The Great British Year: Wildlife Through the Seasons

by Stephen Moss

Experience the astonishing wildlife and seasonal spectacles on Britain's own doorstep in this companion to the new BBC series, from the same team who created Africa 

Britain is a place of remarkable beauty and surprising extremes: nowhere else in the temperate world boasts such extreme variety in such a small area. The humble island has more than 10,000 miles of coastline, iconic animals and birds, and unique spectacles of migration that see wildlife from all corners of the globe descend upon its shores. Life is governed by the seasons: each month bringing extraordinary transformations to the land and its inhabitants. This lavish companion to the BBC One series brings Britain to life, celebrating the vibrancy of the changing year through stunning photography and mesmerizing time-lapse sequences, revealing unmissable drama and beauty.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, British Literature, Wildlife

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian.

Reviews

[john jeffreys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book which had educated me

This is the first book I have read for a while and the first I've read on kindle. I liked the fact that the book gives lots of examples of places where wildlife can be found. I feel more inspired to visit some of these places now. I've even made a bucket list!!
The book does repeat some information. This was a positive in a way as it gives you a chance to digest the information. The photos are good. If anything it was a bit short for me. I think my next nature book will be a more specific book, maybe about Devon where I live.
Finally I tried to watch the tv series on the BBC iPlayer, it's no longer available. There are some clips there which I plan to watch!

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting and super insightful. However, as I got further and further into the book (and it may be because I read it in 4 days) I started to zone out a little while reading it, and if I'm being honest I probably won't be able to recall 50% of the stuff I learned from reading this! So it's a 3.

[Chris Cloake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, colourful trip through a British year. I learned while I loved. It makes you want to get out there, see and hear for yourself and generally appreciate all four seasons.

Infinitely better than phone scrolling, this is a book in all its glory. Read on.

[Sinead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect coffee table book - I dipped in and out of this book over various times of the day and found that the pictures were so vibrant and alive that it cheered me up and lifted me from my day.
I admit that I didn't do much reading of the words included with the pictures as it simply told the story the british wildlife throughout the year using the pictures.
It is truly stunning photgraphy and it is surprising what beauty the little old UK holds for those willing to look and capture - Beautiful!