Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape (Paperback)

'Patrick Laurie is a wonderful writer. He has written a hymn of love to his native land' - James Rebanks

'[A] beautifully written memoir, a mesmerising account of a year of back-breaking labour, personal despair and piercing moments of joy... unforced and utterly authentic.' - The Mail on Sunday

'He's a keen observer, of nature and of the general ebb and flow of the world, and he writes with a seemingly effortless lyricism about what he sees... A charming evocation of the harsh realities of farming in the modern world, and the difficulties of marrying food production and conservation' - Geographical Magazine

'Laurie writes in beautiful detail about the landscape and animals surrounding him. The book represents an ongoing battle between progress and conservation in which the farming industry is integral. A thoughtful read about a man's love of his homeland' - Scottish Field

'Remarkable, and so profoundly enjoyable to read ... Its importance is huge, setting down a vital marker in the 21st century debate about how we use and abuse the land' - Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

'Brilliant and Beautiful... This is a book about a place you will probably have never visited: but you should read it nonetheless because what it says has a wider importance, about some of what we have got wrong in the way we respect nature and farming and what we might get right if we change our ways. It is also that most valuable of things, an escape to an open land where curlew still cry and the wind and rain cut in from the sea and city life feels a million miles away' - Julian Glover, London Evening Standard

'A farmer with a poet's eye is a rare thing indeed, and this is a rare breed of a book: an elegy to a vanishing landscape but one not without hope, and to be greatly treasured' - The Daily Mail

'Galloway, past and present, is the bedrock of this book, a granite foundation on which Laurie is to build his future... an unflinching account of what it takes to turn into a farmer, bearing callouses, bruises and scars.... moving as well as inspirational. This Galloway farm might be just one stamp in an album, but if a butterfly wing can cause a hurricane, what about a rampaging bull?' - Rosemary Goring, The Herald

'Native is described as 'a hymn of love to his native land'. It's an apt description for a wonderful book... a poignant and thought-provoking read, I loved it' - Matt Johnson, LoveReading

'I work at Forum Books in Corbridge and got a proof of this - it's the most incredible book I can recall reading - prose to compare with Macfarlane. Staggering, should win prizes' - Bookseller, Forum Books

'I simply adore this book!' - Polly Pullar

'Patrick Laurie's neighbours looked on in amusement when he turned the clock back to follow his grandfather's way of rearing cattle. But the old ways are paying off and he is now the proud owner of a thriving rare breed herd - and seen the return of threatened wildlife to his land' - The Sunday Post

'In this tender, lyrical book, Patrick Laurie considers what it means to really belong to a place. Throughout, the mud, blood and sweat of the farm are brought vividly to life, and each sentence is charged with passion for its subject' - Malachy Tallack