Product Description

Most people share an enthusiasm for beautiful and breathtaking scenery, explored variously through the physical challenge of climbing to the top of the tallest mountains or the joy of viewing the work of a painter; but while easy to admire from a distance, such landscapes are usually difficult to explain in words. Harnessing recent developments in computer technology, the latest New Naturalist volume uses the most up-to-date and accurate maps, diagrams and photographs to analyse the diverse landscapes of Southern England. Peter Friend highlights the many famous and much loved natural landscapes of the southern half of England, ranging from the Chalk Downs to the bays of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, and provides detailed explanations for the wide variety of natural events and processes that have caused such an exciting range of surroundings. Setting apart the topography that has resulted from natural rather than man-made occurrences, Friend focuses on each region individually, from East Anglia to London and the Thames Valley, and explains the history and development of their land structures through detailed descriptions and colourful diagrams.Illustrated with beautifully detailed photographs throughout, Southern England comprehensively explores the formation of these wonderful landscapes that are so universally admired.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67353 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Praise for the New Naturalist series: A History of Ornithology by Peter Bircham: 'Bircham has found for himself a distinctive ecological niche by dwelling on the evolving science, rather than ornithology as social process or field activity ! he has produced a thorough and valuable contribution to the field' Mark Cocker, The Guardian 'This book has set a benchmark for future histories on this subject, though I'm guessing that there won't be many books that come along in the near future that offer a serious alternative to this extremely well-balanced and studious work.' Birdwatch The Isles of Scilly by Rosemary Parslow: 'This is a fully rounded and wonderfully detailed natural history of England's only ocean archipelago. It works on several levels, as a guide, as a wildlife encyclopaedia and as a lyrical celebration of a special place. Rosemary Parslow has written a classic book to add to the remarkable swell of New Naturalist masterpieces in recent years.' British Wildlife

About the Author
Peter Friend walked into the Department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge University as a first-year undergraduate more than fifty years ago and, apart from a period in the Scott Polar Research Institute, has been based there ever since. He teaches and explores the scenery and geology of many parts of the world, which has led to multiple visits to Spitsbergen, Greenland, Spain, India and Pakistan.

Customer Reviews

Southern England
The landscapes of the various Regions of Southern England are described in a "geologically-lite" way, but this is where the emphasis is, as opposed to say the Hoskins landscape books where the human dimension is more to the fore. A geologist would not find it particularly useful, but it would be very interesting for the natural historian/interested layman who wants to understand more about why the lie of the land is as it is. My main "complaint" is that it takes a huge and very diverse (geologically) swath of the country and so each landscape Region is dealt with in not as much detail as one might like, although there are locally focused books for this - e.g. Dreghorn's "Geology explained in the Severn Vale and Cotswolds". The book is sumptuously produced with superb colour aerial photographs and is a worthy addition to the New Naturalist library.

good photos
In this book the scenery comes alive partly because of the excellent photos illustrating the text. The millions of years in geology puts our life scale in context, and here the graphs of past periodic ice ages with their peaks and troughs seem to put our present hysteria over climate change in context too. The maps are not always that helpful (and in one case just plain wrong, where what must be Salisbury is tagged Winchester.)

It's well written, explaining the dates and various layers of bedrock beneath the surface, and the earth's heaving hot central cauldron. Never dumbed down, it is accessible to the amateur. However what I would have liked is a glossary, so various terms like Flandrian sea rise and Variscan mountain ranges, and syncline and anticline, which occur - and are explained at their initial mention - could be quickly looked up and the reader's (= my!) memory refreshed.