Take a look at our selection of books, recommended by our current Environmentalist in Residence Martin Scaiff. All these books and more are available to borrow for free.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist: more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast, there's a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps, Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain so important today.
Poet and essayist Kenneth Steven takes us on a series of meditative quests in search of his 'atoms of delight' - treasures, both natural and spiritual - through some of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes. The short pieces in this captivating collection, whose title pays homage to Scottish Renaissance writer Neil Gunn, invite readers to accompany Steven as he seeks out crystal-clear waters, a glimpse of an elusive bird, delicate orchids, plump berries, or pebbles polished by time and tide. Appreciative of the grace of silence and the value of solitude and simplicity, he takes journeys that prompt introspection and provoke memories as we pause, breathe, and discover alongside him the transformative power of nature's small gifts and wild places.
England, 1930s. Christopher Banks has become the country's most celebrated detective, his cases the talk of London society. Yet one unsolved crime has always haunted him: the mysterious disappearance of his parents, in old Shanghai, when he was a small boy. Moving between London and Shanghai of the interwar years, When We Were Orphans is a remarkable story of memory, intrigue and the need to return.
Kevin Crossley-Holland, an expert in the field of legends, has collected and retold some of the best of the East Anglian and Fen country tales. To the people who lived in this bleak, cold marshland of mist, dark paths and corners, the strange creatures and spirits that haunted and lived in the earth and pools were a powerful living presence.
By the spring of 1645, civil war had exacted a terrible toll upon England. Disease was rife, apocalyptic omens appeared in the skies, and idolators detected in every shire. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen began interrogating women suspected of witchcraft, triggering the most brutal witch-hunt in English history. Witchfinders is a spellbinding study of how Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', and John Stearne extended their campaign across East Anglia, driven by godly zeal. Exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times, and cheered on by ordinary folk, they extracted confessions of satanic pacts resulting in scores of executions.
In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish a new administration in his richest provinces. Run by English merchants who collected taxes using a ruthless private army, this new regime saw the East India Company transform itself from an international trading corporation into something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business.
The Belgica set sail from Europe on a sunny day in August 1897, intent upon becoming the first scientific expedition ever to reach the South Pole. But after setbacks slowed its progress, ice closed in and ensnared the ship. Temperatures plummeted, winds howled, perpetual darkness fell. The crew were to make history for a different reason: they were to be the first adventurers to face the brutal Antarctic winter, completely cut off from the world. What began as an audacious scientific mission morphed into an epic struggle for survival. As the men battled blizzards, hunger, depression, rats and scurvy, some became inconsolable, some mad, while others were consumed by infections that turned them into living corpses. It was down to the strongest characters to step up: namely the notorious surgeon Dr Frederik Cook and the first mate, a young Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen.
A landmark in travel writing, this is the incredible true story of Heinrich Harrer's escape across the Himalayas to Tibet, set against the backdrop of the Second World War. Heinrich Harrer, already one of the greatest mountaineers of his time, was climbing in the Himalayas when war broke out in Europe. He was imprisoned by the British in India but succeeded in escaping and fled to Tibet. Settling in Lhasa, the Forbidden City, where he became a friend and tutor to the Dalai Lama, Heinrich Harrer spent seven years gaining a more profound understanding of Tibet and the Tibetans.
'Birdsong in a Time of Silence' is the story of a man rediscovering his passion for birdsong and nature. Narrated against the backdrop of the current pandemic, the book opens by acknowledging the new awareness of birds and birdsong that was made possible by the coincidence of spring and the experience of lockdown. Starting with a portrait of the blackbird - most prominent and articulate of the early spring singers - the book proceeds through ten chapters to explore how birds sing, the variety of singing birds (including the arrival of summer migrants), the science behind their choice of song and nest-sites, and the varied meanings that people have brought to and taken from birdsong - ultimately demonstrating that natural history and human history cannot be separated. In closing, the book reflects on the collective reawakening brought on by this strangest of springs.
The islands of Britain and Ireland hold a rich heritage of plant folklore and wisdom, from the magical yew tree to the bad-tempered dandelion. Here are traditional tales about the trees and plants that shape our landscapes and our lives through the seasons. They explore the complex relationship between people and plants, in lowlands and uplands, fields, bogs, moors, woodlands and towns. Suitable for all ages, this is an essential collection of stories for anyone interested in botany, the environment and our living heritage.
Once upon a time, most of Britain and Ireland was covered in woodland. Many of the trees have been cleared, but our connection with the wildwood remains. It is a place of danger, adventure, and transformation, where anything could happen. Here is a collection of traditional folk tales of oak, ash and thorn, hunting forests and rebellion, timber and triumph in battle, wild ghosts and woodwoses. Lisa Schneidau retells some of the old stories and relates them to the trees and forests in the landscape of our islands today. These stories are essential reading for all those who feel a pull towards the wild in our landscape, and at the edge of our lives.
Rivers and streams sculpt our landscape, and have connected our communities throughout history, from mountain to estuary and to the wide sea beyond. They give us water and food, trade and transport – yet they have a life-force all of their own. In this collection of traditional folk tales from wild rivers, lakes, and streams, Lisa Schneidau retells old stories of danger and transformation, of river goddesses, ghosts and the mysterious creatures that dwell in the watery arteries of Britain and Ireland.
