A brush with nature - Richard Mabey

Described as 'Britain's greatest living nature writer', Richard Mabey has revealed his passion for the natural world in eloquent stories forBBC Wildlife Magazine. This definitive collection brings together his favourite pieces and presents a fascinating and inspiring view of the changing natural landscape in which we live.

With marvellously observed detail, Mabey recalls following a barn owl he'd encountered while walking near his home in Norfolk, and talks of studying lichens through the lens of a Victorian microscope. Alongside tales of ants and hornets, swifts and pink-footed geese, we read about the hustle and bustle of his village in the heat of the summer, and his musings on the significance of Constable'sThe Cornfield. Mabey's fascination lies in the way that we live and work within the nature that surrounds us.

Peppered throughout with references to the heritage of nature writing, and great writers from Richard Jefferies and John Clare to Roger Deakin and Robert MacFarlane,A Brush With Natureis part memoir, part nature journal, part social history, giving us a unique insight into a nature lover's reflections over a quarter of a century.