The Oxford Book of Nature Writing - Hardcover

"An ideal companion for a solitary holiday afternoon.... A varied and oddly cheering selection."--Focus "Richard Mabey has combed several libraries to come up with a selection that guarantees surprises....To single out familiar items is to miss the great pleasure of this collection, which is the delight of previously unknown pieces."--New Scientist "Mabey's rich anthology is a long record of how homo (misnamed) sapiens has wriggled its way past this continuing and abominable invitation to keep fascism alive. Mabey quite often makes me feel an ignoramus."--John Fowles, Sunday Times "It's a jolly jaunt, in the company of a guide who wears his erudition lightly. This entertaining book, like all decent anthologies, can be as well dipped into at random as read from cover to cover."--Times Literary Supplement "Mabey has insisted on including a proper ration of botany, revealing in the process the very wide range that constitutes one of his special strengths. In his choice of extracts, too, he reveals himself as laudably catholic. The range of possibilities is enormous, but Mabey has passed over impressively few of the favorite authors that more immediately come to mind."--David E. Allen, Nature "An ideal companion for a solitary holiday afternoon.... A varied and oddly cheering selection."--Focus "Richard Mabey has combed several libraries to come up with a selection that guarantees surprises....To single out familiar items is to miss the great pleasure of this collection, which is the delight of previously unknown pieces."--New Scientist "Mabey's rich anthology is a long record of how homo (misnamed) sapiens has wriggled its way past this continuing and abominable invitation to keep fascism alive. Mabey quite often makes me feel an ignoramus."--John Fowles, Sunday Times "It's a jolly jaunt, in the company of a guide who wears his erudition lightly. This entertaining book, like all decent anthologies, can be as well dipped into at random as read from cover to cover."--Times Literary Supplement "Mabey has insisted on including a proper ration of botany, revealing in the process the very wide range that constitutes one of his special strengths. In his choice of extracts, too, he reveals himself as laudably catholic. The range of possibilities is enormous, but Mabey has passed over impressively few of the favorite authors that more immediately come to mind."--David E. Allen, Nature "An ideal companion for a solitary holiday afternoon.... A varied and oddly cheering selection."--Focus "Richard Mabey has combed several libraries to come up with a selection that guarantees surprises....To single out familiar items is to miss the great pleasure of this collection, which is the delight of previously unknown pieces."--New Scientist "Mabey's rich anthology is a long record of how homo (misnamed) sapiens has wriggled its way past this continuing and abominable invitation to keep fascism alive. Mabey quite often makes me feel an ignoramus."--John Fowles, Sunday Times "It's a jolly jaunt, in the company of a guide who wears his erudition lightly. This entertaining book, like all decent anthologies, can be as well dipped into at random as read from cover to cover."--Times Literary Supplement "Mabey has insisted on including a proper ration of botany, revealing in the process the very wide range that constitutes one of his special strengths. In his choice of extracts, too, he reveals himself as laudably catholic. The range of possibilities is enormous, but Mabey has passed over impressively few of the favorite authors that more immediately come to mind."--David E. Allen, Nature "An ideal companion for a solitary holiday afternoon.... A varied and oddly cheering selection."--Focus "Richard Mabey has combed several libraries to come up with a selection that guarantees surprises....To single out familiar items is to miss the great pleasure of this collection, which is the delight of previously unknown pieces."--New Scientist "Mabey's rich anthology is a long record of how homo (misnamed) sapiens has wriggled its way past this continuing and abominable invitation to keep fascism alive. Mabey quite often makes me feel an ignoramus."--John Fowles, Sunday Times "It's a jolly jaunt, in the company of a guide who wears his erudition lightly. This entertaining book, like all decent anthologies, can be as well dipped into at random as read from cover to cover."--Times Literary Supplement "Mabey has insisted on including a proper ration of botany, revealing in the process the very wide range that constitutes one of his special strengths. In his choice of extracts, too, he reveals himself as laudably catholic. The range of possibilities is enormous, but Mabey has passed over impressively few of the favorite authors that more immediately come to mind."--David E. Allen, Nature

This anthology of nature writing from Europe and America covers 2000 years from the imaginative Medieval bestiaries to the scientific precision of modern writers. It includes the work of amateur and professional natural historians and culminates in modern concern for the environment and ecological issues. This book is intended for anyone interested in natural history, in nature writing, animals and plants, ecologists and conservationists.