Author:William Cobbett
Touring the southern counties of England by foot and on horseback from the white cliffs of Dover to the heart of the countryside, William Cobbett recorded a swiftly changing way of life with energy, wit, passion and principle. Here he juxtaposes lyrical evocations of oaken wealds, cornfields, rolling downs and shaded lanes with acerbic attacks on the poverty of starving agricultural workers and the corrupt establishment of his day.
Generations of inhabitants have helped shape the English countryside - but it has profoundly shaped us too.It has provoked a huge variety of responses from artists, writers, musicians and people who live and work on the land - as well as those who are travelling through it.English Journeys celebrates this long tradition with a series of twenty books on all aspects of the countryside, from stargazey pie and country churches, to man's relationship with nature and songs celebrating the patterns of the countryside (as well as ghosts and love-struck soldiers).
Finally the answer to all the crap that pisses you off
—— ZooUnderstanding is the first step to taking charge, and this book makes doing so seem a breeze.
—— Daily MailHugely enjoyable, this book demystifies science in such an amusing way that I found it hard to put down
—— refreshRip-roaring... Kealey's gallop through capitalism, sociology, history, economics and science is a stimulating and splendid read
—— The TimesAn entertaining canter through global history...energy and muscular prose are much in evidence
—— The Times Higher Educational SupplementExtraordinary... a brilliant, counter-intuitive argument in favour of individualism and market forces
—— Mail on SundayKealey writes with enthusiasm and panache... exhilarating and exciting
—— LancetThis is a compassionate, front-line report from what can often seem like alien territory.
—— Daily Telegraph Summer ReadsThe practice of medicine is a way of living: vivid and engrossing, it stimulates senses physical and metaphysical...It is a rare skill for a doctor to be able to communicate this rich sensorium in writing. It is a delight to read the words of one who does it so well
—— The EconomistA superb account of life on the grisly front line of the operating theatre
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesThis slender, elegantly written memoir by a female surgeon, Gabriel Weston, is a fascinating, no holds barred account of life in the operating theatre
—— IndependentThrough this insightful book, Weston succeeds superbly in communicating the fascinating brutal reality of a surgeon's life
—— Ian Critchley , Daily TelegraphGabriel Weston's story succeeds better than any I have known...more riveting and thought-provoking than any fiction
—— The Lady, Susan HillGlinting like a tray of instruments, her prose is satisfyingly precise
—— Victoria Segal , The GuardianA curiously thrilling read, written with an elegance heightened by its clarity and economy
—— Elizabeth Day , ObserverA valuable and unflinching account, since it so clearly tells the truth
—— Christopher Hart , The Sunday TimesThis book is mesmerising
—— William Leith , ScotsmanHer description of the struggle to remain individual and hence moral is her real achievement. This, to me, is what female writing has to do, and she does it with style and humour and beauty
—— Rachel CuskThis much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.
—— Contours magazine