Book description
Illustrated with beautifully detailed photographs throughout, New
Naturalist Southern England comprehensively explores the formation of
these wonderful landscapes that are so universally admired.
Most people share an enthusiasm for beautiful and breathtaking scenery,
explored variously through the physical challenge of climbing to the top
of the tallest mountains or the joy of viewing the work of a painter;
but while easy to admire from a distance, such landscapes are usually
difficult to explain in words. Harnessing recent developments in
computer technology, the latest New Naturalist volume uses the most
up-to-date and accurate maps, diagrams and photographs to analyse the
diverse landscapes of Southern England.
Peter Friend highlights the many famous and much loved natural
landscapes of the southern half of England, ranging from the Chalk Downs
to the bays of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, and provides detailed
explanations for the wide variety of natural events and processes that
have caused such an exciting range of surroundings.
Setting apart the topography that has resulted from natural rather than
man-made occurrences, Friend focuses on each region individually, from
East Anglia to London and the Thames Valley, and explains the history
and development of their land structures through detailed descriptions
and colourful diagrams. Praise for the New Naturalist series:
A History of Ornithology by Peter Bircham:
'Bircham has found for himself a distinctive ecological niche by
dwelling on the evolving science, rather than ornithology as social
process or field activity … he has produced a thorough and valuable
contribution to the field'
Mark Cocker, The Guardian
'This book has set a benchmark for future histories on this subject,
though I'm guessing that there won't be many books that come along in
the near future that offer a serious alternative to this extremely
well-balanced and studious work.'
Birdwatch
The Isles of Scilly by Rosemary Parslow:
'This is a fully rounded and wonderfully detailed natural history of
England's only ocean archipelago. It works on several levels, as a
guide, as a wildlife encyclopaedia and as a lyrical celebration of a
special place. Rosemary Parslow has written a classic book to add to the
remarkable swell of New Naturalist masterpieces in recent years.'
British Wildlife Peter Friend walked into the Department of Earth
Sciences at Cambridge University as a first-year undergraduate more than
fifty years ago and, apart from a period in the Scott Polar Research
Institute, has been based there ever since. He teaches and explores the
scenery and geology of many parts of the world, which has led to
multiple visits to Spitsbergen, Greenland, Spain, India and Pakistan.
