats the distant, snowy world of the Arctic as a place that exists not only in the mathematics of geography but also in the terra incognita of our imaginations -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *By what comes close to sheer magic, the magic of a highly literate and perceptive naturalist, Barry Lopez has transformed the austerity and Sibelius-like gloom of the tundra and great ice walls into a living pageant of high latitudes. This book will become a classic within its genre * John Hillaby *

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Book Synopsis'My favourite book of the year' - Kate Humble, Radio Times'This is a book for literary connoisseurs, fact-lovers and environmentalists. In short, it is a book about trees and people, for everyone.' - BBC Countryfile'Eclectic, brilliant and beautifully written, David Haskell reboots our aromatic memory reminding us of how our lives are intertwined with the wonder of trees. A treat not to be sneezed at.' - Sir Peter Crane, FRS'Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is a transportive olfactory journey through the forest that sets the sense tingling. Every chapter summons a new aroma: leaf litter and woodsmoke, pine resin and tannin, quinine and bay leaf - life in all its glorious complexity. David George Haskell is a knowledgeable, witty and erudite companion, who takes us by the hand and leads us through the world, reminding us to breathe it all in. This book is a breath of fresh air.' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of AbandonmentThirteen Ways to Smell a Tree takes you on a journey to connect with trees through the sense most aligned to our emotions and memories. Thirteen essays are included that explore the evocative scents of trees, from the smell of a book just printed as you first open its pages, to the calming scent of Linden blossom, to the ingredients of a particularly good gin & tonic:In your hand: a highball glass, beaded with cool moisture.In your nose: the aromatic embodiment of globalized trade. The spikey, herbal odour of European juniper berries. A tang of lime juice from a tree descended from wild progenitors in the foothills of the Himalayas. Bitter quinine, from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, spritzed into your nostrils by the pop of sparkling tonic water.Take a sip, feel the aroma and taste three continents converge.Each essay also contains a practice the reader is invited to experience. For example, taking a tree inventory of your own home, appreciating just how many things around us came from trees. And if you've ever hugged a tree when no one was looking, try breathing in the scents of different trees that live near you, the smell of pine after the rain, the refreshing, mind-clearing scent of a eucalyptus leaf crushed in your hand.Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree also contains everyday practices the reader is invited to experience. For example, taking a tree inventory of your own home, appreciating just how many things around us came from trees. And if you've ever hugged a tree when no one was looking, try breathing in the scents of different trees that live near you, the smell of pine after the rain, the refreshing, mind-clearing scent of a eucalyptus leaf crushed in your hand.Trade ReviewMy favourite book of the year. -- Kate Humble * Radio Times *This is a book for literary connoisseurs, fact-lovers and environmentalists. In short, it is a book about trees and people, for everyone. * BBC Countryfile *Eclectic, brilliant and beautifully written, David Haskell reboots our aromatic memory reminding us of how our lives are intertwined with the wonder of trees. A treat not to be sneezed at. -- Sir Peter Crane, FRSThirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is a transportive olfactory journey through the forest that sets the sense tingling. Every chapter summons a new aroma: leaf litter and woodsmoke, pine resin and tannin, quinine and bay leaf - life in all its glorious complexity. David George Haskell is a knowledgeable, witty and erudite companion, who takes us by the hand and leads us through the world, reminding us to breathe it all in. This book is a breath of fresh air. -- Cal Flyn, author of ISLANDS OF ABANDONMENTcontagious enthusiasm ... Haskell's sustained sniffing is an example of how we can acknowledge, and perhaps begin to appreciate, all that exists outside human agendas & forms of communication. This curious book is, ultimately, sensory activism. - Kate Simpson, Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisIn The Four Elements, poet and philosopher John O'Donohue draws upon his Celtic heritage and the love of his native landscape, the west of Ireland, to weave together a tapestry of beautifully evoked images of nature. As John explores a range of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world - its innocence and creativity, its power and splendour - hold profound lessons for us all. With a foreword written by his beloved brother Pat, this illuminating treasury is a unique collection of reflections inspired by the ancient wisdom of this earth.Trade ReviewThere are certain threads that run through the work of John O'Donohue. They manifest themselves with different colours and textures. The form may change for different purposes of rhythm and resonance, but the intention remains constant. It is grounded in human vulnerability and the desire, the longing, for a connection to the wonder of the divine in nature, and human life within it. -- Michael D Higgins, politician and broadcaster

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Book SynopsisWhich nations have launched which animals into space? Which countries have no sea views? Where were our planet's now-extinct species last sighted? Who is behind the great avocado boom? Where can you hug the world's oldest trees? With infographic maps covering the entire globe, Wild Maps will delight cartography fans and nature lovers, as well as anyone with an interest in all that is fascinating and awe-inspiring on Planet Earth (and beyond). Beautifully designed and illustrated, Wild Maps is an eye-opening celebration of our world, and the plants and animals with whom we share it.

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Book SynopsisAn ardent steward of the land, fearless traveller and unrivalled observer of nature and culture, Barry Lopez died after a long illness on Christmas Day in 2020. The previous summer, a wildfire had consumed much of what was dear to him in his home and the community around it – a tragic reminder of the climate change of which he’d long warned. At once a cri de Coeur and a memoir of both pain and wonder, this remarkable collection of essays adds indelibly to Lopez’s legacy, and includes previously unpublished works, some written in the months before his death. They unspool memories, both personal and political, among them tender, sometimes painful stories of his childhood in New York and California, reports from expeditions to study animals and sea life, recollections of travels to Antarctica and other extraordinary places on earth, and mediations on finding oneself amid vast, dramatic landscapes. He reflects on those who taught him, including Indigenous elders and scientific mentors who sharpened his eye for the natural world. We witness poignant returns from his travels to the sanctuary of his Oregon backyard and in prose of searing candour, he reckons with the cycle of life, including own and – as he has done throughout his career – with the dangers the earth and its people are facing. With an introduction by Rebecca Solnit that speaks to Lopez’s keen attention to the world, including its spiritual dimensions, Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World opens our minds and sounds to the important of being wholly present to the beauty and complexity of life.Trade Review‘The world is vast, and so are the heart and the curiosity of Barry Lopez. His voice is incomparable and necessary.’ -- David Quammen

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Book Synopsis'Rousing, polemical and heartfelt' - Gardens Illustrated'An invitation to take action' - The ObserverOne thing has become clear this year - we need nature more than ever. And it needs us too.From our balconies and gardens to our woodlands, national parks and beyond, Back to Nature captures the essence of how we feel about the wildlife outside our windows. Through personal stories, conservation breakthroughs and scientific discoveries, it explores the wonder and the solace of nature, and the ways in which we can connect with it - and protect it.Trade ReviewWell-researched and more nuanced than you might expect... And so Back to Nature is also an invitation to take action, showing how ordinary people can become activists. * The Observer *The main text is scattered with sparkling jewels of fascinating science on everything from how trees communicate to what birds dream of when they sleep. There are some truly inspiring tales... Rousing, polemical and heartfelt, Back to Nature is not afraid to challenge the status quo and it will fill you with a determination to take action. * Gardens Illustrated *Engaged, resolute and convincing... this could also be the most important book you've read in a long time. * BBC Countryfile *

