Böcker av John Lewis-Stempel

_________________'BRITAIN'S FINEST LIVING NATURE WRITER' - THE TIMESWINNER OF THE THWAITES WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2015What really goes on in the long grass?Meadowland gives an unique and intimate account of an English meadow's life from January to December, together with its biography.

But owls - with the sapient flatness of their faces, their big, round eyes, their paternal expressions - are also reassuringly familiar.

The extraordinary story of British junior officers in the First World War, who led their men out of the trenches and faced a life expectancy of six weeks.

'Britain's finest living nature writer' - The TimesIs there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo?It is invariably heard, and not seen. And if seen, it is mistaken for a sharp-winged hawk. The female cuckoo - by a trick that borders on alchemy - is able to disguise its egg as another's. In Greek myth the god Zeus assumed the form of a cuckoo to seduce Hera.But we forgive the cuckoo its con-artistry, because it is the true herald of spring. It is the bird that uplifts our wintered hearts, with that first two-note 'cuk-koo' unmistakable as it sounds across the country.In The Curious Life of the Cuckoo, John Lewis-Stempel explains one of nature's greatest enigmas in vivid, lyrical prose, and celebrates this iconic bird.Praise for John Lewis-Stempel'His immense, patient powers of observation - along with a flair for the anthropomorphic - mean he is able to offer a portrait of animal life that's rare in its colour and drama.' - Observer'Engaging, closely-observed and beautiful ... this author's deep love of the world around him is as inspiring as it is entertaining.' - Daily Mail'That John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation is undisputed.' - Country Life'John Lewis-Stempel is the hottest nature writer around.' - Spectator'It's his observation of the natural world - the sight, the sound, the smell of it - that is so memorable. He has a distinctively brisk, muscular style of writing that has a poetic intensity and concision. - Guardian'His prose is immaculate' - Der Spiege'The master of nature-writing' - Radio Times'Lewis-Stempel sees and hears things others will never see and hear, and he can write about them as no one else can.'- Daily Mail: Summer Reads

AN INDIE BESTSELLER'It reminded me all over again of why I threw up everything for the magic of La Belle France' Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm'An utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told' Felicity Cloake, author of One More Croissant for the RoadFor fans of Peter Mayle, 'Britain's finest living nature writer' takes the plunge and buys an old farmhouse deep in the French countryside - a perfect slice of sunny escapist joy from the perennial Sunday Times bestseller.The Charente: roofs of red terracotta tiles, bleached-white walls, windows shuttered against the blaring sun. The baker does his rounds in his battered little white van with a hundred warm baguettes in the back, while a cat picks its way past a Romanesque church, the sound of bells skipping across miles of rolling, glorious countryside.For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned once again to live in a landscape where turtle doves purr and nightingales sing, as they did almost everywhere in his childhood. He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. And so, buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life as peasant farmers.Over that first year, Lewis-Stempel fell in love with the French countryside, from the wild boar that trot past the kitchen window to the glow-worms and citronella candles that flicker in the evening garden. Although it began as a practical enterprise, it quickly became an affair of the heart: of learning to bite the end off the morning baguette; taking two hours for lunch; in short, living the good life - or as the French say, La Vie.

With the erosion of native wildlife habitats, gardens increasingly provide an invaluable source of food and shelter for Britain's fauna and flora. The Wildlife Garden is the essential guide to attracting birds to your bushes, butterflies to your buddleia and a whole array of other creatures into your garden - even if you only have a window box. Whether you just want to make an existing family space more wildlife friendly or go the whole hedgehog and turn your back garden into a mini nature reserve The Wildlife Garden will show you how to do it. There is full information on what plants are best for wildlife, on how to make refuges for insects and homes for bats, on making a pool for frogs, all whilst adding scent and colour to your surroundings.

