Scan barcode
calfon's review against another edition
5.0
Lyrical, and evocative - one for reading again and again.
bookherd's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
The author sets out to find "the wild places" in England, Ireland, and Scotland, thinking that they are isolated places that have been left alone, but comes to believe that wildness is bursting out everywhere. In the process, you visit some astonishingly beautiful places with him (and various friends of his, especially a character called Roger) and learn about their geologic and social history. This is a wonderful book.
suebrownreads's review
5.0
This book is so good! Beautiful writing! If you love nature and exploring it, you will love this book! It is a fascinating journey through the wild places of Wales, Ireland and England.
grahammcgrew's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of a poor man's British Craig Childs? I enjoyed vicariously visiting the moors, holloways and woods he describes. And he quotes some hot passages from other sources, like the monks of remote isles. But he seems a bit precious, a bit 'Look at me, I can climb a peak, sleep on an ice floe, go to the library, AND write about it!' In short, a pale shadow of Childs' effortless blend of knowledge, lyrical yet accurate evocation of landscape and peoples, and the occasional compelling personal reflection -- but, a not bad travelogue of some wildernesses of the UK.
amandatamsin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
rogue_runner's review against another edition
5.0
I adore this book with a passion, and TBH I am going to lend it to a friend, but actually this will be one that I ask for back afterwards, because I loved it so much.
The prose is beautiful. The ideas are delicious. The countryside is wild.
The prose is beautiful. The ideas are delicious. The countryside is wild.
miss_blackbird's review
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
To see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in the wild.
yoshi5's review against another edition
4.0
Had very high expectations for this book. It met them in the poetic and romantic descriptions. For an international reader with no ties to the UK I struggled at time with feeling connected to the material, my attention waning, getting a little lost in the geography. MacFarlane is very well read and introduced me to a lot of local writers I want to read in this book though, as well.