"In my continuing spiritual journey I have become increasingly convinced of two truths: first, that each individual has the capacity to be touched by the divine and thereby to be made whole; second, that the combination of reason and materialism are literally destroying the world and its creatures, human and otherwise. This little book is implicitly a plea for the reinstitution of love and peace-as opposed to hatred and war-as the animating principles of life. Perhaps you will find your ow...

'An enthralling story' – Sir David Attenborough'Retire? You can't retire!', Sir David Attenborough told John Bartram, when the man who had been gamekeeper and senior wildlife officer for Richmond Park for the past thirty years announced his intention to step away from the role – bidding farewell to the iconic park which has been his home, the backdrop for a career many would give anything for, and a way of life for so long.During a career spanning four decades, John has been ...

A selection of writings from naturalists John and William Bartram, who explored Florida in 1765In 1765 father and son naturalists John and William Bartram explored the St. Johns River Valley in Florida, a newly designated British territory and subtropical wonderland. They collected specimens and recorded extensive observations of the region’s plants, animals, geography, ecology, and Native cultures. The chronicle of their adventures provided the world with an intim...

For at least two decades now modern man has been on the brink of a crisis.Persuaded by both the post-feminist political landscape and his representation in the popular media to remodel himself as an endearingly hopeless halfwit, he now exists only as an object of pity.James and his happy band of brothers (plus a few women, but we try to edit them out) are engaged on a quest to lead maledom to a broad sunlit upland strewn with slim books of English verse and...

'With characteristic self-effacement, she puts the escapades of charismatic animals ahead of her own feelings.' The Guardian.When George Mottershead moved to the village of Upton-by-Chester in 1930 to realise his dream of opening a zoo without bars, his four-year-old daughter June had no idea how extraordinary her life would become. Soon her best friend was a chimpanzee called Mary, lion cubs and parrots were vying for her...

An introductory guide to everything the serious falconer needs to know about training, handling, and flying raptors from the five family groups.Learn how to train birds of prey correctly and safely. Jemima Parry-Jones, owner and director of the International Centre for Birds of Prey, covers everything the serious falconer needs to know about the five family groups: eagles, hawks, falcons, buzzards and owls.You will learn about handling, training, and flying. ...

Stories that celebrate the spirit of Australians'Although these were the years of Depression with unemployment and near-starvation, the rabbit industry gave men like my father an independence and way of earning a living. It was fortunate, too, that Mum was a creative rabbit cook. As one farmer said, "Although the rabbits were a pest, we would'a damned well starved without 'em!"' Melva GrahamIn 1859 twenty-four wild rabbits were released onto a Victorian property. By 1890 rabbits wer...

Eileen Battersby is the chief literature critic of The Irish Times and is, in the words of John Banville, 'the finest fiction critic we have'.But her first full-length book is not about international literature or the state of the novel. It is about dogs. Two dogs in particular, with the unlikely names of Bilbo and Frodo. She adopted the first from a horrible dog pound, and the second decided he liked her and moved in to join the family. She was in her very early twenties, an inten...

After leaving the editorship of the Daily Express, Rosie Boycott wasn't sure what to do next. A terrible car accident forced her to rethink her life, turning her in a direction she would never have previously imagined. Working a small farm in Somerset proves a daunting task, but Rosie and her new husband Charlie are determined, and their immersion in rural living, hilarious and profoundly moving, reaps rewards they never expected. Pigs, ducks and geese are fattened for the butcher...

In Horse Housekeeping, Margaret and Michael Korda (she is a successful novice- and training-level eventer and he is the author of Horse People) provide everything you need to know to set up a barn of your own and care for your horse (or horses) at home.Authoritative, inspirational, highly accessible, full of common sense and down-to-earth advice, all of it based on twenty-five years of experience, the Kordas' book is a basic resource for anybody who wants to keep horses in a safe, ...

In this engrossing and utterly convincing adventure Michael Tod has created a world to rival Watership Down and Duncton Wood – and has succeeded in putting a mirror up to contemporary human problems as well. The Silver Tide is the first book in the trilogy, The Dorset Squirrels (also known as The Woodstock Saga).

A memoir of two brothers using an unexpected inheritance to start an organic farm in 1970 Wales: "This is Bill Bryson with muck under the fingernails." —Brian MortonLondoners Nick Perry and his brother Jack were stuck in a bit of a rut. Nick, in his early twenties with a wife of infant twins, had been jumping from job to job; Jack chauffeured passengers around for their uncle's business. Then an aunt they barely remembered, to their complete surprise, left them a ti...