Book reviews

Recent book reviews

Trustees and 'Friends' have again been very busy with books this year. Please see our reviews below and if you have any difficulty obtaining them please contact us .

"Garden Bird Behaviour"

Robert Burton (New Holland £16.99)

Everything you ever needed, or wanted, to know about the birds in and around your garden. It is written in Trustee Bobs Burton's usual easy-to-read style and is illustrated with photographs as well as paintings and sketches. A mine of useful and useless information and a book that increases the fascination of the birds in your garden.

"Birdfeeder Guide"

Robert Burton (Dorling Kindersley £16.99)

How or why a book gets to be priced at £16.99 is anybody's guess - but that is the price - which makes this book exceptional value. Bob is entertaining and informative and the illustrations - photographs and paintings are outstanding. Some of the superb bird photographs are by the CRT's own Vice-Chairman - Chris Knights. The book has sold over a million copies in six languages - complete with an American version. It deserves to sell another million and it will help you to attract birds into your garden - and keep them happy and healthy.

"A Natural Course for Golf"

Compiled by Malcolm Peake - (The Sports Turf Research Institute £19)

Golf is more than just trying to get a small white ball into a little round hole. Golf courses take up thousands of acres of rural and suburban Britain, some of them on land that would make very rich wildlife reserves. Consequently, just as the CRT is concerned about wildlife on farmland, "Friend" Malcolm Peake has been working for conservation on golf courses. His message is getting through, as some courses now boast an astonishing array of wildflowers, birds and butterflies. Some "rough" really has become rough, and a host of wild creatures have benefited as a direct result. In this excellent and well illustrated volume Malcolm has persuaded a host of experts and celebrities to contribute; from Tim Brooke-Taylor and Terry Wogan to Nick Faldo and Dr Keith Duff (Golfer and Chief Scientist at English Nature) -making his book informative, varied and entertaining - a good read.

"Managing Grass for Horses - The responsible Owner's Guide"

Elizabeth O'Beirne-Ranelagh (J.A.Allen £25)

Liz Ranelagh is not only one of the country's leading experts on grasses and meadows, she is also a "Friend" of the CRT and a member of our Lark Rise support group - giving invaluable advice on the way in which we should be managing our restored hay meadows. She is one of our Lark Rise botanical monitors and so her expertise is of great value to the CRT; she is also a farm conservation adviser with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and so her knowledge is of great value to ordinary farmers as well. With this important book she explains to horse owners how best to use their grass meadows and paddocks for the benefit of both their horses and their wildlife. She regards the horse owner as a land manager, with responsibilities for stewardship of the countryside - including the prevention of pollution and the encouragement of wildlife. An important book for anybody with a horse or involved with "horsey culture".

"Aig An Oir - At the Edge"

The Society of Wildlife Artists Visit Scotland's Atlantic Oakwoods.
Text by Robert Burton (The Society of Wildlife Artists/ Langford Press, £35)

Yes, believe it or not the text in this beautiful book is again by the CRT's Bob Burton. Much of the organisation of the illustrations in this volume was by the outgoing President of The Society of Wildlife Arists - CRT supporter Bruce Pearson whose work also appears in the book. Worth the high price it will make a much treasured present.