Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Buy it, treasure it, go back to it over and over again. September 13, 2008
I read nature books all the time. This one is exceptional. It is part autobiography and part a natural history of a place called Aigas in the Scottish Highlands. The author writes like a poet; there is no doubt at all that you are in the hands of a real naturalist and a master of words. The chapter on his crofting neighbour Bella Macrae had me in tears. In this book you learn that John Lister-Kaye has created a world famous field studies centre around his home. He leads you there by the hand and you emerge richer, wiser, fully and inspiringly engaged in the wild nature we so often take for granted.
The Amazing Story of the Highlands of Scotland May 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a hidden gem. Before reading it I noticed that on the back of the paperback that it's categorized as a "memoir". Thank goodness I didn't let that put me off - in my experience memoirs all too easily drift into dull and pompous self-aggrandizement. The genius of this book is that John Lister-Kaye uses his own personal experiences, his breadth and depth of knowledge and his lovely writing style to bring the extraordinary story of the Highlands of Scotland to life. It's a massive and often sad story, but the minutest details of the personalities, the wildlife and even the geology of the Highlands just jump off the page. Big insights are tucked away, for example the massive influence of the Victorian landowning classes "world view" on what we now believe to be classic Highland scenery. Thanks to the certainty with which they classed all creatures either as "game" to be treasured and preserved at all costs, or "vermin" to be reviled and obliterated, they produced "deserts" of heather-clad moorland, devoid of natural diversity. The history of human endeavour in this unforgiving landscape, the massive and turbulent geological story and the fascinating creatures who've adapted themselves to live here are all explored with knowledge and panache. This is so much more than a memoir, it should be required reading for all who care about the Highlands of Scotland, its people and its wildlife.
If you live on this planet, you will enjoy this book! July 17, 2004
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
It is one thing to have knowledge and it is another to be able to communicate it. Lister-Kaye wins top marks for both - a profound and unusual insight matched with the skills of a true wordsmith. His description of a fish is just astoundingly graceful and I'll never look at a tree again without recalling the ash tree at Aigas. Mesmerising and imaginative writing without a cliche in sight. Strangely, for a book about nature, history and the future, it seems to be especially relevant to those living in urban environments. Reading this is like permission to enter a magic kingdom. So switch off your computers and T.V.'s, leave the shopping malls, even if it's just for a moment to look up at the sky.
Prepare for uplift October 30, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
“The Bone People” has for a long time been my all time favourite book. It must now move into second place- Song of the Rolling Earth is now No 1. “Charlottes Web” moves to No 3.This book will connect you with the nature on your doorstep in a way which is life changing. It is a read but it is also an experience, a journey and a revelation. You will start to see and feel the nature all around you, and of which you are part, in new ways. It will, quite plain and simply, do you so much good as it is so full of hope. As a read it will have the same, exciting impact as any documentary which David Attenborough brings you from the across the globe AND, on this occasion the subjects are down your way. You just have to step outside your door or look out your window. I think that the unique gift which Sir John Lister- Kaye has is that he is deeply rooted in nature and also deeply rooted in being a human being. That, I feel is why he can communicate so well with you and me. He is a story teller and he reveals his, your world and my world, through these stories. I have struggled to put this book down, yet not wanted to read on and on unless I was wholly attentive to what might be around the next page, ever frightened of missing something. It is also the first time that I did not want a book to come to an end and I delayed reading the final pages, as someone holding on to the last 24 hours of their holiday! Prepare also, to need space before taking up another book, once you have finished this read. It is an impossible act to follow and you need time to cherish its riches . Everyone I know who connects and seeks a deeper connection, with nature, like my mum, our daughters' godfather,etc will receive Song of the rolling earth for Christmas and I just cannot wait to share it with them.
Unputdownable. September 18, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this while on a day trip from Fort William to Inverness whilst on my holiday. I loved it and could not put it down, I had heard about John Lister Kaye before being a devotee of Gavin Maxwell and his books. As soon as I came home I bought from Amazon his much acclaimed The White Island (how did I miss this?).I am adding this to my list of books that I would take with me on a desert island (or preferably Fort William!). Well done Sir John, can't wait for the next one!
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