DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

West London Wildlife

Ian Alexander author Susanne Masters author James Yates illustrator Sue Lindenberg illustrator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Aurora Metro Publications

Published:24th Nov '22

Should be back in stock very soon

West London Wildlife cover

A wide-ranging collection of essays from new and established voices writing about nature, environment, conservation, biodiversity and the challenges that London faces to protect green spaces from urban development as well as the drive towards rewilding. The first of four books about London's wildlife, this edition focuses on the green spaces of Richmond Deer Park, Barnes Wetlands, Kew Gardens, Gunnersbury Triangle, Crane Park, Chiswick House, Bushy Park and many others.

"This slim volume of 136 pages with hard covers and numerous colour photos immediately exudes quality...It consists of a series of 14 essays covering different sites or areas of West London, written by ten different authors, interspersed with many colour photos (including double-page spreads). The diverse writing styles of the different authors add to the charm of the book, each seemingly representing an authentic voice of experience and expertise. In addition, between each chapter, there is a full-page image opposite a short ‘inspirational quote’, generally well-chosen and apposite; while some may see these as ’padders’, we found them useful to give the book space to breathe, the rest of the pages being either full of words and photos, or completely given over to large images. All too often such places are suffering at the hands of Man, and so need the sorts of actions, understanding and care that are amply demonstrated here. Each individual story could provide such inspiration for somebody faced with similar challenges, wherever they are."  -- Chris and Jude Gilbert; "A gorgeous photography book showcasing some gorgeous wildlife featured in London. I often feel you see so much of the historical side and building ect so this is quite nice to see as well. I think readers will really enjoy it." ***** Jill Speedman - Librarian, Netgalley reviewer; "Having lived in West London all my life I was really interested to see what areas I knew here. My local venue in here is Ruislip lido, loved reading about the history of the lido. Many places in here I have visited and a few I haven't like the Wetland but this will be on my list. Beautiful photographs my favourites ones are the red deer and Jackdaw and mandarin duck both by James Yates, both stunning I would absolutely love to frame these photographs." ***** -- Lucy Cawte - Netgalley reviewer; "Beautiful photography throughout is interspersed with inspirational quotes by such diverse characters as William Shakespeare, Andy Warhol and Sir David Attenborough. Divided into chapters about different areas of open space in West London, there are a whole host of interesting facts about the biodiversity that can be found there. It has given me a taste for what I might see when next I venture to explore some of the beautiful parks and other wild spaces near me." ***** Sue Hill - Netgalley reviewer

ISBN: 9781913641306

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown