Meadowland: the private life of an English field

My book of the year. Meadowland is a seasonal journey of discovery, a pilgrimage that nurtures the soul and gives meaning to life; all life. Each beautifully crafted sentence provides a stepping-stone to absorb and understand the land, with the writer’s lyrical voice acting as guide and trusty staff as well as illuminating the mind’s eye with wonderful imagery and perceptive literary devices. -- Stuart Winter * Sunday Express * Fascinating ... Books have been written about entire countries that contain a less interesting cast of characters than Lewis-Stempel's account of one field on the edge of Wales. Lewis-Stempel’s immense, patient powers of observation – along with a flair for the anthropomorphic – mean he is able to offer a portrait of animal life that's rare in its colour and drama. Lewis-Stempel's eye for detail and the poetic imagery of sentences are reminiscent of the late, brilliant Roger Deakin...There is barely a creature in Meadowland that I didn't learn at least one interesting new fact about . * Observer * Engaging, closely-observed and beautiful ... this author’s deep love of the world around him is as inspiring as it is entertaining. This wonderful book ... is most of all, a moving hymn of gratitude from a man so rooted, so full of joy that he likens his land to a cathedral and knows that: ‘To stand alone in a field in England and listen to the morning chorus of the birds is to remember why life is precious'. -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail * [JLS] has a sharp eye, a fluent pen and that omnivorous, innocently English curiosity about wild creatures... There are lyrical moments aplenty but this is not the cloying 'regardez-moi maman' nature writing. JLS's tone is level, involved, humorous and even self-deprecating... This is a rich, interesting book, generously studded with raisins of curious information. * The Times * My holiday reading: [John Lewis-Stempel] knows not only all about the different kinds of life in such a place and how they all fit together, but can also write so vividly. -- Philip Pullman * The Guardian * Lively elegant prose. [John Lewis-Stempel's] thoughtful, discursive, often humorous and always enjoyable narrative conveys a vital message. -- John Akeroyd * Spectator * A beautifully written and insightful diary with fascinating historical and literary diversions. -- Brett Westwood * Countryfile * This very personal love letter to the land is steeped in knowledge of the local flora, fauna and history, and grounded by the realities of farming. Precise and poetic descriptions are rooted in the context of conservation issues and heritage – names are often traced to their Anglo-Saxon or Celtic roots. Neither sentimental rhapsody nor environmental study, although containing elements of both, this is an insightful meditation on our relationship with nature, and on nature writing itself. * Juanita Coulson, The Lady * This is a great book – a magnificent love letter to the natural world, full of wisdom and experience, written with wit, poetry and love. It is, in fact, one of the best five books I have ever had the privilege to read. I want to scream from the rooftops: buy it, give it, read it. -- Tim Smit * Eden Project; Heligan * An intimate, month-by-month observation of the flora and fauna of an English meadow; its foxes, badgers, rabbits, skylarks, cowslips. It's written in exquisite prose. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller *