Wild Green Wonders brings you a selection of twenty years' worth of Patrick Barkham's writings for the Guardian, bearing witness to the many changes we have imposed upon the planet and the challenges lying ahead for the future of nature.
From Norwegian wolves to protests against the HS2 railway, peregrine falcons nesting by the Thames to Britain's last lion tamer, Barkham paints an ever-changing portrait of contemporary wildlife. This collection also presents thought-provoking interviews with conservationists, scientists, activists and writers such as Rosamund Young, Ronald Blythe and other eco-luminaries, including Sir David Attenborough and Brian May.
'Siding with the planet is siding with the underdog, and this has motivated much of my journalism', Barkham writes. Wild Green Wonders is his chronicle.
Patrick Barkham is the natural history writer for the Guardian. He is the author of The Butterfly Isles: A Summer in Search of Our Emperors and Admirals, Badgerlands: The Twilight World of Britain's Most Enigmatic Animal, Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore and Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago. His latest work is Wild Child: Coming Home to Nature. He has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and twice for the Ondaatje Prize. He lives in Norfolk with his family.
"Wonder-filled [...] A treat. Patrick knows how to tell a good story, and that combination of kindness, wonder and good fortune that seems to be present in his own life shines through."
– Caught by the River
"[Barkham's] journalistic training, integrity, and appreciation of the natural world shine out."
– Country Life
"It informs, it reads well, it takes you to unexpected places, and leaves you thinking afterwards. This is good journalism."
– British Wildlife