The Dun Cow Rib
A Very Natural Childhood
John Lister-Kaye
“To a country boy this tapestry of colour, movement and mystery was an irresistible draw, a treasure trove wholly unimagined, each discovery bursting unforgettably into my consciousness: every newt a nugget of gold, every wren’s nest a gem, every slow worm a bracelet of silver”
Available as Paperback, eBook
The story of a boy’s adventures in the wonders of the natural world, from one of Britain’s best-known naturalists and conservationists
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2018
John Lister-Kaye has spent a lifetime exploring, protecting and celebrating the British landscape and its wildlife.
Lister-Kaye’s joyous childhood holidays - spent scrambling through hedges and ditches after birds and small beasts, keeping pigeons in the loft and tracking foxes around the edge of the garden - were the perfect apprenticeship for his two lifelong passions: exploring the wonders of nature, and writing about them.
Warm, wise and full of wonder, The Dun Cow Rib is a captivating coming of age tale by one of the founding fathers of nature writing.
“Utterly charming and captivating”
the Sunday Times
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“John Lister-Kaye is Scotland’s high priest of nature writing; it’s charming and moving to wander along with him … The Dun Cow Rib is a loving book”
the Times
“I should love to pay a visit to and shake this fine author by the hand”
mail On Sunday
“A wise and affectionate celebration of Britain’s natural landscape”
the Week
“Excellent”
the Scotsman
John Lister-Kaye
Sir John Lister-Kaye is one of Britain’s best-known naturalists and conservationists. He is the author of ten books on wildlife and the environment and has lectured all over the world. He has served prominently in the RSPB, the Nature Conservancy Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. In 2002 he was awarded an OBE for services to nature conservation. In 2016 he was awarded the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s Geddes Medal for services to the environment. He lives with his wife and family among the mountains of the Scottish Highlands, where he runs the world-famous Aigas Field Centre. His book Gods of the Morning won the inaugural Richard Jefferies Prize.
www.lister-kaye.co.uk
www.aigas.co.uk
“The particular span of John Lister-Kaye’s life adds both authority and poignancy to his deeply affecting recollections.”
Philip Marsden
The Spectator
