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Badgerlands: The Twilight World of Britain’s Most Enigmatic Animal (Paperback)
  • Badgerlands: The Twilight World of Britain’s Most Enigmatic Animal (Paperback)
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Badgerlands: The Twilight World of Britain’s Most Enigmatic Animal (Paperback)

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£10.99
Paperback 400 Pages
Published: 05/06/2014
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Waterstones Says

The author of The Butterfly Isles investigates the nocturnal world of the badger, meeting farmers and scientists in an attempt to understand this enigmatic creature, as well as ruminating on the politicisation of the animal and its emotive mass culling.

Britain is the home of the badger - there are more badgers per square kilometre in this country than in any other. And yet many of us have never seen one alive and in the wild. They are nocturnal creatures who vanish into their labyrinthine underground setts at the first hint of a human.

Here, Patrick Barkham follows in the footsteps of his badger-loving grandmother, to meet the feeders, farmers and scientists who know their way around Badgerlands: the mysterious world in which these distinctively striped creatures snuffle, dig and live out their complex social lives.

As the debate over the badger cull continues, Barkham weighs the evidence on both sides of the argument, and delves into the rich history of the badger - from their prehistoric arrival in Britain and their savage persecution over the centuries, to Kenneth Grahame's fictional creation in Wind in the Willows and the badger who became a White House pet.

From the celebrated author of The Butterfly Isles, this is rich, vivid nature writing at its best.

Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 9781847085054
Number of pages: 400
Weight: 290 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 25 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

A superb work of natural history set in changing times. Enjoy it as you ponder on the problems of Badgers and Humans - David Bellamy

A timely and virtuous book... superb - Paul Binding, Independent

Well-timed [and] well-balanced... An accessible insight into a complex, crepuscular world - Hugh Warwick, Guardian

Barkham has a weird, Louis Theroux-like sympathy for everybody involved. Which makes the book as warmly human as it is meline... This book is a terrific piece of work, one that increases everybody's understanding of the most difficult and controversy-ridden species of British fauna - Simon Barnes, The Times

Perceptive and compassionate - John Burnside, Books of the Year, New Statesman

Sensitive and thoughtful - Andrew Holgate, Books of the Year, Sunday Times

Wonderful - Stephen Moss, Books of the Year, Guardian

Beautiful - Mark Smith, Books of the Year, Herald

The badger is Britain's most beloved mammal, and the most loathed. Barkham listens to all voices in his excellent Badgerlands, but in the end the badgers carry the day - Simon Barnes, Books of the Year, The Times

Badger enthusiast Barkham pens a loving ode to the most maligned of mammals - Amelia Walsh, Observer

A carefully written exploration of the cultural and natural history of this much-loved animal... What really entices is the badger itself, a cautious, secretive, curiously gentle creature about which so much is still unknown - Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times

Superb... Charming and persuasive - James Delingpole, Mail on Sunday

An affectionate and timely portrait of a most elusive creature - Bella Bathurst, Sunday Telegraph

Barkham's affectionate new study couldn't be more timely... Fine and well-crafted - Peter Lewis, Telegraph

A careful, engaging look at the history and impact of the badger - Sunday Times

A commendably even-handed book... Anyone interested in the debate should read this book - Jason Goodwin, Spectator

Barkham moves between wider literary and cultural considerations to more lyrical evocations of place and moment. He has a poet's eye for natural detail - Eastern Daily Times

Rich, vivid nature writing at its best - Hereford Times

Enlightening and satisfying - Countryfile Magazine

Barkham takes great care in depicting both sides of the badger cull debate, digging up the rich history of the mammal while talking to farmers whose livestock and earning have been blighted by badgers - Daily Mail

Thoughtful... Barkham brings a little-known creature to life - Daily Telegraph

This book increases everybody's understanding of the most difficult and controversy-ridden species of British fauna - Simon Barnes, The Times

An accessible insight into a complex, crepuscular world - Hugh Warwick, Guardian

Wonderful... a joy to read and incredibly informative... a must have for nature enthusiasts - ‘Book of the Week’ Bath Chronicle

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“Fascinating Stuff”

The Badger is one of the UKs largest native mammals, and it is also an animal that people have early seen because of its nocturnal habit. The most common sighting is a twisted corpse alongside a road. bark ham has... More

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