United States
£ GBP
In his refreshingly lighthearted style, Pat Morris presents scientific and down-to-earth information about one of Britain's best-loved wild creatures, the bumbling and endearing hedgehog. Dr Morris's book, in its various editions, has remained the principal 'popular' book on the hedgehog for over thirty years – a measure of its success and usefulness.
The 1983 (original) edition of Hedgehogs was 124 pages with no photographs, this latest edition is 204 plus 8 pages of colour photos from Pat Morris. Through the editions, it was updated four times with a major revision in 2006 (for The New Hedgehog Book) when all the illustrations were redrawn as well. This British Natural History Edition has been revised again, mainly to include the latest findings about the threat of the growing population of badgers on hedgehogs, but it has been generally updated and now has the photos.
Pat Morris is the UK's leading hedgehog expert. Having studied them over forty years, he has probably published more scientific papers on the European hedgehog than anyone. He is President of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, which recently celebrated its 30th year, and is an established writer and broadcaster, often appearing on television and radio wildlife programmes. He was formerly Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Royal Hollow (University of London).
The book is illustrated throughout with cartoon and fine line drawings by renowned wildlife artist Guy Troughton.
Reviews of the original 1983 publication include:
"[...] this book should be on the shelves of everyone who hears hedgehogs foraging in the garden [...]"
– Times Educational Supplement
"[...] written with a great deal of humour and a mine of useful as well as useless information [...]"
– Robin Page, Daily Telegraph
"[...] highly entertaining and witty [...]"
– Evening Mail
"[...] a truly fascinating book about one of nature's most endearing creatures [...]"
– Manchester Evening News
