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The Wren
The Wren
Apr 20, 2025 2:59 PM

Author:Stephen Moss

The Wren

From the bestselling author of The Robin: A Biography, Stephan Moss:

The wren is a paradox of a bird.

They are Britain's most common bird, with 8.5 million breeding pairs and have by far the loudest song in proportion to their size. They also thrive up and down Britain and Ireland: from the smallest city garden to remote offshore islands, blustery moors to chilly mountains. Yet many people are not sure if they have ever seen a wren. Perhaps because the wren is so tiny, weighing just as much as two A4 sheets of paper, and so busy, always on the move, more mouse than bird.

However if we cast our eyes back to recent history wrens were a mainstay of literary, cultural and popular history. The wren was on postage stamps and the farthing, it featured in nursery rhymes and greetings cards, poems and rural 'wren hunts', still a recent memory in Ireland particularly.

With beautiful illustrations throughout, this captivating year-in-the-life biography reveals the hidden secrets of this fascinating bird that lives right on our doorstep.

Reviews

An enjoyable and constantly informative read

—— Rob Hume , Birdwatch

[A] sweetly illustrated book packed with information and insights… A little bird tells me that this is a winner

—— Rose Shepherd , Saga

[A] wide-ranging, absorbing account… [Stephen Moss] narrows focus on one tiny bird yet still manages to offer a wealth of stories from the past, anecdotes and literary allusions

—— Bel Mooney , Daily Mail

A remarkably good, beautifully written and absolutely fascinating little book. Every birder…should read it, enjoy it and learn from it

—— Mike Everett , British Birds

This fascinating biography . . . A perfect Christmas present for any birder

—— Birdwatching

An extraordinary chronicle. Barbara Lipska's story is inspiring and painful, but most of all it is a tribute to the human spirit told with the insight of a scientist and the love of a truly compassionate soul. I was hooked from the first page and could not put this down until the final sentence.

—— Thomas Insel, co-founder and president of Mindstrong Health and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health

The real thing here is not the cause of death, but the nature of the life. Black is genuinely moving about the respect we should have for the dead … There is much to admire in this book.

—— Scotsman

Poignant and thoughtprovoking… it is the book’s humanity which will connect with readers.

—— Scottish Daily Mail

Let [Sue Black] take you by the hand and lead you on a journey which will inspire your awe and devotion … A wonderful surprise of a book.

—— Brian Masters , The Tablet

Most of us are terrified of death, but Sue Black shows us that death is in fact a wondrous process, intimately tied with life itself. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend.

—— Tess Gerritsen

Many crime readers delight in the disgusting, the dark and the dangerous. Black’s reverence for human remains and her fearless intimacy with death in its many guises may well be a necessary antidote.

—— Literary Review

Sue Black has been intimately involved with the aftermath of death for her whole professional career and in her book she weaves in details of her amazing and active life with her analysis of death in a narrative that is personal, touching, occasionally tragic but also instilled with her wonderful sense of humour.

—— Dr Richard Shepherd, Consultant Forensic Pathologist

Dame Sue Black writes about life and death with great tenderness but no nonsense, with impeccable science lucidly explained, and with moral depths humanely navigated, so that we can all feel better about the path we must all inevitably follow. I am genuinely glad I read this book.

—— Lee Child

Compelling, brave and extremely accessible.. A must for anyone who thinks about the basics of living and dying. And there are jokes as well.

—— Rachel Joyce

No scientist communicates better than Professor Sue Black. All That Remains is a unique blend of memoir and monograph that admits us into the remarkable world of forensic anthropology.

—— Val McDermid, award-winning author of THE MERMAIDS SINGING

Where on earth would the world be without Sue Black?

—— Kirsty Gunn , Scotsman

Editor's Choice: An enthralling book about forensic science and the many faces of death.

—— Caroline Sanderson , The Bookseller

Professor Black’s elegant exploration of death crafts a bridge that allows us, the living, to journey into her mesmerizing world. Her intimate examination of each layer and facet of death, is both intelligent and tender. Through her unflinching eye, we come to understand that life and death are indeed two parts of a continuous whole and that there is much insight to be gained if we approach each of these with curiosity rather than fear.

—— Dr Rana Awdish, author of In Shock

If you ever wondered about the life of a forensic anthropologist, Sue Black reveals the truth behind the TV screens.

—— Val McDermid, award-winning author of THE MERMAIDS SINGING

A beautifully written memoir full of reflections on the deaths of strangers and family members.

—— Oliver Thring , Sunday Times

She often finds herself dealing with the most macabre cases of murder. But the no-nonsense Scot is an upbeat character with a dry sense of humour, clearly identifiable in her memoir.

—— Hannah Stephenson , Daily Record

Ideal reading if you're a cheerful soul who likes to think about death. And think how it'll brighten your conversation on holiday.

—— The Times

Books of the Year

—— The Times

Best of the Year: Memoir
This book captures the profundity of human life while displaying a sense of humour, and peels back the skin to reveal a world few of us ever discover

—— The Sunday Times

Dame Sue Black, the woman who inspired the hit television show Silent Witness and has done for forensic science what Strictly has done for ballroom dancing, is an unlikely but deeply worthy national treasure.... Black's memoir, like her story, is curiously vibrant and life-affirming.

—— Alex Massie , Scottish Field

You can't help but warm to this retired professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology who chose "the many faces of death" as her medical speciality, yet is herself so vividly alive. Like [David] Nott, Black travelled the world at times, sifting maggots, bullets and human body parts in war zones. Despite it all, she remains convinced that our humanity transcends the very worst of which our species is capable.

—— Rachel Clarke author of forthcoming Dear Life

All That Remains provides a fascinating look at death - its causes, our attitudes toward it, the forensic scientist's way of analyzing it. A unique and thoroughly engaging book.

—— Kathy Reichs, author of TWO NIGHTS and the Temperance Brennan series

This fascinating memoir, dealing with everything from bodies given to medical science to the trauma caused by sudden, violent ends, offers reassurance, and even hope, to the fearful and cynical.

—— Alexander Larman , The Observer

A forceful defense of the democratic, humanist institutions that [Pinker] says brought about these changes, and a declaration that reason, science and humanism can solve the problems to come.

—— Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Vindication has arrived in the form of Steven Pinker's latest book. ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress is remarkable, heart-warming, and long overdue.

—— Christian Science Monitor

Pinker offers numbers to show that the world has, on the whole, become safer, healthier and wealthier. These benefits are more pronounced in the West, but even in developing countries conditions have improved ... His optimism is resilient

—— The New York Times

Extremely hopeful... Steven Pinker argues that people are happier, healthier, wealthier, and safer than they've ever been ... we're living in the best moments humans have experienced yet

—— Business Insider

Pinker is a deep and important critic of the visceral hostility to nature and science now so sadly prevalent on the left and right, a defender of reason and the Enlightenment ... Pinker is right

—— Andrew Sullivan , New York Magazine

An erudite defence

—— Salon

Modern life has gotten much better despite ever-present complaints. Technology has reduced the need for physical labor. Mortality rates are down. IQ scores are on the rise. Wars are less frequent and less deadly ... the Enlightenment's championing of reason, science, humanism and moral progress is a model for our own times

—— Washington Post

Pinker is right ... Much good news today tends to be underreported, even unreported. Human beings today lead longer, safer, healthier, wealthier and indeed happier lives than at any point in recorded history ... Pinker surveys the stupendous advancements that the human race has made in modern times according to a dizzying range of metrics

—— Nation

An engaging, compelling set of reasons to be cheerful ... it is a welcome antidote

—— Nature

The world is better than ever before. And Steven Pinker can prove it.

—— Vox

A substantial and wide-ranging book on the state of our world today ... In forensic detail, Pinker enumerates the myriad ways in which life is getting better ... The book is packed with statistics vaunting the gifts of progress

—— Irish Times

After devouring all 453 pages and 75 graphs of psychologist Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now, I admit defeat. The defeat of defeatism. This man has done the math. Since the 18th century things have been getting better in pretty much every dimension of human wellbeing.

