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A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm Kindle Edition
A CONSERVATIONIST'S DEEPLY PERSONAL AND FASCINATING REFLECTION ON OWNING AND REVITALIZING A FARM IN RURAL FRANCE
A Sting in the Tale, Dave Goulson's account of a lifetime studying bees, was a powerful call to arms for nature lovers everywhere. Brilliantly reviewed, it was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for the best nonfiction book of the year, and debuted the already renowned conservationist's ability to charm and educate, and tell an absorbing story.
In A Buzz in the Meadow, Goulson returns to tell the tale of how he bought a derelict farm in the heart of rural France. Over the course of a decade, on thirty-three acres of meadow, he created a place for his beloved bumblebees to thrive. But other creatures live there too, myriad insects of every kind, many of which Goulson had studied before in his career as a biologist. You'll learn how a deathwatch beetle finds its mate, why butterflies have spots on their wings, and see how a real scientist actually conducts his experiments.
But this book is also a wake-up call, urging us to cherish and protect life in all its forms. Goulson has that rare ability to persuade you to go out into your garden or local park and observe the natural world. The undiscovered glory that is life in all its forms is there to be discovered. And if we learn to value what we have, perhaps we will find a way to keep it.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPicador
- Publication dateApril 28, 2015
- File size1129 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“An artful blend of E.O. Wilson and Barry Lopez, with a continental flair. Backyard naturalists, regardless of their locale, will delight in the amiable company of this witty and thoughtful guide.” ―Booklist
“A charming but serious warning of the need to protect our natural ecosystems from heedless, irreversible destruction.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Warm and delightful: I frequently found myself wanting to put it down to go bird and bee watching, to find for myself the species [Goulson] discusses.” ―NPR on A Sting in the Tale
“A Sting in the Tale is both a whodunit as well as a revealing study of a bug on whom we depend a great deal.” ―The Seattle Times on A Sting in the Tale
“Goulson transforms what could be dry material with stinging wit.” ―New York Post on A Sting in the Tale
“Much more than a series of romantic wildlife walks. [Goulson] is adept at weaving profound biological concepts in with accounts of nearly being shot off the root by a zealous French huntswoman or decoding the head-banging knocks of deathwatch beatles....A trove of elegant and fascinating ecological tales” ―BBC Wildlife
“A wonderfully entertaining one-man campaign to persuade the world to love his favourite animals--insects....A Buzz in the Meadow feels like a cross between Peter Mayle's stories of homemaking in Provence and Gerald Durrell's works of domestic mayhem among Greek wildlife. Goulson has a similar comic gift to both, but although he may choose to play it for laughs, he is the cleverest fool you could imagine....A blend of scientific evidence and amusing travelogue that engages the reader as much with the eloquence of its argument as with the charm of its good humour.” ―The Mail on Sunday (London)
“You can't help but be charmed by the intriguing stories of paper moths, spotted butterflies and mating praying mantises.” ―The Big Issue (London)
“Goulson writes with infectious enthusiasm....His passionate interest in and defence of the planet's smallest inhabitants makes the book a lively and important read.” ―The Sunday Times (London)
“Goulson's sheer enthusiasm for wild things, from the lizards, mice and spiders that share his home to minute tardigrades or 'water ears' that wriggle in damp moss cushions, is that of a young Gerald Durrell on Corfu....He engages his readers in clear, lively language, avoids jargon and presents his thesis with a smile, not doom and gloom.” ―The Spectator (London)
“What begins as a scientfici rural idyll becomes a journey into the imperilled territory of Rachel Caron's Silent Spring.” ―Nature
“[Dave Goulson] is among the brightest things in the recent flowering of composite works of nature writing, natural history and memoir.” ―The Observer (London)
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00ME3BG22
- Publisher : Picador (April 28, 2015)
- Publication date : April 28, 2015
- Language : English
- File size : 1129 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 291 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #172,596 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #12 in Entomology (Kindle Store)
- #14 in Biological Science of Insects & Spiders
- #64 in Entomology (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
I grew up fascinated by insects, and by wildlife in general, and have managed to make a living from studying them, which makes me very lucky indeed. I'm now Professor of Biology at Sussex University. I've published over 300 scientific papers on bumblebees and other insects. My main focus is on why bees are declining and on working out what best we can do to help them.
In 2006 I founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity devoted to bumblebees which now has about 40 staff and 12,000 members.
I am author of "Bumblebees; their behaviour, conservation and ecology" (2010), an academic text, and A Sting in the Tale (2013), a bestselling popular science book about bumblebees, published by Jonathan Cape, and now translated into fifteen languages. This was followed by A Buzz in the Meadow in 2014, Bee Quest in 2017, The Garden Jungle in 2019, Gardening for Bumblebees in 2021, and Silent Earth also in 2021.
I was: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Social Innovator of the Year in 2010; given the Zoological Society of London’s Marsh Award for Conservation Biology in 2013; elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2013; given the British Ecological Society Public Engagement Award in 2014; given the Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology in 2020. In 2015 I was named number 8 in BBC Wildlife Magazine’s list of the top 50 most influential people in conservation. In 2018, 2019 and 2020 I was named as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Thompson ISI. I am a trustee of Pesticide Action Network, an “Ambassador” for the UK Wildlife Trusts, and president of Pesticide Free Scotland
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The book is actually two books in one. The first half contains a great deal of natural history in the context of the farm, and the second half is more a strong call for better understanding and better relationship with the planet, and includes such themes as the importance of biodiversity and the grave difficulty of generating change in the way we humans do things. I strongly agree with what he writes but not all readers may see the urgency.
The writing is excellent. The species are European, which American readers like me may not recognize, and he's got some British usages in words and style, although no real problem arises from that. Funding for British research and the organization of universities may also be a little strange (it was for me). Some photos would be helpful and maybe a map. The description of the old farm and its buildings got me very curious about what they actually look like.
Two chapters stood out for me. Chapter 8 is on the death watch beetle, which infests his farmhouse--they can riddle wooden beams but it may take them a few centuries. And chapter 13 on disappearing bees is enlightening. It describes examining the impact of neonics--neonicotinoid chemicals used on pests. His research showed that the impact likely is an accumulation of low levels of chemicals disorienting bees and inhibiting their learning (sounds odd but explained fully).They published a report that drew a lot of attention and was almost immediately targeted by manufacturers with the result that the pesticide practices continue and the decline of bees (many many species) continues. So Chapter 13 is a case study in important research countered so as to prevent needed changes.
Goulson manages to remain optimistic, somehow. Maybe it's the wine and cheese he says he loves, maybe it's that the French are not as rapidly altering the countryside (same population as the UK but more than twice the space).
Top reviews from other countries
I just didn't know how many species of bumble bees there are - or were. And I certainly know more now of their feeding and breeding habits. Read and enjoy!
For whoever is interested in nature, appreciates life in its various manifestations and is even the least bit concerned about what is happening to it will find this book a read both informative and entertaining.