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Book Synopsis‘Funny, accessible and full of wonders – a genuine breath of fresh air.’ – Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley; Lev Parikian is on a journey to discover the quirks, habits and foibles of how the British experience nature. Open a window, hear the birds calling and join him. ; ---------; It's often said that the British are a nation of nature lovers; but what does that really mean? For some it’s watching racer snakes chase iguanas on TV as David Attenborough narrates, a visit to the zoo to convene with the chimps; for others it’s a far-too-ambitious clamber up a mountain, the thrilling spectacle of a rare bird in flight. ; Lev Parikian sets out to explore the many, and particular, ways that he, and we, experience the natural world – beginning face down on the pavement outside his home, then moving outwards to garden, local patch, wildlife reserve, craggy coastline and as far afield as the dark hills of Skye. He visits the haunts of famous nature lovers – reaching back to the likes of Charles Darwin, Etta Lemon, Gavin Maxwell, John Clare and Emma Turner – to examine their insatiable curiosity and follow in their footsteps.; And everywhere he meets not only nature, but nature lovers of all varieties: ramblers, dog-walkers, photographers; loving couples, striding singles, families; kite-flyers, den-builders, grass-loungers; young whippersnappers, old farts, middle-aged ne’er-do-wells; beginners, specialists, all-rounders; or just people out for a stroll in the sun.; Warm, humorous and full of telling detail, Into the Tangled Bank puts the idiosyncrasies of ‘how we are in nature’ under the microscope. And in doing so, it reveals how our collective relationship with nature has changed over the centuries, what our actions mean for nature and what being a nature lover in Britain might mean today.Trade Review'Funny, accessible and full of wonders ' a genuine breath of fresh air.' - Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley and The Stubborn Light of Things 'Lev Parikian is one of those rare beasts: a nature writer with a sense of humour. This is a witty, touching and profound book about one man's burgeoning relationship with the natural world - and it's also a joy to read.' - Stephen Moss, naturalist and author'An open, warm and unique journey full of unabashed enthusiasm for the natural world. A rare thing.' - Stephen Rutt, author of The Seafarers and Wintering'Lev's endearing child-like joy at even the smallest of encounters is infectious - this book will have you peering more closely at the spider in your bathroom or the woodlouse in your garden, and following his advice to "Look. Look again. Look better".' - BBC Wildlife Magazine'Try Lev Parikian's witty Into the Tangled Bank. He starts with the wildlife found in your kitchen sink, and gradually deepens connections to nature within and outside your own four walls.' - Ann Pettifor, Guardian (Best Books to Inspire Hope for the Planet)'I genuinely think Into the Tangled Bank should be put on prescription for anyone suffering depression or loneliness because it is an absolute tonic of a book that creates happiness in the very soul of the reader. I adored it.' - Linda's Book Bag'If, like me, you've got more *into nature* in the last few months, but sometimes feel a bit excluded by nature writing, like you don't know enough, then this book will make you feel included and welcomed.' - Tracey Thorn

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Book Synopsis________________________ 'A beautiful and luminous love letter to the night sky.' - Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable Moonlight, starlight, the ethereal glow of snow in winter ... When you flick off a switch, other forms of light begin to reveal themselves. In this beautifully written exploration of the power of the lights of night, Matt Gaw ventures forth into darkness to find out exactly what we're missing when we fill our world with artificial glow, obliterating the subtler natural lights that have guided us and wildlife for millennia. Walking by the light of the moon in Suffolk and under the scattered buckshot of starlight in Scotland; braving the darkest depths of Dartmoor and the glare of 24/7 London, Under the Stars is an inspirational and immersive call to reconnect with the natural world - and to switch off. We only need to step outside to find that, in darkness, the world lights up. Let's look up together. ________________________ 'Enchanting, fascinating and written with real soul and sensitivity.' - Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground 'Lyrical, warm, and suffused with the magic of the night' - Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles 'One of the most inspiring of our young nature writers, with a highly original journey into darkness and night' - Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of The Robin: A BiographyTrade Review'Enchanting, fascinating and written with real soul and sensitivity.' - Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground'One of the most inspiring of our young nature writers, with a highly original journey into darkness and night' - Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of The Robin: A Biography 'Lyrical, warm, and suffused with the magic of the night' - Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles 'A beautiful and - no other word is more apt - luminous love letter to the night sky.' - Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable"Gaw finds wonder in the dark... The stand-out chapter for me was his getting lost in the Woods of Cree in absolute pitch black. Deep primordial horrors arise and make for gripping reading... This is a powerful and valiant plea for us all to see that, unlike in science fiction, light isn't always good." - BBC Countryfile Magazine"Under starlight and in moonlight, in the depths of the dark forest and on the streets of a city centre, Gaw goes on a nocturnal adventure to discover how light pollution disrupts and affects our own mental wellbeing, and the wellbeing of wildlife, too. En route he re-discovers the beauties of meteor showers and moonlight meanders, and encourages us to go on our own midnight adventures. Lyrical and lovely." - The Simple Things"Passionately argued and perfectly crafted... Under the Stars is a timely and inspiring manifesto explaining how 'by lighting our world sparingly, carefully... we can achieve something that would improve human health, protect wildlife, and help us to reconnect to the landscape and starscape at night'." - The Countryman"An exquisite, lyrical blend of nature writing, mythical story-telling and poetic elegy... Words are given to us in this book as a form of protection, an armour, a glistening cloak with which to keep ourselves on the track; no matter how cold it may be... Stunning." - Kerri ni Dochartaigh, Caught By the River (Book of the Month)

