Publication date Thursday, October 26, 2023 Price £14.99 EAN\ISBN-13 9781856755269
Blurb
Description A fascinating and entertaining collection of facts, quotes and stories, celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s wicked sense of humour and astute wisdom. David Attenborough is a national treasure, known for his soothing voice, calming presence, passion for the natural world, and his humble, easy-going nature. Despite his incredible talent and influence, he tends to play it all down, one time stating that, ‘I can’t believe I’m still employed’.
So if he won’t celebrate himself, we’ll have to do it for him. Filled with facts, tributes and anecdotes, as well as beautiful illustrations, this enormously positive book celebrates Sir David, providing a fascinating insight into his life as well as showcasing his brilliant sense of humour. Running chronologically, this book begins with his early days, to his first job at the BBC, to eventually becoming the most esteemed naturalist on the planet, as he is today.
Such revelations include:
There are 18 plants and animals named after him
When asked by a reporter how many degrees he had, he said it would be ‘rude to count’*
The single thing that would improve his quality of life is ‘good, workable knees’. Blending his quips galore with his powerful messages on the environment and future of the planet, this timely book showcases everything we love about Sir David, making it the perfect gift for any fan.
In the tradition of Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain, and Mark Bittman, “a surprising, flavorsome tour of ancient cuisines” (Kirkus ★)—from Neolithic bread to ancient Roman fish sauce—and why reviving the foods of the past is the key to saving the future.
Many of us are worried (or at least we should be) about the impacts of globalization, pollution, and biotechnology on our diets. Whether it’s monoculture crops, hormone-fed beef, or high-fructose corn syrup, industrially-produced foods have troubling consequences for us and the planet. But as culinary diversity diminishes, many people are looking to a surprising place to safeguard the future: into the past.
The Lost Supper explores an idea that is quickly spreading among restaurateurs, food producers, scientists, and gastronomes around the world: that the key to healthy and sustainable eating lies not in looking forward, but in looking back to the foods that have sustained us through our half-million-year existence as a species.
Acclaimed author Taras Grescoe introduces readers to the surprising and forgotten flavors whose revival is captivating food-lovers around the world: ancient sourdough bread last baked by Egyptian pharaohs; raw-milk farmhouse cheese from critically endangered British dairy cattle; ham from Spanish pata negra pigs that have been foraging on acorns on a secluded island since before the United States was a nation; and olive oil from wild olive trees uniquely capable of resisting quickly evolving pests and modern pathogens.
From Ancient Roman fish sauce to Aztec caviar to the long-thought-extinct silphium, The Lost Supper is a deep dive into the latest frontier of global gastronomy—the archaeology of taste. Through vivid writing, history, and first-hand culinary experience, Grescoe sets out a provocative case: in order to save these foods, he argues, we’ve got to eat them.
Published in partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.
In the follow up to his Sunday Times bestseller, The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben compares tree planting to battery farming
‘In clear, vivid prose with impeccable reasoning, Peter Wohlleben makes a compelling case that almost everything we do in modern forestry management may be dead wrong. What should we do instead? Let the wisdom of the trees quell our human arrogance, heal the forest and restore our sweet, green world’ Sy Montgomery, author of How to be a Good Creature and The Soul of an Octopus
TREES CAN SURVIVE without humans, but we can’t live without trees. Even if human-caused climate change devastates our planet, trees will return—as they do, always and everywhere, even after ice ages, catastrophic fires, destructive storms, and deforestation. It would just be nice if we were around to see them flourish.
The Power of Trees is forester Peter Wohlleben’s follow-up to The Hidden Life of Trees, a Sunday Times bestseller that sold millions of copies worldwide. In his latest book, he is dismissive of token gestures in terms of tree planting. Just as he compared forest trees to ‘families’ and urban trees to ‘street urchins’ in his first book, in The Power of Trees he uses equally powerful metaphors to compare tree planting to battery farming (‘Switching to fast-growing species and breeding trees for desired traits brought results like those achieved by factory farming: individuals ready for harvest at a young age, all with a relatively uniform carcass weight.’). However, he also joyfully describes trees determination to survive, describing seedlings breaking through the earth where you least expect them, as ‘stalwart tree children’.
This latest work is as fascinating and eye-opening as it is trenchant in its critique: on the one hand, Wohlleben describes astonishing discoveries about how trees pass knowledge down to succeeding generations and their ability to survive climate change; on the other, he is unsparing in his criticism of those who wield economic and political power—who plant trees exclusively for the sake of logging and virtue signaling—even as they ruthlessly exploit nature. The Power of Trees is a love letter to the forest and a passionate argument for protecting nature’s boundless diversity, not only for the sake of trees, but also for us.
Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet.
Travel around the world and discover the stories of 20 conservationists and the endangered animals they are helping to save, including the orangutang, blue whale, Indian tiger, rhino, honeybee, Komodo dragon and sea turtle. Positive, uplifting and packed full of information, with 20 fun activities for children to try, this book will show children no one is too small to make a difference.
Recent times have seen a renewed interest in urban nature, as can be witnessed in the work of amateur botanists, identifying wildflowers and chalking their names on pavements. In The Grove the award-winning writer and head gardener, Ben Dark, reveals the remarkable secrets of 20 commonly found cultivated plants – including the rose, buddleja and the tulip – observed in the front gardens of a typical London street on daily walks over the course of a year. We discover how each species found its way into our gardens, the cast of characters who played their part in its story and what each one tells us about our national obsession with gardening and the urge to cultivate our own patch of nature.
‘Every species in this book was seen from one pavement over twelve months and there is little here that could not be found on any road in any town, but they recount stories of such weirdness, drama, passion and humour that, once discovered, familiar neighbourhoods will be changed forever.’
