I’m currently toasting my feet by a wood burner in Stromness, watching the fog and the rain confirm that absolutely no seabird surveying will be taking place today. I’m going to miss seeing the guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags whose chick rearing has become the focus of hours upon hours of my week, but this weather related write-off has reminded me of one of the great pleasures of the field season- all that delicious free time to devote to a good book.
I never read as much as I do during field work- I guess it’s a combination of the travel, the remote locations, and the days like today where the weather had other plans. I certainly don’t always go for nature or science writing- but over the years I’ve come across some absolute gems that changed my way of thinking about conservation, that imparted an enduring image, or that simply provided pure escapism. In case you’re looking for something new to peruse- here are six recommendations.
(1) TROPICAL ECOLOGY: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America
Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata
A musty copy of Tropical Ecology, which was well on its way to obtaining that speckling of mould that all books seem to acquire in the rainforest, was passed to me in my first few weeks in the Amazon. I was still learning to live in the jungle, getting used to the night noises, and trying to get my head round the ecology of a habitat that was still completely alien. It turned out to be a god send- simply written, but tackling some really meaty ecological concepts, it opened the mind of this little ecologist to the wonders that surrounded her. Don’t let the rather dry title put you off- even if you’ve never set foot in a rainforest, this is an amazing book about one of the most mind-bending ecosystems on earth.
(2) THE SHARK AND THE ALBATROSS
John Aitchison
I’ve admired John Aitchison’s film making for a long time- his films have always had the ability to cut right through to the spirit of a place in just a few frames. Turns out he’s an excellent writer, too. The Shark and the Albatross is a compilation of essays from over 20 years of wildlife film-making, covering everything from feeding frenzies in the Aleutian Islands to silent forests in Yukon. This was a book that swept you up and made you feel like you were right there in the hide, experiencing the biting cold then watching a million snow geese fly overhead (among other things, this book manages to nail what seeing a massive number of animals actually feels like). Every bit as lyrical, beautiful and engrossing as his films.
(3) THE ZOO QUEST EXPEDITIONS
David Attenborough
Because it would be unthinkable to have a list like this without including David Attenborough. If you haven’t read any of his writing, you’re missing out- it’s warm, engaging, and really funny. Life on Air is definitely worth a read, but I think it’s pipped by the Zoo Quest expeditions- I borrowed a dog-eared copy from a friend, and half an hour later I could fully understand it’s shabby state. The characters, the ridiculous situations- there are glimmers of field work here that I recognised on my own adventures almost 60 years later, but I can only ever hope to write about them with such charm.
The series appears to inexplicably have been out of print for quite some time now- but keep if you keep an eye on Amazon, there’s usually a couple of 50p second hand copies hanging about.
*UPDATE* I have since found out that this book is indeed in print, but has been renamed as Adventures of a Young Naturalist and Journeys to the Other Side of the World. Enjoy!
(5) MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS
Gerald Durrell
Is it too obvious to include Gerald Durrell in this list? It’s hard for me to say anything new about this book, except that the hype is real. My Family and Other Animals is sunny, charming and idyllic. Chapter 10, where they go sea bathing in the moonlight, encounter a pod of porpoises and watch them swim though phosphorescent waters, remains one of my favourite literary passages of all time. Swoonsome stuff.
(5) ARE WE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW SMART ANIMALS ARE?
Frans de Waal
A not so obvious one now. I saw Frans de Waal speak about his work on primate cognition a couple of years ago, and to this day my pub chat is filled with did you knows that can be directly attributed to that talk. His most famous book is perhaps Chimpanzee Politics, but Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? is a great introduction to the world of animal cognition in general. There’s all the cool primate stuff, of course, but did you know that orcas used to cooperate with whalers? That cleaner wrasses prioritise the fish they clean based on a sophisticated understanding of supply and demand? Change your pub chat forever- read this book.
and finally…
(6) LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Douglas Adams
For me, the best conservation book of all time. Last Chance to See came about after the Observer sent Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Cawardine to search for an obscure primate in Madagascar. It went so well that a whole radio series was commissioned, featuring the pair of them travelling around the world to see nine species which were teetering so close to the edge of extinction that it very well could be the ‘last chance to see’ them. Somehow or other that radio series got turned into a book, and here we are. Given its author, I was expecting it to be funny (and I really did attract some strange looks on the bus from laughing too loudly), but what I wasn’t expecting was for it to be both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. It’s magic in a bottle. It’s genius. If there’s one book you’re ever going to read about what conservation is, and why we do it, make it this one. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
