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Countryfile: My Life on the Land
by Adam HensonIn 2001, Adam Henson was chosen from 3,500 applicants to become a presenter on Countryfile. Adam's agricultural knowledge and open manner soon made him a popular figure and when the programme moved to its current Sunday evening slot in 2009, he began to present a weekly report from his own farm in the Cotswolds.There, the ups and downs of the farming calendar, as told in Adam's straight-talking fashion, soon became one of the most popular parts of the programme as viewers watched him endure the stress of TB testing and his sadness at losing valuable cattle as well as the highs of spring lambing. This is the first book by Adam Henson, and it is an enthralling, first-person account of the drama, emotion and sheer hard work that is life on Adam's Farm.
The Cruise of the Talking Fish
by W E BowmanHaving brought the highest mountain in the world to its knees, Binder, leader of the expedition to conquer Rum Doodle, soon sets off on a new adventure, aboard the raft Talking Fish. With only two cats, one frog, one oyster and five fellow-adventurers as crew, he is determined to master the challenges of the deep.
Cry of the Wild: Life through the eyes of eight animals
by Charles Foster'Evocative and beautifully written, it's a deeply immersive read' Observer'Enchanting and emotional...personifies its characters as they navigate the new wild and its trials.' Chris Packham'Charles Foster is the most original voice in nature writing today - funny, urgent, poetic, philosophical and deeply moving' Patrick Barkham'Utterly exhilarating... This book demands we change our ways' Lee Schofield'There aren't many writers like Charles around... a deeply thought-provoking book' James Aldred'Reading this book feels like being made suddenly omniscient. In other words, you really have to' Tom Moorhouse'Astonishingly playful, humorous, immensely varied and outrageously intelligent... The most inventive British writer presently at work on the theme of nature' Mark CockerWhat is it like to live in a world built by humans? These eight genre-blending stories reveal the complexity, beauty and fragility of wild lives - a brilliantly modern twist on classics like Watership Down and Tarka the Otter.A fox, grown strong on pepperoni pizza from the dustbins of the East End, dances along a railway track towards Essex, the territory of wild foxes and wilder huntsmen.An orca, mourning the loss of her mother in a valley west of Skye, knows that she must now lead the pod as matriarch. She swims again through her childhood, thinking about the old ways, the old roads, laid down thousands of years ago. But the old roads aren't so easy now.At moonrise in a West Country river, an otter floats slowly downstream. The tide, though it pushes him landwards when it exhales, seems to pull him out when it inhales. He turns on his back. He can see the stars clearly for the first time and wonders if he can swim to them.The wild has never stopped waiting. It has only ever been in exile, right under our noses, waiting to confound, outrage and re-enchant.
Deep Blue: My Ocean Journeys
by Steve BackshallTake a deep breathSteve Backshall was nine years old the first time he saw a shark, while on holiday with his family in Malaysia. It was the beginning of a life-long fascination with these 'lords of the sea', and the oceanic life around them. His career as one of the world's most popular naturalists and explorers has taken him to countless underwater places, many never before seen by others. And he's also been witness to the startling decline in fortune of our oceans' wild inhabitants over the past fifty years.Deep Blue is a book a lifetime in the making: a remarkable blend of memoir, travel, and marine and environmental science that takes us on an unforgettable tour of the many worlds of aquatic life: from underwater deserts and rainforests to the evolution of ocean heroes like the sea turtle and the Great White, from the genesis of ocean life to the rapidly declining state of white polar seas and coral reefs. It's both a love letter to our precious oceans and rallying cry for what we must do to save them.
Desert Survival (Air Ministry Survival Guide #3)
by A.M. Pamphlet 225THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE for anyone who thinks they'd survive the world's most hostile environments - or at least imagine they could do.-----------------------------First issued to airmen in the 1950s, the Air Ministry's Sea Survival guide includes original and authentic emergency advice to crew operating over the ocean. With original illustrations and text, these survival guides provide an insight to military survival techniques from a by-gone era.Packed with original line drawings and instruction in:- How to find water in a dry stream course- How to make a hat out of seat cushions- What to do in the event of meeting 'hostile parties'Focussing on one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth, Desert Survival is one of four reprints of The Air Ministry's emergency survival pamphlets. Others include:· Jungle Survival· Sea Survival· Arctic Survival
Destination Space: Making Science Fiction a Reality
by Kenny KempAward-winning writer and journalist Kenny Kemp goes in search of the paying passengers who will make history on the first commercial flight into space. They will be able to experience weightlessness, witness the curvature of the Earth and have a unique view of the Universe seen only by astronauts. Detailing their arduous training and how their bodies will be affected in space, to the science, business and politics behind this incredible breakthrough, Destination Space describes just the beginning of an amazing adventure . . .
