Customer Reviews:
 Anticipated disappointment March 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am an amateur gardener without the scientific knowledge of the previous reviewers with whom I agree on the failure of the writer to live up to the high standard set by all those who have written for this series. Having seen his earlier appearances on TV gardening programmes I was somewhat forewarned and, true to form, his arrogance shines through. His prediction in his introduction that the book may be perceived as judgemental, dogmatic and opinionated is fully borne out.
Let's hope the book appreciates in value as its only other purpose is to fill a gap between No 101 and No 103.
 OK, but not great February 24, 2008
I would agree in the main with the above reviews.
The book is rather too opinionated, and doesn't reach into the literature as one would expect. Despite the author's frequent claims that the garden is a neglected habitat, I am increasingly aware of fascinating garden and urban research that isn't mentioned in here. Perhaps the problem lies in its attempt to cover the entire garden biota, which leads to a lot of rather superficial chapters.
One of the most disappointing things about this book is the fact that it misses out almost all of the recent Sheffield University 'Biodiversity in Urban Gardens' Project's (BUGS and BUGs2) data. As it is, the author dismisses some of their conclusions. An ok read, but I would also buy Ken Thompson's 'The Truth About Wildlife Gardening' for a light-hearted overview of the most recent research.
 An opportunity missed October 26, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have to agree with Bristly Badger that this book is disappointing & fails to live up to what one expects of a New Naturalist. Buczacki is a highly experienced writer & journalist with a talent for making mundane details readable: for instance, the properties of common garden weeds. However, this book reads as if it was written in a hurry as just one of many projects. Research is lightweight and often dated. The book is also too short: often just as it starts to get interesting the chapter closes, or obvious subjects are neglected or omitted entirely.
Buczacki had the chance to write a classic which would be read for years to come. Instead it has too much of the potboiler about it to have any lasting value.
Disappointing September 2, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
In contrast to many magnificent New Naturalists, this is a disappointment. The problem, I think, is that it starts from the false premise that gardens are commonly viewed as artificial places which are not great for wildlife. This is nonsense. I can hardly think of a naturalist whose interest was not inspired in their garden as a child and every naturalist I know still revels in their garden's wildlife. There is some interesting stuff in here, but it is not interesting enough. Moreover, Buczacki's standard of research is now questionable, following the publication of his appalling Fauna Britannica in 2002 - it's most recent reference to badgers, for example, was from 1983. This suggested that Buczacki had cobbled it together from whatever was on his bookshelf at time, no matter how out of date it was, and had failed to do much in the way of original research.
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