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Book SynopsisLet’s Get Lost is a stunning photographic collection showcasing 21 of Instagram’s most respected outdoor photographers and adventurers, revealing the people behind the lens, their stories, ways of working and, most importantly, the remote locations they go to capture breathtaking shots.Trade ReviewThis is likely to draw in both fans of photography as well as adventure travel seekers looking to add to their bucket list. 'Let’s Get Lost' is the perfect gift as it’s something to keep on the coffee table and bookshelf for years to come. * Client Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 MountainsAlex Strohl: Montana, USA Jonathan Gregson: The Dolomites, Italy Richard Gaston: Cape Wrath Trail, Scotland Finn Beales: Pelion Mountain, Greece Finn Beales: Rwanda Cath Simard: Patagonia, ArgentinaChapter 2 WildernessEmilie Ristevski: Namibia Reuben Wu: Pastoruri Glacier, Peru Finn Beales: Fair Isle, Scotland Finn Beales: Hawaii, USA Laura Pritchett: White Sands National Park, USAChapter 3 CoastLucy Laught: Cornwall, England Chris Burkard: Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Molly Steele: California, USA Finn Beales: West Ireland Finn Beales: NewfoundlandChapter 4 Ice & SnowBenjamin Hardman: Disko Bay, Greenland Greg Lecouer: Antarctica Charly Savely: Alaska, USA Finn Beales: Iceland Tim Allen: The Buzludzha monument, Bulgaria Hannes Becker: Svalbard, NorwayChapter 5 Lakes & RiversTobias Haag: Lapland, Sweden Cal Snape: The Skeena River, Canada Finn Beales: Alberta, Canada Nicolee Drake: Tanjung Puting National Park, IndonesiaChapter 6 ForestsHolly-Marie Cato: Kafue National Park, Zambia Finn Beales: Redwoods National Park, USA Finn Beales: Brecon Beacons, Wales Mads Peter Iversen: Hestehave Forest, Denmark Photographer & Biographies Index

