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Published: 04/04/2019
Our Place is a very timely and very personal history of conservation in Britain, penned by one of our leading nature writers. Tracing the path of ecological concern from Octavia Hill, the founder of the National Trust, through to visionary environmentalists such as Max Nicholson, Cocker’s book also asks searching questions about the disconnection between the British public’s indulgent feelings toward the countryside and the distressing reality of its current condition.
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2019
A radical examination of Britain's relationship with the land by one of our greatest nature writers.
Environmental thought and politics have become parts of mainstream cultural life in Britain. The wish to protect wildlife is now a central goal for our society, but where did these `green' ideas come from? And who created the cherished institutions, such as the National Trust or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, that are now so embedded in public life with millions of members?
From the flatlands of Norfolk to the tundra-like expanse of the Flow Country in northern Scotland, acclaimed writer on nature Mark Cocker sets out on a personal quest through the British countryside to find the answers to these questions. He explores in intimate detail six special places that embody the history of conservation or whose fortunes allow us to understand why our landscape looks as it does today. We meet key characters who shaped the story of the British countryside - Victorian visionaries like Octavia Hill, founder of the National Trust, as well as brilliant naturalists such as Max Nicholson or Derek Ratcliffe, who helped build the very framework for all environmental effort.
This is a book that looks to the future as well as exploring the past. It asks searching questions like who owns the land and why? And who benefits from green policies? Unflinching, provocative and original, Our Place tackles some of the central issues of our time.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781784701024
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 245 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 21 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Essential reading for anybody who cares about the future. - Henry Marsh, New Statesman Books of the year**
A seriously great book, important and urgent… As soon as I finished Our Place, I packaged up my copy and sent it off to Michael Gove… this is the kind of book that demands action. - Alex Preston, Guardian
Best known as one of our foremost nature writers, Mark Cocker spent several years researching this tour de force… stuffed with eye-opening statistics… by turns hopeful, melancholy and humorous… [Our Place] is heartfelt. - Ben Hoare, BBC Wildlife Book of the Month**
Thunderingly necessary… Cocker on this kind of form – eloquent, practical, dogged and wise – is the sort of dynamic chivvying force [conservation] will always need… the book he’s written – however measured, equable and intelligent – is a call for revolution. - Richard Smyth, New Statesman
Impassioned, expert and always beautifully written… Our Place is a sobering and magnificent work. - Christopher Hart, Sunday Times
It is easy to be angry about environmental destruction; easy to demand change without hope but in this potent, elegant and influencing telling of the story of what we have done to England's wildlife, Mark Cocker archives something more: a reasoned tone in a radical cause. If you care about our country, read it. - Julian Glover, Evening Standard Books of the Year**
What a relief it is to have this subject explored without the usual diatribes and righteous hysteria. Cocker’s quiet tone carries great authority and… [Our Place] deserves to command respect and wide attention. - Tom Fort, Literary Review
A fierce polemic by an eminent ornithologist about Britain’s denuded natural habitat. - Sunday Times Must Reads**
Fascinating… Our Place is a brave book... It will undoubtedly ruffle what few figurative feathers we have left. - Katharine Norbury, Caught by the River
A new book by Mark Cocker is a major event, and [Our Place] is no exception… Cocker has always been brilliant at considering our relationship with nature… You can come away from it feeling that something can be done, that we can save Britain’s wildlife, if only there is the will to turn well-meaning generalities into action. The clock is ticking. - Matt Merritt and John Miles, Bird Watching
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“Fascinating and frightening in equal measure. A hugely important book.”
Naturalist Mark Cocker says that this book cost him ‘proportionately more hard labour’ than any of his others and it’s easy to believe. His impressive research and knowledge of his subject have resulted in a deeply... More
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