Daisy and the Trouble with Nature (A Daisy Story #14)
by Kes GrayThe BRAND NEW laugh-out-loud new Daisy adventure, from bestselling author of the Oi Frog series, Kes Gray.Here comes trouble! Daisy and her class are so excited when their new school nature garden is unveiled. But the trouble with their nature garden is, there's not very much nature in it. There are NO:BirdsButterfliesGrizzly BearsWolverinesIf there's one thing Daisy HATES it's waiting. Especially waiting for nature to appear. Luckily, she's going camping with Gabby, and will find LOTS of nature to bring back.Only, the trouble with nature is, it's really hard to control...
A Day to Die For: 1996: Everest's Worst Disaster - One Survivor's Personal Journey to Uncover the Truth
by Graham RatcliffeOn the night of 10-11 May 1996, eight climbers perished in what remains the worst disaster in Everest's history. Following the tragedy, numerous accounts were published, with Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air becoming an international bestseller. But has the whole story been told?A Day to Die For reveals the full, startling facts that led to the tragedy. Graham Ratcliffe, the first British climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest twice, was a first-hand witness, having spent the night on Everest's South Col at 26,000 ft, sheltering from the deadly storm. For years, he has shouldered a burden of guilt, feeling that he and his teammates could have saved lives that fateful night. His quest for answers has led to discoveries so important to an understanding of the disaster that he now questions why these facts were not made public sooner.History is dotted with high-profile disasters that both horrify and capture the attention of the public, but very rarely is our view of them revised to such devastating effect.
Experiments on Reality
by Tim RobinsonLong recognized as perhaps the greatest non-fiction writer at work in Ireland, for his vast, polymathic accounts of nature and culture in the Aran Islands and Connemara, Tim Robinson is also an essayist of genius whose fascinations range across the globe. In Experiments on Reality, he shines the light of his intelligence on his own life, and on some of the most fascinating questions in science and culture. Robinson brings us to his boyhood in Yorkshire, National Service in Malaya in the 1950s, and his years as a visual artist in Istanbul, Vienna and London. He revisits some of the scenes of his researches for the maps he made of Aran and Connemara, places that continue to throw up remarkable stories and puzzles. And he performs astonishing literary thought-experiments, playing with the boundaries of the essay form, scientific inquiry, and storytelling. Experiments on Reality is a masterpiece from one of the great minds of our time.'One of the greatest of all landscape writers ... When the material world is brought forth for us so beautifully, with such rapt attention and illuminating insight, we are reminded of how lucky we are to be part of it' Fintan O'Toole, Irish TimesPRAISE FOR THE CONNEMARA TRILOGY:'One of the most remarkable non-fiction projects undertaken in English' Robert MacFarlane, Spectator'Robinson is a marvel ... the supreme practitioner of geo-graphy, the writing of places' Fintan O'Toole, Observer Books of the Year'One of contemporary Ireland's finest literary stylists ... This is a book that does justice, in every sense of that phrase, to the frequently betrayed people whose stories it incarnates, and to their strange and beautiful corner of the world' Joseph O'Connor, Guardian'A masterpiece of travel and topographical writing and a miraculous, vivid and engrossing meditation on landscape and history and the sacred mood of places' Colm Tóibín, Irish Times Books of the Year'One of the finest of contemporary prose stylists' John Burnside, Irish Times'He is that rarest of phenomena, a scientist and an artist, and his method is to combine scientific rigour with artistic reverie in a seamless blend that both informs and delights.' John Banville, Guardian'Breathtaking ... the West of Ireland has found its ultimate laureate' Patricia Craig, TLS'Dazzling ... an indubitable classic' Giles Foden, Condé Nast Traveller
A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos
by Mark ThompsonTo the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious and unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One’s Stargazing Live and the resident astronomer on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy and unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years.Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for and how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up and wishes they knew more about the final frontier...
