Sponsored by Dartmouth Community Bookshop Book Review THE CALL OF THE WILD
the natural world on our physical and mental health is unquestionable. Simon Barnes is well-known in the world of
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nature writing. His new book Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to make Nature more Visible
he great outdoors have been a godsend for many over lockdown. Nature writing has never been more popular and the positive impact of
their time at sea. The author is a bird lover who escaped his hectic life in London to the wildest outposts of the British Isles to satisfy his obsession with these brave and transient birds. The book describes the author’s journey as he travels to the remote edges of Britain, from Shetland to Northumberland and the Welsh isles of the Pembrokeshire coast exploring the part seabirds
by Emma Jones
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(published by Simon & Schuster) encourages the reader to wake up and engage with the natural world and to get back in the habit of seeing, listening and hearing. Each chapter focusses on a different part of nature from butterflies in buddleias to birds hidden in treetops. It is a perfect post lockdown book encouraging us to slow down and watch out for all that is around us showing how simple and magical nature can be. Full of humour, boy-like enthusiasm and many practical tips on identification and essential tools of the trade (a carrier bag in your back pocket) this book will open up any mind and as Barnes himself says “the wilder you are, the more amazing life is.” Underland by Robert Macfarlane (published by
Penguin) has won many plaudits and prizes over the last year, not least a Guardian Best Book of the 21st century. Knowing that the book has taken the author 10 years to complete it’s easy to see that this is a collection of his most important ideas. The book’s magical cover and sub title “A Deep Time Journey” gives just an inkling of the content which is an exploration and journey into the world beneath our feet from the ice-blue depths of Greenland’s glaciers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea-caves. A mix of nature and travel writing this is a deep-time voyage into the planet’s past and future, global in its geography, gripping in its voice and haunting in its implications. “Eye-opening, lyrical and moving... capturing the poetry beneath the science.” Publisher’s Weekly The British Isles are remarkable for their
extraordinary seabird life and The Seafarers – A Journey Among Birds by Stephen Rutt (Elliott & Thompson Ltd) is an illuminating picture of these unique and mysterious birds who spend most of
have played in our history and what they continue to mean to Britain today. You can almost feel the wind in your hair and the salt spray on your skin when reading this “beguiling book which reveals what it feels like to be immersed in a completely wild landscape, examining the allure of the remote in an over-crowded world.” The Missing Lynx by Ross Barnett (published
by Bloomsbury Wildlife) is a fun, fascinating and informative look into “The Past and Future of Britain’s Lost Mammals.” As a palaeontologist the author has a depth of knowledge and with his accessible and witty style he tells the story of the magnificent megafauna we’ve lost in Britain, why it has disappeared, what happened as a result and how we might realistically turn the ecological tide. Whilst investigating the realistic possibility of rewilding and reintroducing these animals in the modern world he includes pictures, poetry and quotations adding “cheery, Terry Pratchett-esque footnotes” to enliven his thoughts, encouraging us to look to a brighter future. My final choice isn’t strictly nature writing but it is a book which centres on an adventure to the other side of the world in search of a beetle. Miss Benson’s Beetle (published by Doubleday) is the latest book by Rachel Joyce - author of the popular The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Set in 1950 Margery Benson abandons her job and sets off with her unlikely companion Enid Pretty on an adventure which will exceed every expectation. Taking risks and breaking rules as they go this is an intoxicating adventure story as well as a tender exploration of a friendship that defies all boundaries. ‘The perfect escape novel for our troubled times.’ Patrick Gale
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