AN INDIE BESTSELLER'It reminded me all over again of why I threw up everything for the magic of La Belle France' Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm'An utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told' Felicity Cloake, author of One More Croissant for the RoadFor fans of Peter Mayle, 'Britain's finest living nature writer' takes the plunge and buys an old farmhouse deep in the French countryside - a perfect slice of sunny escapist joy from the perennial Sunday Times bestseller. The Charente: roofs of red terracotta tiles, bleached-white walls, windows shuttered against the blaring sun. The baker does his rounds in his battered little white van with a hundred warm baguettes in the back, while a cat picks its way past a Romanesque church, the sound of bells skipping across miles of rolling, glorious countryside. For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned once again to live in a landscape where turtle doves purr and nightingales sing, as they did almost everywhere in his childhood. He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. And so, buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life as peasant farmers. Over that first year, Lewis-Stempel fell in love with the French countryside, from the wild boar that trot past the kitchen window to the glow-worms and citronella candles that flicker in the evening garden. Although it began as a practical enterprise, it quickly became an affair of the heart: of learning to bite the end off the morning baguette; taking two hours for lunch; in short, living the good life - or as the French say, La Vie.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Lewis-Stempel is one of our finest nature writers ... He writes with delicate observation and authority, giving us in Woodston a book teeming with fascinating details, anecdotes and penetrating insights into the real cost of our denatured countryside.' - Sunday Times'The English countryside is 'a work of human art, done by the many and the nameless' and John Lewis-Stempel wanted to celebrate it. He has succeeded admirably.' - Daily Mail_________________In the beginning was the earth...From the Paleozoic volcanoes that stained its soil, to the Saxons who occupied it, to the Tudors who traded its wool, to the Land Girls of wartime, John Lewis-Stempel charts a sweeping, lyrical history of Woodston: the quintessential English farm.With his combined skills of farmer and historian, Lewis-Stempel digs deep into written records, the memories of relatives, and the landscape itself to celebrate the farmland his family have been bound to for millennia. Through Woodston's life, we feel the joyful arrival of oxen ploughing; we see pigs rootling in the medieval apple orchard; and take in the sharp, drowsy fragrance of hops on Edwardian air. He draws upon his wealth of historical knowledge and his innate sense of place to create a passionate, fascinating biography of farming in England.Woodston not only reminds us of the rural riches buried beneath our feet but of our shared roots that tie us to the land.

'Britain's finest living nature writer' THE TIMES'Lewis-Stempel's greatest gift remains his prose, with all its vividness and energy' THE DAILY MAIL'The hottest nature writer around' THE SPECTATORAt night, the normal rules of Nature do not apply. In the night-wood I have met a badger coming the other way, tipped my cap, said hello. The animals do not expect us humans to be abroad in the dark, which is their time, when the world still belongs to them.That was in winter. The screaming of a tawny owl echoed off the bare trees. For all of our street-lamp civilization, you can still hear the call of the wild. If, if, you go out after the decline of the day...As the human world settles down each evening, nocturnal animals prepare to take back the countryside. Taking readers on four walks through the four seasons, acclaimed nature writer and farmer John Lewis-Stempel reveals a world bursting with life and normally hidden from view. Out beyond the cities, it is still possible to see the night sky full of stars, or witness a moonbow, an arch of white light in the heavens.It is time for us to leave our lairs and go tramping. To join our fellow creatures of the night.

Brought to you by Penguin. "e;How to describe the ecstatic song of larks? How the writers and poets have tried..."e;Skylarks are the heralds of our countryside. Their music is the quintessential sound of spring. The spirit of English pastoralism, they inspire poets, composers and farmers alike. In the trenches of World War I they were a reminder of the chattering meadows of home. Perhaps you were up with the lark, or as happy as one. History has seen us poeticise and musicise the bird, but also capture and eat them. We watch as they climb the sky, delight in their joyful singing, and yet we harm them too. The Soaring life of the Lark explores the music and poetry; the breath-taking heights and struggle to survive of one of Britain's most iconic songbirds. (c) John Lewis-Stempel 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

A celebration of British natural life in the form of a collection of the best of the 'new nature writing' and the best of the old, too - the natural history of Britain made word.

To love and loathe the fox is a British condition."The fox is our apex predator, our most beautiful and clever killer.

______________BEST BOOKS FOR NATURE LOVERS 2019 - Daily MailBEST NATURE BOOKS OF THE YEAR, 2019 - The Times and Irish Independent'A beautifully written celebration of one of the natural world's most fertile founts of biodiversity and artistic inspiration ...