—— Big Think

Steven Pinker has a cure for your despair ... life is better than it has ever been. Pinker's case is compelling

—— Prospect

Useful and exciting ... Pinker doesn't declaim, he demonstrates - with dozens of graphs and charts - that humankind has spent two centuries winning the battle against entropy in all fields: from health to peace, the environment to democracy, wealth to happiness, to equality between men and women. He asks us crucial questions ... Steven Pinker is right

—— El Mundo (Spain)

Enlightenment Now seeks to undo, with facts and figures, the pessimism that has paralysed the world ... We must read this book and absorb its message

—— El Pais (Colombia)

Guys, it's really not that bad. In fact, it's the best it's ever been ... Pinker urges people to look at the bigger picture and dive into the data

—— New York Post

Things are not as bad as your Facebook news feed makes them seem ... a cheerful, contrarian tract for dark times

—— Niall Ferguson , Boston Globe

Compelling ... At a moment when liberal Enlightenment values are under attack, from the right and the left, this is a very important contribution ... An impressive and useful accomplishment

—— Atlantic

What makes Invisible Women so compelling is the mountain of data she draws on… a brilliant exposé

—— Ian Sample , Guardian, *Books of the Year*

Every man should read this book… [Invisible Women] chats, in page after steely, meticulous page, precisely how the world…is designed around men, and how this puts women at an impossible disadvantage

—— James McConnachie , Sunday Times, *Books of the Year*

Funny, exasperating and anger-inducing, there is something for everyone

—— Eleanor Parsons , New Scientist

The essential book of the year, mayhap the decade

—— Marina Vaizey , Tablet, *Books of the Year*

A staggering expose of design prejudice and an impassioned call to action

—— List

Perez takes the truism that ours is a world designed for men and backs it with evidence. Impressively collating vast amounts of research

—— Prospect, *Books of the Year*

A must-read for men and women alike

—— Hannah Beckerman , Sunday Express

This calm, dispassionate, hilarious, entertaining, maddening, infuriating narrative is a highly readable manifesto for real change

—— Marina Vaizey , The Arts Desk, *Books of the Year*

This well-researched book turns everything we accept as normal on its head…[Invisible Women] succeeds in making a powerful case for change in a non-preachy, educative style… It is not entertainment; it is a thesis – and a powerful one at that

—— Alison Herbert and Dr Phyl Hughes , Law Society Gazette

This incredibly well-researched and engaging book highlights how the lack of gender-focused data results in the needs of more than half of the population being ignored. The numerous examples cited by Criado-Perez – ranging from infrastructure to healthcare – are shocking and sobering… Invisible Women offers valuable insight into the transformative power of diversity and equality to drive better economic outcomes

—— Christie Guimond , Briefing

Such an insightful book and a good read for everyone

—— Julie Stewart , Business Times

Incredibly topical and relevant in a rapidly changing world, Criado Perez’s multi-award-winning exposé on data bias has seen her become an authority on modern day inequalities

—— Capacity

Invisible Women...is already a classic, but I can't recommend it enough

—— Sarah Pedersen , Times Higher Education

A powerful, insightful book

—— Tim Harford , Week

Compelling... revelatory... Criado Perez provides bountiful evidence of her thesis

—— Mariel McKone Leonard , London School of Economics

A huge eye-opener

—— Jojo de Noronha , Grocer

A witty, furious page-turner

—— Emma Donoghue , Week

Invisible Women is highly recommended to both men and women as an incredibly readable piece of journalism... Many of you will also find you cannot put down this passionate and informative book until you've finished it... illuminating and engaging

—— Platinum Business Magazine

Compelling

—— Dr Mariel McKone Leonard , London School of Economics

Filled with hair raising facts and figures, [Invisible Women] investigates the jarring matter of discrepancy and representation in our modern world... make no mistake, once you begin reading, it's hard to stop

—— Reilly Dufresne , Glasgow Guardian, *Christmas Gift Guide 2020*

A deeply important and useful book... Fast, funny, angry and vital... A proper game-changer.

—— Caitlin Moran , Foyles, *Author Picks for Christmas*

Criado Perez keeps the gobsmacking revelations flowing in a conversational manner, making the reader feel like she’s having lunch with a funny, knowledgeable and passionate friend

—— Science News
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