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Book SynopsisFrom the monotonous lark to the rough-faced shag, these poor birds have us all asking: ARE ORNITHOLOGISTS OK?Some people will literally name all the birds instead of going to therapy, and this book exposes all the weird and wonderful monikers these poor feathered creatures have been tarred with. From the go-away-bird and the common loon to the sad flycatcher and the sombre tit, we seriously have to wonder why such disturbed ornithologists even went into this line of work.Tits, Boobies and Loons is for all fans of birds, language and rude words. Or anyone who secretly considers themselves a bit of a red-rumped bush tyrant.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history.'Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving' Observer 'Dara is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical' Robert Macfarlane 'It's a diary but essentially timeless . . . It's really, really special' Chris PackhamALSO WINNER OF: THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2020, BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2020; SHORTLISTED FOR: WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 & LONGLISTED FOR: THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020 ___________ 'This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head.'Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through the eyes of Dara McAnulty, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist.Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild - with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more - McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning world of nature writing that is a future classic.Diary of a Young Naturalist is a powerful and scintillating portrayal of the beauty of the natural world, as it shines a light on autism and of overcoming severe anxiety. It is a story of the binding love of family and home, and how we can help each other through the most difficult of times. ___________ BIG ISSUE BOOK OF THE YEAR HAY FESTIVAL BOOK OF THE YEARA TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 'An extraordinary diary' The Times'A torrent of pure, unmediated fervour . . . This is writing at its wild and unruly best' Dr Rachel Clarke 'Diary of a Young Naturalist is not only one of the finest pieces of modern nature writing produced on this island in recent years, McAnulty is one of our best young writers in any genre' Irish Independent'An exceptional new voice. Dara McAnulty celebrates nature in such a fresh way and illuminatesour understanding of autism' Martha Kearney, chair of the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020'One of the most talented and passionate writers of our era' Steve Silberman, award-winning author of NeuroTribes ___________Trade ReviewDara's is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical, strong enough to have made him heard and admired from a young age. * Robert Macfarlane *It's a diary but essentially timeless. It's about enduring, it's about passion, beauty and connection. It's really, really special. * Chris Packham *Dara is only 16 and autistic, and is already on his way to becoming one of the most talented and passionate writers of our era. * Steve Silberman, author of Neurotribes *Feeling illuminates every page of this miraculous memoir ... His portrait of loving parents raising three neurodivergent children on poetry, punk and puffins is profoundly moving ... intimate, sensitive, deeply felt * Observer *Like reading William Blake or Ted Hughes, it really is a strange and magical experience...surely one of the most talked about nature books, or any books, this year * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis** WINNER OF THE LAUREL PRIZE 2021 ****A SPECTATOR AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020****SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES / UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020****SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN POLLARD FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE 2021****SHORTLISTED FOR THE DALKEY LITERARY EMERGING WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021**A remarkable first collection by an important new poetIn this collection, Seán Hewitt gives us poems of a rare musicality and grace. By turns searing and meditative, these are lyrics concerned with the matter of the world, its physicality, but also attuned to the proximity of each moment, each thing, to the spiritual. Here, there is sex, grief, and loss, but also a committed dedication to life, hope and renewal. Drawing on the religious, the sacred and the profane, this is a collection in which men meet in the woods, where matter is corrupted and remade. There are prayers, hymns, vespers, incantations, and longer poems which attempt to propel themselves towards the transcendent. In this book, there is always the sense of fragility allied with strength, a violence harnessed and unleashed. The collection ends with a series of elegies for the poet's father: in the face of despair, we are met with a fierce brightness, and a reclamation of the spiritual. 'This is when / we make God, and speak in his voice.'Paying close attention to altered states and the consolations and strangeness of the natural world, this is the first book from a major poet.Trade ReviewSeán Hewitt soars... His poetry will stand the test of time, for...the sheer musicality of the language, the lightness on his metrical feet, and his keen ear for "the music of what happens" charm the reader into submission. This is an astonishingly assured debut delivered in a poetic voice that has eloquence, compassion, and serenity in equal measure...in the pantheistic tradition of Wordsworth, Whitman, John Clare, and Seamus Heaney... When it comes to nascent talent, we Irish have a tendency to mistake the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy for the ninth, thrusting premature greatness upon the liveliest embryos. By contrast, Hewitt seems to have sprung fully formed into the literary world and, on this showing, nothing seems beyond him. -- Bert Wright * Sunday Times *It is extraordinary to encounter a debut collection that feels as established as Seán Hewitt’s… These unmediated poems are, at the same time, charged: they pull you in swiftly, you become immersed… In ‘Tongues of Fire’, the title piece and last in the collection, the present is burning. It is an exceptionally moving poem – impossible to read without a lump in the throat… He grafts the people and circumstances of his life on to nature with unerring brilliance… This is, above all, a devotional collection and will lift the spirits of all who read it…. He has a gift for gravity, rootedness, calm… Hewitt has the confidence to relax and to allow his poems, in an unaffected and sometimes conversational way, to speak to the heart. -- Kate Kellaway * Observer *Poetry Book of the Month* *I fell into [Tongues of Fire] one morning and read the whole book through and it truly warmed my soul. He's an exquisitely calm and insightful lyric poet, reverential in nature and gorgeously wise in the field of human drama. It's a stunning collection of poems. -- Max Porter * Irish Times *Best Books of 2020* *Very accomplished poems. -- Sebastian Faulks * Spectator *Books of the Year* *This is an extraordinary collection - heart-bruising, tender - one to cherish, and live by. Though Hewitt moves us through anguish and destruction, love still glows; and in the dark undoings of these poems, decay lights the wildwood with its strange, ethereal foxfire. As Hewitt writes, "it is hard to tell where heaven starts"; I find it in these poems, which are beyond-gorgeous, beyond-glorious, blood-felt, feral, luminous. -- Fiona BensonSeán Hewitt understands that poetic form is sacred and mysterious. In these godforsaken times his reverent procedures are food for the soul. -- Michael LongleyI fell in love with these wild, heartsore, ecstatic poems. They lead us to deep, hushed places - in the woods and heaths, in our hearts and bodies - and unearth such tenderness and dark treasure. Tongues of Fire is a beautiful book and Seán Hewitt is an extraordinary writer. -- Liz BerryIn Tongues of Fire, Hewitt crafts poems of intense beauty and endless range, which glisten with queer desire... Considered and poised, every line in this stunning compilation surprises and nurtures. -- Uli Lenart * attitude, *Books of the Year* *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the life of trees through science, folklore, history and art – every day of the year. Immerse yourself in the world of trees with A Tree A Day – packed with tree facts and richly illustrated throughout with photographs and art. Nature writer Amy-Jane Beer takes us on a tour around the world’s woodlands to tell the stories of a variety of trees, from mysterious ginkos to historical oaks. Anyone who has sat in the dappled shade of a mighty oak or wandered in the blaze of a deciduous woodland in autumn cannot fail to appreciate the wonder of our trees and forests. Each of the 366 entries in this beautiful book – one for every day of the year – reveals some of the fascinating science, natural history or folklore of our great and gracious green neighbours, the history made beneath their branches, or the creativity they inspire. From the awesome Californian redwoods, titans of the tree world, to tiny but exquisite bonsai, and from the fantastically irritable sentinel willow of Harry Potter fame to the Japanese springtime tradition of hanami (blossom viewing) – this captivating collection showcases remarkable individuals and explores some of the ways trees support life on Earth as we know it. Celebrating one of the longest-living lifeforms on earth, A Tree A Day is forest bathing in book form and a wonder for nature lovers and tree enthusiasts alike.Trade Review‘Gorgeous … A Wildwood of a Book’ -- Robert Mcfarlane‘This chunky volume gives a good daily dose of dendrology. Indeed, more than that, it gives 366 compelling reasons why we should treasure our trees and foster a world in which they can thrive’ – Dixe Wills -- BBC Countryfile‘Stunning’ -- Garden Answers