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR NATURE LOVERS'To see a hare sit still as stone, to watch a hare boxing on a frosty March morning, to witness a hare bolt . They are arrogant, as in Aesop's The Hare and the Tortoise, and absurd, as in Lewis Carroll's Mad March Hare.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER by 'Indisputably, one of the best nature-writers of his generation' (Country Life) BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' Written in diary format, The Wood is the story of English woodlands as they change with the seasons.

The natural history of the Western Front during the First World War by the award-winning author of Meadowland

The story of the British Army has many sides to it, being a tale of heroic successes and tragic failures, of dogged determination and drunken disorder. It involves many of the most vital preoccupations in the history of the island - the struggle against Continental domination by a single power, the battle for Empire - and a cast pf remarkable characters - Marlborough, Wellington and Montgomery among them. Yet the British, relying on their navy, have always neglected their army; from the time of Alfred the Great to the reign of Charles II wars were fought with hired forces disbanded as soon as conflict ended. Even after the stuggles with Louis XIV impelled the formation of a reulgar army, impecunious governments neglected the armed forces except in times of national emergency. In this wide-ranging account, Major Haswell sketches the medieval background before concentrating on the three hundred years of the regular army, leading up to its role in our own time. He presents an informed and probing picture of the organization of the army, the development of weaponry and strategy - and the everyday life of the British soldier through the centuries.John Lewis-Stempel has brought Major Haswell's classic work right up to date by expanding the section on the dissolution of empire to include a full account of Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. He has added a new chapter to cover the Gulf War, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq; also the increasing role of special forces and the amalgamation of regiments.

The Wild Life is John Lewis-Stempel's account of twelve months eating only food shot, caught or foraged from the fields, hedges, and brooks of his forty-acre farm.

The last untold story of the First World War: the fortunes and fates of 170,000 British soldiers captured by the enemy.

Traditional ploughland is disappearing. The corncrake is all but extinct in England. And the hare is running for its life. This book tells the story of the wild animals and plants that live in and under our ploughland, from microbes to the patrolling kestrel above the corn, from the linnet to seven-spot ladybirds that eat aphids that eat the crop.

A practical guide to finding and preparing food from hedgerows, parks, fields, woods, rivers and seashore. Aimed at the beginner, it also has a wealth of tips for the enthusiast, and, unlike other books on wild food, covers foraging in the urban environment as well as the countryside. The book shows the reader 'Where, How and When' to find the best edible berries, leaves, flowers, mushrooms, seaweed, shellfish and snails, with clear and full instructions on what is safe to eat. Foraging covers the 100 wild foods that are good to eat, fun to find, easy to identify - and will make a healthy difference to your diet and your bank balance. The book is organised by environment so when taking a walk, gardening, or having a day out you know how to gather a hedgerow harvest, a field feast, a seaside salad. Each entry features one species, and fully explains its looks, exactly where in the habitat it will be found, when it is ripe to eat, its alternative names, its history, how to harvest it, its culinary uses. There are full instructions too on preparation of each plant/fungi/animal, along with recipes for its use. Comfrey fritters, hazelnut pate, nettle beer,sorrel soup, dandelion coffee, blackberry jam....

With no modern drugs, and a lot of trial-and-error, James sets about learning how to treat the local farm animals and the pets of city folk. This book reveals a world now lost to us, showing how life in pre-war Britain changed an enthusiastic young student named Alf Wight into the man who would charm millions of readers the world over.

Fountainhead of democracy, engine of the Industrial Revolution, epicentre of the globe's greatest empire and the first-ditch stand against an expansionist Germany in two world wars: England's history is among the most fascinating and influential the world has ever known.This volume presents that history in unique form: first-hand, through the words of those who saw it and those who made it. All the great events of the last 2,000 years are here: the Norman Conquest, Magna Carta, the Peasants' Revolt, Henry VIII's break with Rome, the Great Fire of London, Nelson at Trafalgar, two world wars. Alongside these are the less obvious happenings which together capture the nation's social history, such as the Black Death of 1349 or life as a chimney sweep in 1817. And of couse there are the things that have shaped the nature of 'Englishness', like theatregoing in Elizabethan London, fox hunting in 1898, Oates's self-sacrifice at the South Pole, the Beatles and the 1966 World Cup.Presented chronologically and a joy to read whether cover-to-cover or dipped into as a treasury of sources, England: The Autobiography offers an intimate, vivid and revealing portrait of England and the English - and the unique place of both in world history.