good books

magicbastarder

just wondering what nature books people here read?
i'd tend to go for the popsci end of things, and general narratives rather than 'reference' books; some i've recently read (or reread), which i liked:
'the end of life' by edward o. wilson
'wildwood' by roger deakin
'the peregrine' by j.a. baker
'the world without us' - the author escapes me...
and 'woodlands' by oliver rackham

anyone got any recommendations?

cscook

I enjoyed the book and have re-read parts of The Secret Life of Birds by Colin Tudge. A few black and white drawings only.
We gave my dad the hardback edition of The Secret Lives of Garden Birds by Dominic Couzens, which he enjoyed and we borrowed and enjoyed. Although he, big softy that he is, said it put him off robins. Lovely illustrations in that one, and I'd consider getting on of his books myself.
Trying to find out about the beak-rattling storks we saw in France (link near end of Recent Videos thread, I failed to embed it :rolleyes:), I just got this book from Amazon.com: Bird Sounds, Barry Kent MacKay. As he says himself, it's more a digest of other research over the years, but I still found it very interesting, and again it has lovely illustrations - it was worth getting the real book for those on their own, as opposed to the Google Books version online. I like real books .

Oh - and I really enjoyed Wildwood - got it from the library.

SleepAtNight

Just reading Wildwood now and it's a great read. A wildlife Narrative by Michael and Ethna Viney was decent from what I can remember.

A book I've been meaning to get is Praegers, The Way That I Went http://books.google.com/books/about/The_way_that_I_went.html?id=Fo0iAQAAIAAJ

Written by Ireland's greatest field botanist and first published in 1937, Robert Praeger's personal tour of Ireland's natural wonders has had a greater influence on Irish naturalists than any other book. It represents five years of weekends spent walking the countryside (some 5,000 miles), swimming through flooded caverns, staying out all night on islands, sifting fossil bones, and exploring cattle-tramped tombs. The book crackles with the excitement and perplexity aroused by Ireland's heritage of tombs and ring forts.

magicbastarder

i've picked up the praeger book a few times in the bookshop, and always ended up putting it back down - the old 'open at page 100 and read a few paragraphs' test doesn't show it to be all that readable, i thought.

Traonach

I have around 40 field identification books. (yes I am a nerd) My favourites are:

Shorebirds of North America: The photographic guide (Dennis Paulson)

Gulls of North America Europe and asia (Hans Larsson and Klauus Malling Olsen)

Collins guide to the Birds of Prey of Britain and Europe.

Mickeroo

Not exactly nature books in the strictest sense but A Walk in the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson are well worth a read.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

The last Great Auk is a wonderful story and thought provoking.

LostCovey

Collins Bird Guide

Ireland's lost birds
by Gordon d'Arcy

Ravens in Winter
by Bernd Heinrich

Slightly less serious but highly readable

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
by Mark Obmascik
(as they say "now a Hollywood movie starring Steve Martin")

Birdnuts

Here just a sample of my library;)


Collins guide to European birds(covers North African and the Levant too!!)

The Sasol Guide to birds of Southern Africa

Zimmerman guide to the birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania

A Guide to the Birds of Kuwait and UAE

Exploring Irish Mammals

Collins guide to the Flora of the BI

Collins guide to the Seashore

Irelands Dragonflies

Various Irish Birds publications

SleepAtNight

Birdnuts wrote: »

Here just a sample of my library;)


Collins guide to European birds(covers North African and the Levant too!!)

The Sasol Guide to birds of Southern Africa

Zimmerman guide to the birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania

A Guide to the Birds of Kuwait and UAE

Exploring Irish Mammals

Collins guide to the Flora of the BI

Collins guide to the Seashore

Irelands Dragonflies

Various Irish Birds publications

Exploring Irish Mammals is a great book...just needs a little updating to include the, eh...muntjac, racoon and boar:eek:

cscook

Traonach wrote: »

I have around 40 field identification books. (yes I am a nerd) My favourites are:

Shorebirds of North America: The photographic guide (Dennis Paulson)

Gulls of North America Europe and asia (Hans Larsson and Klauus Malling Olsen)

Collins guide to the Birds of Prey of Britain and Europe.

If you have that many field guides, maybe you can advise me. I want to get one (only) North American bird guide. Price is not an issue, I'll be getting an amazon.com voucher at Christmas. Can you recommend one in particular?

thedarkroom

Traonach wrote: »

I have around 40 field identification books. (yes I am a nerd) My favourites are:

Shorebirds of North America: The photographic guide (Dennis Paulson)

Gulls of North America Europe and asia (Hans Larsson and Klauus Malling Olsen)

Collins guide to the Birds of Prey of Britain and Europe.

We've all been forewarned, not one to be trifled with in any general (or specific) knowledge debates here. Brilliant, love it.
As a matter of interest (sorry for going off topic a bit) but do you get the opportunity to use these books on location or is it aspirational? Would be a great tour to take if my funding ever permitted. Someday . . .

whyulittle

Stolen from BA, on the off-chance anyone was planning any purchases.