Eden: Updated 15th Anniversary Edition
by Tim Smit'Smit's vision of Eden is the eighth wonder of the world' Independent'Inspiring... An invaluable guide to how a large project can exceed against all odds' The Sunday Times-An updated edition of the bestselling story of the Eden Project featuring stunning new photography.At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the impossible was delivered. From the sterile depths of a disused china clay pit in Cornwall rose one of the most remarkable and ambitious ventures in recent memory. The Eden Project's Biomes, the world's largest conservatories, are the symbol of a living theatre of plants and people and their interdependence, of regeneration and of a pioneering forum for the exploration of possible futures.This is the extraordinary story of the Eden Project, of its conception, design and construction, of the larger-than-life personalities who made it happen and of all that has happened since its doors were first opened to the public in 2001. It is now undisputedly one of the world's great gardens with more than 17 million visitors flocking there and projects and partnerships all over the world.
Fencing Paradise: The Uses and Abuses of Plants
by Richard MabeyIn this remarkable journal of visits to Eden, Mabey transports his reader from Cornwall to the Mediterranean to the Tropics, from Old World to New, from present to personal memory, to new perspectives on our collective artistic and emotional past. Sensuous and evocative, exquisitely written, his new book challenges the reader to look differently at the world, and our place in the landscape. At the same time, Mabey is controversial in his views about what we mean by buzz words like 'renewable', or 'sustainable', and he is highly provocative in his final response to the Eden Project itself.
Field Notes from the Edge
by Paul Evans‘A profoundly satisfying read’ Financial TimesIn Field Notes from the Edge, the acclaimed writer of the Guardian's 'Country Diary', Paul Evans, takes us on a journey through the in-between spaces of Nature – such as strandlines, mudflats, cliff tops and caves – where one wilderness is on the verge of becoming another and all things are possible. Here, Evans searches out wildlife and plants to reveal a Nature that is inspiring yet intimidating; miraculous yet mundane; part sacred space, part wasteland. It is here that we tread the edge between a fear of Nature’s dangers and a love of Nature’s beauty.Combining a naturalist’s eye for observation with a poet’s ear for the lyrical, Field Notes from the Edge confirms Paul Evans's place among our leading nature writers today.
The Final Call: Investigating Who Really Pays For Our Holidays
by Leo HickmanNo industry in the world employs more people or is the world's largest foreign currency earner than tourism. Long billed as the cleanest industry for developing countries to invest in, tourism seems to offer everyone involved a positive experience.This is the official line, anyway. In truth, the reality is much more complex . For The Final Call Hickman travels the world on a range of holidays and finds that behind the sunny facade of pools, smiling locals, sightseeing trips and exquisite cuisine is an ugly reality and it is spreading unchecked to all corners of the globe. But none of us are going to stop holidaying and at the heart of this is a heartfelt attempt to discover the best way to holiday wherever you are.
Flame Of Adventure
by Simon YatesSimon Yates, author of Against the Wall, takes us back to his early years as a climber - the escapades and excitement of a young life lived on the edge and for the moment, when experience was all-important and dramatic achievements and failures came as naturally as the hair-raising risks themselves.A mountaineering travelogue of dazzling variety, The Flame of Adventure moves from the camaraderie of deprived Russian climbers in the little-known peaks in the Tien Shan to the awesome experience of the North Face of the Eiger, from a rumbustious motorbike ride across Australia with a psychotic lorry driver. We meet a remarkable gallery of climbers, from Doug Scott to Joe Simpson, and, when not exploring high mountains, we enter the bizarre world of rope access workers: mavericks balancing high above building sites on the London skyline.
Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir
by Chris PackhamVoted the UK’s Favourite Nature BookThe memoir that inspired Chris Packham's BBC documentary, Asperger’s and MeEvery minute was magical, every single thing it did was fascinating and everything it didn't do was equally wondrous, and to be sat there, with a Kestrel, a real live Kestrel, my own real live Kestrel on my wrist! I felt like I'd climbed through a hole in heaven's fence.An introverted, unusual young boy, isolated by his obsessions and a loner at school, Chris Packham only felt at ease in the fields and woods around his suburban home. But when he stole a young Kestrel from its nest, he was about to embark on a friendship that would teach him what it meant to love, and that would change him forever. In his rich, lyrical and emotionally exposing memoir, Chris brings to life his childhood in the 70s, from his bedroom bursting with fox skulls, birds' eggs and sweaty jam jars, to his feral adventures. But pervading his story is the search for freedom, meaning and acceptance in a world that didn’t understand him.Beautifully wrought, this coming-of-age memoir will be unlike any you've ever read.
