One of the things I like best about Birdfair is the opportunity it gives me to discover new natural history books that might not otherwise have come to my attention on the North American side of the Atlantic. And of the many fascinating books I took note of at this year’s event, Charlie Elder’s Few and Far Between; On The Trail of Britain’s Rarest Animals is the one I looked most forward to reading.
While On the Origin of Species is generally said to be Darwin’s most influential work, his The Voyage of the Beagle is likely his most approachable work for the general reader. And why wouldn’t it be? After all, first-person travelogues make for exciting reading, combining both the narrative of the adventure with the author’s running commentary upon it.
As one who was raised in an area where an extractive industry – in my case logging – was a key part of the local economy, I have long been familiar with the toll such industries can take on the land and the landscape if not practiced with a larger view to the sustained health kept clearly in mind.
Of all the fields of popular natural history, few are as challenging for newcomers to “find the door into” as astronomy. While most everyone with at least one good eye can look up at the sky and enjoy the visual beauty of the moon and stars, going beyond this is, for most, bewildering.