15% off at Easons

with this code SK2286A

valid until midnight April 30th
The offer only applies to printed books purchased via Easons.com. It is not redeemable for cash or cash equivalents and does not apply to:

• eBooks
• eReaders
• Stationery items
• Gift Cards
• CD/Audio versions of books
• Any items purchased in a physical Eason or Eason franchise store
• Any items purchased via Easonschoolshop.com

olly_mac

Many years ago I was given a book by Olly McGilloway (no, not olly_mac as I appear on boards ), called 'McGilloways Ireland'. He was a broadcaster and journalist from Derry or Donegal. and used to have a little half-hour programme on UTV in the 1980s.It was a wonderful book, full of his own observations on nature and landscape.

He also went into the folklore aspects and legends associated with animals, birds, trees etc. He was a gifted amatuer naturalist.

I loaned the book to someone but, alas, it was never returned to me. I suppose it is out of print at this stage, but if anyone sees it second hand, pick it up... it is well worth a read. Oh, and if there is more than one copy, well, let me know !!

Judgement Day

Several copies here: http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=Olly+McGilloway&sts=t&x=49&y=10 Don't buy from an Irish dealer - a fraction of the price, even including P+P, from the UK.

Rancid

Over the years... in no particular order:

The Life of the Ant - Maeterlinck
Birds as Individuals - Len Howard
Living with Birds - Len Howard
Kinship with All Life - J. Allen Boone
The Lives of Animals - J. M. Coetzee
A Sheltered Life, The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise - Paul Chambers
Timothy's Book, Notes of an English Country Tortoise - Verlyn Klinkenborg
Poseidon's Steed, the Story of Seahorses from Myth to Reality - Helen Scales
A Fish Caught in Time, The Search for the Coelacanth - Samantha Weinberg


Reference-type books that I always have to hand (mostly from the library):

RSPB Handbook of British Birds
Complete Field Guide to Ireland's Birds - Eric Dempsey and Michael O'Clery
RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife - Peter Holden and Geoffrey Abbott

Rancid

How could I forget this one:

The Beekeeper's Pupil - Sara George

LostCovey

'Ravens in Winter' by Berndt Heinrich

Oh Hell Oui!

'Leviathan or, The Whale' by Philip Hoare. Excellent read.

Ulmus

Alan Root's Ivory, Apes and Peacocks is a great book. I bought my copy from the Natural History section of Hodges Figgis but it's now in their Travel section.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9480739/Ivory-Apes-and-Peacocks-by-Alan-Root-review.html

Woodville56

Bought in past year:

• Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere by Richard Chandler (Helm) , need to brush up on my Wader ID for some winter trips to the coast
• Flight Identification of European Seabirds by Blomdahl, Breife & Holmstrom - a bit technical but useful for those the occassional seawatching trips, being a newbie to the seawatching scene
• Collins Bird Guide revised, (hardback copy for indoors, have a battered soft cover copy for fieldtrips)
• Bird ID Insights , Dominic Couzens
• Birds through Irish Eyes by Anthony McGeehan
• Wildflowers of Ireland -A Personal Record by Zoe Devlin

One of my favourites however is Birdwatching with Your Eyes Closed, by Simon Barnes - great read and totally funny/humerous !

The BTO/BWI Bird Atlas is due soon - anyone heard of date to be published ?

OpenYourEyes

Woodville56 wrote: »

The BTO/BWI Bird Atlas is due soon - anyone heard of date to be published ?

We should have it at the end of next week, although I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being the following week. Soon though!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I pre-booked it months ago, when BTO had an great discount for contributors. It should arrive in time for Christmas, which will suit me fine. I think it will retail at something like £70 sterling, so not for everybody.

OpenYourEyes

On the topic of good books, I'm currently doing some reading on Peregrine Falcons and I'd definitely recommend 'The Peregrine Falcon' by Derek Ratcliffe, and for a shorter read 'The private life of the Peregrine Falcon' by R.B. Treleaven.

'Fighting for Birds' by Mark Avery is an excellent read too - tells you a lot about the workings of the RSPB, the way they go about their business, the problems they come up against and the people they have to deal with etc. Its out around 2 years and not a bad price.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

For a break from the field guides and technical stuff, I'd recommend The Last Great Auk by Allan W. Eckert, . It's a simple sentimental story told from the bird's point of view. A oldie but a classic.

Capercaille

www.irelandsfirst.com
Book about Ireland's first Sea Eagle chicks in Mountshannon. Full of photos.

cscook

I am currently thoroughly enjoying A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson. I spotted it in the non-fiction section in the library, and even though it's hardback I've been bringing it to read on the bus in the mornings.

Ulmus

Dave Goulson wrote an excellent follow-up to A sting in the Tale, about the plight of the bumblebee: A buzz in the Meadow.
I borrowed both from my public library. They're very informative with some light touches of humour.