The Grove is about so much more than a single street, or indeed the plants found in its 19 ½ front gardens. It’s a glorious piece of urban nature writing and a skilful blend of horticultural history, personal narrative and an exploration of why gardens and gardening matter.
Paperback, 419 pages Published November 14th 2017 by W&N (first published September 8th 2016) ISBN: 1780229070 (ISBN13: 9781780229072)
Blurb
This is a story about you. It is the history of who you are and how you came to be. It is unique to you, as it is to each of the 100 billion modern humans who have ever drawn breath. But it is also our collective story, because in every one of our genomes we each carry the history of our species births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex.
Since scientists first read the human genome in 2001, it has been subject to all sorts of claims, counterclaims, and myths. In fact, as Adam Rutherford explains, our genomes should be read not as instruction manuals, but as epic poems. DNA determines far less than we have been led to believe about us as individuals, but vastly more about us as a species.
In this captivating journey through the expanding landscape of genetics, Adam Rutherford reveals what our genes now tell us about history, and what history tells us about our genes. From Neanderthals to murder, from redheads to race, dead kings to plague, evolution to epigenetics, this is a demystifying and illuminating new portrait of who we are and how we came to be.
My Review
This is another one of my random books I bought because it looked interesting. I like biology, history and all that connected stuff. Yes, it really is all connected; it makes no sense to teach them as separate subjects, they all overlap. But that’s not really important right now…
Adam Rutherford writes amusingly of genomics, history and archaeology, as he explains how modern humans came to be the only hominids left and where we are now. It’s basic stuff that people really should know, but unfortunately they don’t and that causes a lot of problems in society.
Seriously, how can anyone believe in ‘race’ these days when genomics can show that it doesn’t exist in a scientific sense? I understand it is a social classification that has real effect in the world, race is a social construct that is used to unite people and divide them, to build a social identity and to deny social advantages, but that doesn’t make it any less illogical.
I actually found his discussion of his PhD research fascinating. Eyes are really odd, but clearly not ‘designed’. Like much of the body, it’s really daft and clearly made up of changes over time. Eyes break so easily, they’re so often a mess from the start too. How anyone can believe they were created perfectly by some god is again, beyond me. Octopuses managed to do it better, for crying out loud!
Human evolution is fascinating! No really, I love it. I found the way Rutherford described the multiple times different human species mixed and shared genes really informative.
The book is fairly introductory and includes a glossary and further reading, so it’s a good place to start if you’re interested.
Problems: Adam Rutherford shouldn’t talk about Autism, because he clearly knows nothing; he still refers to us as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are not disordered!
His grasp of human sex and gender is limited. He often refers to ‘the two sexes’ and ‘male is XY, female is XX’, completely ignoring the fact that sex is more complicated than that, and he dismisses intersex people in a footnote as negligible disorders. Way back in 2016 I reviewed a book on the subject that clearly explains how much variety there is in human sex and gender. He also uses ‘male’ and ‘women’, rather than ‘male’ and ‘female’, or ‘men’ and ‘women’; it’s confusing and I’m not sure why he does it. In context, it doesn’t make sense. If you’re talking about sex or presumed sex (because someone’s external genitalia may be one thing but their chromosomes and hormones could be different) use male, female or intersex; if you’re talking about gender, use gender labels – men, women, non-binary, agender etc.
Definitely one to read and share with all your embarrassing relatives.
Hardcover, 288 pages Published June 24th 2021 by HarperCollins ISBN: 0008430187 (ISBN13: 9780008430184)
Blurb
Michael Stewart has been captivated by the Brontes since he was a child, and has travelled all over the north of England in search of their lives and landscapes. Now, he’d like to invite you into the world as they would have seen it.
Following in the footsteps of the Brontes across meadow and moor, through village and town, award-winning writer Michael Stewart takes a series of inspirational walks through the lives and landscapes of the Bronte family, investigating the geographical and social features that shaped their work.
This is a literary study of both the social and natural history that has inspired writers and walkers, and the writings of a family that have touched readers for generations. Finally we get to understand the ‘wild, windy moors’ that Kate Bush sang about in ‘Wuthering Heights’, see the imposing halls that may have inspired Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre, and learn about Bramwell’s affair with a real life Mrs Robinson while treading the same landscapes. As well as describing in vivid detail the natural beauty of the moors and their surroundings, Walking the Invisible also encompasses the history of the north and the changing lives of those that have lived there.
‘I can’t remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will.’ Chris Packham
When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is.
The positive change in Joe’s wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street.
In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.
Published by: Pen & Sword – White Owl Publication Date: 12th December 2018 Format: Hardback I.S.B.N.: 9781526701596 Price: £25.00 Purchase Link
Blurb
Have you ever wondered how trees got their names? What did our ancestors think about trees, and how were they used in the past? This fascinating book will answer many of your questions, but also reveal interesting stories that are not widely known. For example, the nut from which tree was predicted to pay off the UK’s national debt? Or why is Europe’s most popular pear called the ‘conference’? Simon Wills tells the history of twenty-eight common trees in an engaging and entertaining way, and every chapter is illustrated with his photographs.
Find out why the London plane tree is so frequently planted in our cities, and how our forebears were in awe of the magical properties of hawthorn. Where is Britain’s largest conker tree? Which tree was believed to protect you against both lightning and witchcraft?
The use of bay tree leaves as a sign of victory by athletes in ancient Greece led to them being subsequently adopted by many others – from Roman emperors to the Royal Marines. But why were willow trees associated with Alexander Pope, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Samuel Johnson? Why did Queen Anne pay a large sum for a cutting from a walnut tree in Somerset? Discover the answers to these and many other intriguing tales within the pages of this highly engrossing book.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 