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Book SynopsisUnhappily land-locked in his early adult life, Frank Fraser Darling's fortunes changed when he began visiting Scotland's west coast in the 1930s. Surviving treacherous boat journeys, a broken leg, and hell-bent storms, he made temporary homes with his family on some of the remotest Hebridean islands so he could study the habits of grey seals and seabirds. The family finally settled on an abandoned croft in the Summer Isles, on Tanera Mor, and started farming the barren land. They repaired a ruined herring fishery and its stone quay. They fertilised the ground with seaweed, cut peat for the fires, planted a garden behind sheltered walls. Slowly, they brought life back to the island. Little Toller republishes classic books about nature and rural life.

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Book SynopsisThe further adventures of a young David Attenborough - from Madagascar and New Guinea to the Pacific Islands and the Northern Territory of AustraliaTrade ReviewAbundantly good * TLS *With charm, erudition, humour and passion, the world's favourite natural history broadcaster documents some of his expeditions from the late 1950s onwards * Sunday Express *This book is a wondrous reminder of Attenborough's pioneering role and the often hilarious difficulties he faced . . . A century ago, we learnt about exotic creatures from intrepid explorers in pith helmets. Now we learn from slick, professional TV presenters. David Attenborough has led the way from one style to the other and this book is full of delightful tales from the period of transition. * Daily Express *Engaging and evocative but ultimately poignant . . . Attenborough is a fine writer and storyteller * Irish Times *An adventure that sparked a lifetime's commitment to the planet * The Lady *Fascinating * OK! *With his usual charm and generosity, Attenborough allows us along for the ride * Irish Examiner *An in-depth look at the beloved naturalist's momentous voyage made in his youth across the globe * Woman's Weekly *Pure gold . . . the story of a journey to discover the fugitive, mythical, 'other': Paradise * Wild at Home *A beautifully written book . . . it retains all the trademark Attenborough magic. * WI Magazine *In his May 2018 introduction to these books first published in the early '60s, the great broadcaster naturalist recalls a much changed planet . . . But Attenborough's lust for all types of life remains undimmed as in those distant days * RTE Guide *

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Book SynopsisThe Easternmost Sky is part memoir, part elegy and part warning. It was written on the Suffolk coast, in a place known for its farmland, nature reserves and the fastest coastal erosion in Europe. By exploring how climate change and social change are already affecting this agriculturally important part of the world, it is possible to imagine a very different landscape, to glimpse the future and to understand how these changes will affect us all.Trade ReviewEngaging... Blaxland is an acute observer, steeped in the ways of the countryside, its communities, and its traditions. * Country & Town House *Thought provoking. * BBC Radio Suffolk *The author writes beautifully about her life in this small extremity. * Country Life *A joy to read.

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