Field Notes from the Edge

In Field Notes from the Edge, the acclaimed writer of the Guardian's Country Diary, Paul Evans, takes us on a journey through the in-between spaces of Nature—such as strandlines, mudflats, cliff tops, and caves—where one wilderness is on the verge of becoming another and all things are possible. Here, Evans searches out wildlife and plants to reveal a Nature that is inspiring yet intimidating; miraculous yet mundane; part sacred space, part wasteland. It is here that we tread the edge between a fear of Nature’s dangers and a love of Nature’s beauty. Combining a naturalist’s eye for observation with a poet&rsq

"Field Notes from the Edge's magic lies partly in the sheer quality of the prose, partly in Evans' ability to loop together disparate threads a profoundly satisfying read." -- Melissa Harrison Financial Times "A wonderfully original bookEvans has a superb eye, a fine ear for all kinds of speech, a love of droll reality and a lyrical sense of all lifea joy." -- Richard Kerridge, author of Cold Blood "The best account I know of how it goes with our wildsa deeply loveable book" -- Tim Dee, author of Four Fields "This lyrical prose makes the reader itch to get out into natureUltimately, Evans draws on the past to confront our present and ask what kind of future might be possible" Independent "Paul Evans's important new book is the first indisputable classic of twenty-first-century nature writingA masterpiece" -- Jim Perrin, author of West

"Mixed feelings about this book" according to Ann Cooper. On one hand, this book is full of poetic images and truly offers the reader a sense of place and history; on the other hand, it sometimes tumbles over the top into self-conscious preciousness. This over writing spoiled the effect for me, and I started to cringe at every instance of the word "numinous." A minor quibble-the places are probably not familiar to many readers and I resorted to Google to place myself geographically as the author darted here and there across the globe.

He has had his poetry set to music by an American folk group and even been the subject of an MA at a Belgian university.. Paul Evans is the author of the Guardian’s Country Diary as well as a naturalist, university lecturer, broadcaster of natural-history documentaries and award-winning dramas for Radio 4, and perfo