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How to Be Wild
Simon Barnes
282 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 11, 2016
This is a book about our connection to the natural world and the simple pleasures of experience at a time when we are becoming more and more distant from it. Simon writes about the beauty of Lapwings over farmland on a winter's day, the frisson of walking in the African bush and his delight in sharing a Dormouse encounter with his son. He writes of the nature-deprivation we can experience at times in our lives, but though he makes much of his travels around the world, particularly of Luangwa in Zambia, he always expresses wonderfully how we should not be blinded to the everyday nature around us and its simple joys. I always find it uplifting to read and frequently dip into its pages when I feel a little blue.
As the tag-line declares so well, 'We are all wild. It's just that civilisation keeps getting in the way.'.
As the tag-line declares so well, 'We are all wild. It's just that civilisation keeps getting in the way.'.
September 29, 2019
A confused and rambling mess of thoughts on the environment with no real substance
1.5/5
Simon Barnes is a well known sports writer for the times and has written a few pieces for travel magazines. On the back of that, Barnes wrote several books on nature (including How to be a bad birdwatcher), a subject which he is not qualified to speak about by any measure. By his own admission in this book, Barnes admits that he didn't care about nature for the first 40 years of his life- you as a reader start to wonder why he is lecturing you on how to enjoy and appreciate nature for yourself.
Written through over 150 arbitrarily ordered short chapters, which don't appear to focus on any particular subject or theme, How to Be Wild delivers several throwaway musings and thoughts on nature that attempt to be poetic and profound, a style for which is author is best known. Unfortunately Barnes' pretentious writing fails to inform and excite the reader of many of the fascinating phenomenon in nature, and severely falls short of it's goal of advising how best to live a more wild life. It is unclear whether the several factual errors in this book show it's age (10 years) or the incompetence of the author!
This book feels as if it is written by someone with little actual care or enthusiasm for the natural world, and written for people who 'like the idea' of living on the wild side, but would rather read about it than do it for themselves! Despite having a few interesting tidbits of knowledge between pages of pretentious garbage, those wishing to delve into the wonders of nature should look elsewhere.
1.5/5
Simon Barnes is a well known sports writer for the times and has written a few pieces for travel magazines. On the back of that, Barnes wrote several books on nature (including How to be a bad birdwatcher), a subject which he is not qualified to speak about by any measure. By his own admission in this book, Barnes admits that he didn't care about nature for the first 40 years of his life- you as a reader start to wonder why he is lecturing you on how to enjoy and appreciate nature for yourself.
Written through over 150 arbitrarily ordered short chapters, which don't appear to focus on any particular subject or theme, How to Be Wild delivers several throwaway musings and thoughts on nature that attempt to be poetic and profound, a style for which is author is best known. Unfortunately Barnes' pretentious writing fails to inform and excite the reader of many of the fascinating phenomenon in nature, and severely falls short of it's goal of advising how best to live a more wild life. It is unclear whether the several factual errors in this book show it's age (10 years) or the incompetence of the author!
This book feels as if it is written by someone with little actual care or enthusiasm for the natural world, and written for people who 'like the idea' of living on the wild side, but would rather read about it than do it for themselves! Despite having a few interesting tidbits of knowledge between pages of pretentious garbage, those wishing to delve into the wonders of nature should look elsewhere.
January 7, 2014
The haphazard way this book was structured at first bothered me. The seasons seemed to be the only link between the chapters. But I found it so compelling and entertaining I let my analytical hat slip and sat back to enjoy this unusual book about learning to become more connected with wild things. I live in the country but from page one of reading this I started to view things around me differently. Great stuff.
January 2, 2019
I really enjoy the writing of Simon Barnes. This book is filled with witty and inspiring quotes. The only point of criticism is the lack of a clear structure, but that fits the topic of this book; how to be wild.
July 25, 2011
Not much organization in the content, other than being sequential in writing about passing seasons mainly in his hometown, and occassionally throwing in his more exotic experiences in Zambia, which for me were really the highlights of this collection of short essays. The author's background as a columnist is quite evident. Inspiring passages towards the end on how nature shd be preserved for its own sake, rather than for quantifiable (read economic) benefits to mankind. Well put.
August 11, 2011
An at times melancholy read, mixing the ordinary and extraordinary. Barnes really mines his everyday experiences for some greater meaning, and manages to pull it off.
March 23, 2014
Witty. Philosophical and takes you on your own journey.
November 21, 2016
Good observations of animals in the wild and people.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews