One of the qualities I admire most in authors writing on natural history subjects is their ability to communicate very complex or serious information using wit. It’s a skill that I find most in evidence these days among the finest of Britain’s natural history writers – Richard Jones, Helen Scales, Liam Drew, and Erica McAlister being particularly note-worthy examples whose works most readily come to mind.
To this list Mark Avery would certainly add Helen Pilcher, whose new book Life Changing; How Humans are Altering Life on Earth from Bloomsbury‘s Sigma imprint he takes as his subject for the most recent installment of his Sunday Book Review series. “When I say that she writes with wit, I mean that in both senses of the word as Pilcher has keen intelligence but also the ability to make one smile while getting the point across” declares Mark in his review; “It is only those who truly understand who can help others to understand truly and Pilcher does this very well.”
Is he gushing over this 2020 Wainwright Prize shortlisted book? He doesn’t think so, nor do I, but read his entire review for yourself and see if you agree.
Links to Mark Avery’s Sunday book reviews appear in The Well-read Naturalist by special arrangement. You can find all of Mark’s past reviews as well as a wide-ranging collection of his other writings on his Standing Up for Nature website. Mark’s opinions regarding the books he reviews are his own.
