Author:John Craven
John Craven has been presenting Countryfile since its launch in 1989 and, for the first time, he has distilled all his knowledge and wisdom about country life into The Countryfile Handbook.
This book is an invaluable resource for those who live in the countryside or want to know more about it. Divided into the different types of land (villages and market towns; fields and farming; upland; lowland; woodland; waterways; coastline) it offers practical information:
¤ How to tell the difference between the swallow, martin and swift
¤ How to learn the various sheepdog calls
¤ The do's and don't's of foraging
¤ How lichen can help tell us how clean the air is
informative essays on rural issues:
¤ Why hedgerows are important
¤ Saving British meadows
¤ Reintroducing beavers
plus useful (and entertaining) facts and figures:
¤ Did you know an acre is the space need to park 200 cars
¤ 10 things to do with a stinging nettle
¤ What to do if you see a sheep on its back
Together with stories and anedotes from the programme, this book really will become your Countryfile companion.
'Brilliant, truly brilliant. I was hooked. It was inspiring, moving and exciting. He is the last of the swashbuckling conservationists who has selflessly devoted his life to the people and the wildlife of Africa. A true african adventure of epic proportions. It makes me want to give up everything and move to Africa'.
—— Ben FogleHugely compelling and funnily written. From tragedies of the worst kind to triumphs unimaginable, he's a true pioneer making up solutions to situations as he goes along
—— Martin ClunesBorn Wild describes his breathless roller coaster across the African savannah with passion and humour, an inspirational tale of what one comitted individual can achieve against the odds
—— Brian Jackman , Sunday TelegraphThe passages describing the lions the three men were raising and rehabilitating into the wild are odes to harmony, serentiy and understanding
—— TelegraphFascinating reading. This book has all the tension of a good detective story but is actually science at its most accessible
—— Sunday ExpressExtraordinary... a brilliant, counter-intuitive argument in favour of individualism and market forces
—— Mail on SundayKealey writes with enthusiasm and panache... exhilarating and exciting
—— LancetThrillingly original memoir ... extraordinary
—— Lynn Barber , The Sunday TimesTo write a book about a year's bird-watching as keenly observed as this, you have to be dedicated to the point of obsession; to write one as transcendent, you must be a poet
—— Christopher Somerville , The Times, Christmas BooksAs unexpected as it is brilliant... A moving, powerful meditation on the natural world that envelops us, even in the heart of our cities
—— Helen Dunmore , Guardian Summer ReadingHaunting and passionate.... in graceful, poetic prose, compels us to look again and marvel at the 'storm of life over our heads
—— Huon Mallalieu , Country Life, Christmas round upThe year's most unusual travel book
[An] eye-opening and hugely enjoyable book
—— Daily TelegraphWritten in a delectable prose that scatters flashes of poetry over a sardonic undertow of social comment, Edgelands is a lyrical triumph. On Britain’s grotty margins, the duo trace “desire paths” to find beauty and mystery in the rough darkness on the edge of town
—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent