Song of the Rolling Earth: A Highland Odyssey

by John Lister-Kaye

Environmentalist and naturalist Sir John Lister-Kaye, founder of the Aigas Nature Reserve, writes about his life in the glens, the wildlife that surrounds him and the primeval magical exchange that takes place between man and nature once so central to ancient civilisations. He describes finding the ruined 19th-century estate that is to become Aigas and taking it over and turning it into a going concern as a Nature Reserve and Educational Centre, and his own personal motivation, following the Torrey Canyon oil spillage and natural disasters in the 1960s, to become an environmentalist. Interspersed within the narrative detail are engaging and enlightening descriptions of flora and fauna.

Genres: Nature, Scotland, Nonfiction, Natural History

332 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2003

About the author

Sir John Philip Lister Lister-Kaye, 8th Baronet, OBE (b. 1946) is an English naturalist, conservationist, author who is owner and director of the Aigas Field Centre, among other business interests. He is married with four children and has lived in the Highlands of Scotland since 1969.

Reviews

[Emily Crutchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. I only wish he knew the creator to whom he could direct this magnificent praise of nature.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it's not necessarily the book, it's the wider places you end up thinking about because of the book. This was a bit of both. Knowing the area around Aigas well (Glen Affric etc) (but never having been to it itself - sounds like fun, but hooringly expensive for a week away) some lovely anecdotes of life and the animals around there. There's a real sense of the author's passion for his variety of subjects and I never found him preachy, even when he often sets up the soapbox and delivers a lenthy sermon.

It's well written, with enjoyable prose - a great book to sink into and enjoy the company of an extremely affable and enthusiastic expert - while stopping to embark on daydreams and flights of fancy. Escapist reading of a different sort, but one of the most enjoyable books I read last year.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my idea of heaven between the pages; animals, nature, outdoors and general reflections on life.

Lister-Kaye does a fine job of detailing his extraordinary work in making nature accessible to others via the use of his field studies centre (aka his Scottish highland home!) Every season is explored, each animal encounter relished, every weather front described, and Lister-Kaye has a beautiful, poetic way with words that takes us into the heart of the highlands with him.

I like that the author acknowledges his less than positive approach to animals in the past (he confesses to hunting/trapping/gamekeeping etc) but admits to this major fault and has resolved to treat animals with the respect they deserve, having vowed to swap from shooting a gun to shooting a camera. He also recognizes the great privilege in living where he does in such a grand residence, but how amazing to open that home up to others, so that they can experience the miracle of wildlife with you.

A brilliant example of nature writing.

[Richard Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graceful, beautifully evocative nature writing honoring a special place. Deserves a place on my shelf beside Sand County Almanac, The Peregrine, and Muir.

[Nancyj130 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written...

It seems almost to be poetry. So lyrically written that I could envision being there. And consequently, I have booked a trip to Aigas in 2020.
Yes, I definitely recommend this book!

[Teresa D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful account of life,flora,fauna,nature and history in the Scottish Highlands.His passion is infectious.

[Donna Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written

A wonderfully written, evocative reflection on the author’s experience founding and running a field center in the Scottish Highlands. Highly recommend!

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Walt Whitman poem introduces this book and provides its title.

A song of the rolling earth, and of words according,
Were you thinking that those were the words, those upright lines? those curves, angles, dots?
No, those are not the words, the substantial words are in the ground and sea,
They are in the air, they are in you.

The choice of this poem makes sense after reading the book, subtitled “A Highland Odyssey.” The Highlands is the sparsely populated, mountainous, rocky northwestern part of Scotland. The author, John Lister-Kaye, established a “field centre” at a location named Aigis in 1977 after starting a similar project in a less suitable location. As a boy, he had spent his free time observing nature and received much information from a gameskeeper named Bob, “a paid killer of all that I held dear.” (p. 11) His parents made sure he had a classical British education, which would prepare him for a white-collar engineering job in the mining industry. So, that’s how his adult life began, but not for long.

His first job was in Swansea, a coastal city in Wales. In 1967, Great Britain experienced its first major oil spill. The author witnessed the massive, catastrophic environmental devastation. In fact, he took time off from work to go there. “I was mesmerized by it, almost afraid to go and look because I knew that it was bigger than my work. In the pit of my stomach I sensed that my brief courtship with industry was over.” (p. 31)

He began working as a nature writer but soon conceived of “a natural history guiding service,” which began as a summer job but quickly grew beyond his initial plan. This challenge moved him to bargain for an abandoned Victorian mansion and the surrounding land. It took years to renovate the ruined house, but even as he undertook that monumental task, he started his “field studies centre” for guests who came to stay for a week or two.

While this book loosely follows an autobiographical structure, its long, detailed descriptive passages feel contemplative, nearly to the point of lulling this reader toward drowsiness, only to be awakened with a thrilling story about a fascinating encounter with wildlife or a colorful character such as Bella Macrae. In fact, the story of this woman, his neighbor, a representative crofter, is a highlight. Crofters, the author says, are “a native people [like Aborigines or Indigenous Americans] in occupation of their own land—albeit a tiny, impoverished, peripheral part of it.” (p. 190)

One of his contemplative chapters reflects on the “soul” of a place. “Science,” he says, “has caused us to ditch some of the most vital gems of our past: the magic and the sacred, holiness and the spiritual direction that glued us together as human beings for so long.” (p. 211) He longs to recover the sense of wonder. He reflects on thoughts from Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Einstein, and American Indian tribes, and then he explores the complexities of the human brain before concluding, “What I have discovered is this: that what I do and what I feel are both derived from my private passion for nature. They are as much a part of me as my genes.” (p. 216) He continues: “[Nature] recognizes no cruelty, tolerates no flaws. It makes no promises and tells no lies. It is utterly original, constantly recreating itself anew, dazzling and inspirational.” (p. 217)

I received this book as a birthday present from relatives who spent a week at the Aigis Field Centre. A back-cover blurb places the book alongside such environmental classics as Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. For 25 years the author has been interacting with nature in an austere setting. He has rejuvenated a forest, made homes for animals, and given visitors from around the world insight, not only into nature, but into themselves.

Song of the Rolling Earth is a book you shouldn’t rush through. Take your time to savor the long, slow descriptive passages before you come upon a section full of active adventure. Reading it is like riding a roller coaster.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book was like an overly rich chocolate cake .One bite of it can be savored and appreciated,when it is for 330 pages ,it becomes over rich and nauseous at times.
I started reading expecting something else , and something else was sprinkled here and there about life in Aigas home and Field center . It was wonderful to be able to see the place on their internet site .
But back to the book ,yes at times I could feel the place as I was there ,but kept stumbling into English words that made me stop and think is this the way Sir John Lister Kaye speaks and thinks .Is it an editor'choice of words in the effort to be more precise . (English is a second language for me ,but I have not found my self tumbling on words like this book in years )
This is a poetic book in it's descriptions and musings . Yet it made me wonder the public it was intended as the temperatures were stated in Fahrenheit in most parts ,where I would assume all Europe use Celsius . Stumbling over I have accomplished finishing this book ,compared to other two star books had to give a 3 star

[Alistair Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book well written. It envelops underlying threads which reappear interwoven with beautiful poetic prose in various chapter topics. He covers everything from history of the highlands through evolution, ecology, geography, geology and social economics. But the basics of the book is about his home Aigas and its wildlife, and his love affair with them both.

Some have said that Johns poeticism is perhaps over reaching, yes he could use fewer words but everyone is thoughtfully crafted, and worthy.

This is definitely worth a read and is going to stay on my bookshelf to revisit in years to come.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, his writing is so clear and evocative. I was with him, under the ash tree, boating down the river, watching the swifts in the tower.
But in truth I can never afford to visit Aigas. And one day a book of this quality will be written by a minority voice, or a working class person. They never are. That’s not his fault, but I can dream.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a wonderful window into a peaceful life in nature, a time away from current cares. Lister-Kaye is a Scottish naturalist who loves his home land, the wealth of eildlife, the magnificentv landscape.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best natural history books/memoirs that I have ever read.

[Patti Gareri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kohn Lister Kaye is a great nature writer. I want to read all of his books, including the fiction.