The Fabled Coast: Legends & traditions from around the shores of Britain & Ireland
by Sophia Kingshill Jennifer Beatrice WestwoodPirates and smugglers, ghost ships and sea-serpents, fishermen’s prayers and sailors’ rituals – the coastline of the British Isles plays host to an astonishingly rich variety of local legends, customs, and superstitions.In The Fabled Coast, renowned folklorists Sophia Kingshill and Jennifer Westwood gather together the most enthralling tales and traditions, tracing their origins and examining the facts behind the legends. Was there ever such a beast as the monstrous Kraken? Did a Welsh prince discover America, centuries before Columbus? What happened to the missing crew of the Mary Celeste? Along the way, they recount the stories that are an integral part of our coastal heritage, such as the tale of Drake’s Drum, said to be heard when England was in peril, and the mythical island of Hy Brazil, which for centuries appeared on sea charts and maps to the west of Ireland. The result is an endlessly fascinating, often surprising journey through our island history.
Flora Poetica: The Chatto Book of Botanical Verse
by Sarah MaguireThis beautiful anthology brings together over 250 poems about flowers, plants and trees from eight centuries of writing in English, creating a rich bouquet of intriguing juxtapositions. Fourteenth-century lyrics sit next to poems of the twenty-first century; celebrations of plants native to the English soil share the volume with more exotic plant poetry. There are thirty poems about roses, by poets as diverse as Shakespeare, Dorothy Parker and the South African, Seitlhamo Motsapi; but there are also sections devoted to more unusual plants such as the mandrake, the starapple and the tamarind. An ex-gardener, the celebrated poet Sarah Maguire brings her extensive horticultural knowledge to bear on all the poems, arranging them into botanical families, identifying the plants being written about and writing a fascinating introduction. Whether you are a poetry lover, a gardener, a botanist, or simply the purchaser of the occasional bunch of flowers, this unique anthology allows you to luxuriate amidst the world's flora.
The Fly Trap
by Fredrik SjöbergFredrik Sjöberg's Swedish bestseller about summer, islands, freedom and boundaries.'The light, the warmth, the smells, the mist, the birdsong - the moths. Who can sleep? Who wants to?'Fredrik Sjöberg finds happiness in the little things. Millions of them, in fact. This beguiling bestseller is his unique meditation on collecting hoverflies. It is also about living on a remote Swedish island, blissful long summer nights, lost loves, unexpected treasures, art, nature, slowness, and how freedom can come from the things we least expect.'Full of charm, a book about how to find meaning in life' Melissa Harrison, The Times, Books of the Year'I often return to The Fly Trap, it remains close to my heart. The minute observations from nature that reveal sudden insights into one's life. Sometimes I almost think that he wrote it for me' Tomas Tranströmer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature'Charming, witty and original' Patrick Barkham, Guardian 'Nature writing that can laugh at itself, a real tonic' Gregory Day, Sydney Morning Herald'Delightful, at once informative and often humorously digressive . . . a humane man of wide-ranging curiosity, Sjöberg writes with infectious passion' Paul Binding IndependentFredrik Sjöberg collects hoverflies on the island Runmarö, in the archipelago east of Stockholm. He is also a literary critic, translator, cultural columnist and the author of several books including The Art of Flight and The Raisin King, which form a trilogy with The Fly Trap.
