Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 2
A Nature Book Reader
INTRODUCTION
It wasn’t a particularly
profound idea but I suppose
it was mine. In the middle of
2009 I noticed that alongside
a reprint of Gavin Maxwell’s
Ring Of Bright Water and
Edward Thomas’ imagistic,
lyrical and proto-green The
South Country, Dovecote
Press were reissuing Adrian
Bell’s terrific Men And The
Fields. Possibly with an eye
to blagging a review copy or
three, I fired off an overexcited
email to the guys at the
Caught by the River website
in which I raved about Bell’s
peripatetic trek across prewar lowland Britain and the
book’s “romantic, melancholy
eye”. It would, I added “be
considered an Arcadian classic
even without its beautiful
John Nash illustrations...”
I then suggested that Caught
by the River should compile a
list of other great, lost nature
books. “A List!”, I wrote, “Yes,
I know, but I do work in the
magazine industry.”
So we had a few meetings
2
and it was decided that the
best way to find out about
these books was to simply ask
folks in the Caught by the
River network for their
favourites. The request
was for three titles with two
hundred word entry on
number one. Some strayed
and wrote more, whilst others
found themselves going on
fascinating lyrical journeys as
their chosen books brought
back memories of childhood,
past walks, old friends and yet
more treasured books.
All I was hoping for was
a high-quality reading list
from Caught by the River’s
unique team of writers and
contributors, something to
add to my Amazon wishlist,
perhaps. But in asking
everyone choose a desert
island top three I think we’ve
ended up with something
more; a series of lyrical,
passionate essays by an
astonishing cross section
of writers, broadcasters,
artists and enthusiasts. It