You Can Do It, Stanley
by Irena GreenBen is growing a sunflower for the class competition. His green-fingered grandad has lent him his gardening gloves and given him plenty of advice, so all should be well. But Grandad doesn't know about sneaky Jennifer Sugden whose sunflower is planted right next to Ben's-
The Family Guide to the Great Outdoors
by Charlie GladstoneGetting outdoors brings the whole family together. You’ll learn skills, have a run-around, share laughs, and make enduring memories.This book is the perfect companion to any outdoor family adventure. From countryside camping holidays to weekends roaming fields and parks, it will inspire you to enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather. It covers everything for kids (and big kids) to do outdoors, including:- Cloud identification- Great British walks- Building dams and dens- Campfires and woods- Camping recipes- Common British trees
Food for Life: Your Guide to the New Science of Eating Well from the #1 Sunday Times bestseller
by Tim Spector‘Life-changing' DAVINA McCALL'A must-read' DR RUPY AUJLA'Fascinating' NIGELLA LAWSON**AS SEEN ON THE ONE SHOW**Empowering and practical, Food for Life is nothing less than a new approach to how to eat - for our health and the health of the planet.Food is our greatest ally for good health, but the question of what to eat in the age of ultra-processed food has never seemed so complicated.Drawing on cutting-edge research and personal insights, Professor Tim Spector offers clear answers in this definitive, easy-to-follow guide to the new science of eating well.‘No fads, no nonsense, just practical, science-based advice on how to eat well’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year'A rigorously academic book that welcomes the layperson with open arms' The Times** A THE TIMES and SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR**** WINNER OF THE FORTNUM & MASON SPECIAL AWARD **Go with your gut. Join the food revolution.**PRE-ORDER THE FOOD FOR LIFE COOKBOOK, COMING OCTOBER 2024, NOW**
Frozen Planet II
by Mark Brownlow Elizabeth WhiteACCOMPANIES THE LANDMARK SERIES NARRATED BY DAVID ATTENBOROUGHFind a world of wonder beyond the ice. 'Looking down at our planet from space it may come as a surprise how much of it is blanketed in snow and ice. These vast frozen wildernesses cover more than a fifth of the earth ... From the highest peaks to snow-bound deserts to alien worlds deep beneath the ice, they are home to an astonishing array of animals found nowhere else on earth.'David Attenborough, from the series.Frozen Planet II celebrates the surprisingly diverse worlds of ice - a world that is disappearing before our very eyes. Previously undiscovered stories, from chameleons giving birth on the frosty slopes of Mount Kenya to endangered Amur leopards in the Russian forest and killer whales hunting Weddell seals on ice floes in the Antarctic, shed new light on the beauty and the peril of the world's most fragile ecosystems. Behind-the-scenes insights explore the unique challenges of filming in these frozen worlds, where camera crew and wildlife alike brave the extreme conditions.With over 250 stunning full-colour photographs, Frozen Planet II reveals the wonders of the fastest-changing part of our planet, as we may never see them again.
Gardeners' World: Month by Month Planning, Planting and Advice
by Martyn CoxGrowing vegetables can be a tricky business, and even the most experienced of gardeners will occasionally need to turn to a trusted tome for some handy advice. The Veg Grower’s Almanac is just such a book – a compendium of month-by-month tips, advice and items of interest. With sage advice from old Gardeners’ World hands coupled with tips on the best varieties to grow and timely advice on how best to look after your plot, this attractive collection blends practical advice with evocative writing and fascinating facts. Illustrated throughout with charming drawings and sketches, The Veg Grower’s Almanac is a welcome additional to any gardener’s shelf – from hands-on instructions for preparing a seed bed or trying new varieties of tomato to fascinating little-known facts about our favourite crops.
Gardeners' World: Planning and Planting for Continuous Colour
by Toby BucklandOver two years the professionals at Gardeners' World created a series of beautiful flower gardens from a disused playing field in Birmingham. Here Toby Buckland reveals how you can adopt the tried and tested methods used at Gardeners' World to create your own year-round flower garden in this beautifully illustrated guide to the flower gardens at Greenacre.Split into achievable front and back garden plots, the Greenacre gardens accommodate a range of garden designs, aspects and plant-types, from a luscious twilight garden for evening scent and nectar-filled bee border to attract beneficial wildlife, to a hardy coastal garden to show what you can do with very dry soil. Toby talks through the concept, planting and maintenance requirements of each garden, describing every flower in full and assessing the environmental benefits of each one. And he expertly demonstrates how to make bespoke garden features, such as cobble paths and bee boxes.Filled with stunning flower photography and expert garden advice, this inspirational and practical book is the culmination of two years of gardening at Greenacre and enables lovers of flowers to bring a little of the Gardeners' World magic to their own gardens.