[chiffchaff123]

hello,
in a previous thread i asked for recommendations for books on several subjects.Searching, ive come across 2 books of interest:-
British waders by W G Hales.
British warblers by Eric Simms.
Both books are from the New Naturalist series and are out of print.I can get second hand copies for reasonable prices,but before i buy id like peoples opinions.
thanks,
Anthony.

[BrightonBirder]

I believe the entire New Naturalist series is available as print on demand.

[chiffchaff123]

BrightonBirder,
thanks for your reply.Yes,the series is available by print on demand,however, they cost £50 each.I can buy good second hand copies for about £20-£25 each.Not being able to look at these books before i buy them,i would like some advice first.
thanks again,
Anthony.

[BrightonBirder]

I do not have these books but I do have some others. Every NN I have seen is well done, though some info may be out of date. The series is an amazing accomplishment and is very worthwhile reading.

[chiffchaff123]

Thanks BrightonBirder for your help.
Anthony.

[Bird-Nut]

Hi Anthony,

Both titles are excellent and quite comprehensive in their content both very readable and interesting. Waders is my favourite of the two, behaviour and ecology very well put across.

Warblers is another exc. book too, tho' harder to obtain s/hand in my experience. Eric Simms was a superb ornithologist and very nice man to meet.

Eric also wrote "British Thrushes" in NN series just a good as warblers in its own way.

[chiffchaff123]

Bird-nut,
Thanks very much for your favourable comments.I shall be purchasing these books at some stage.
Thanks again,
Anthony.

[Bird-Nut]

Anthony, no problem, you're very welcome.

Bird-Nut

[chiffchaff123]

Just to update this thread,
Ive purchased a good second hand copy of Waders by W G Hales,first impression is very favourable,im looking forward to reading it.Ive also managed to secure a copy of British Warblers by Eric Simms which should be delivered this week,if its like the Wader book then i will be very pleased.Im still after a copy of Migration by Ian Newton.
thanks to those that have replied,
Anthony.

[Fozzybear]

To add to this (wet Sunday morning... not much to do!) - just started reading The House Sparrow by J.D. Summers-Smith (from my local library) and finding it fascinating to read. Anyone popping in the ruffled feathers thread 'what was the last thing you bought?' may have seen that I bought a few of the New Naturalist books the other week, a mix of the original Collins books and the bloomsbury reprints - which are not really collectable but a lot cheaper if you mainly want them for their content.

I noticed that quite a few of the NN series are available on amazon for the kindle e-book reader, including quite a few out of print titles, though I'm extremely reluctant to buy any e-book, let alone a work of this type. That said, they're not 'that' expensive at £20 each so for someone with a Kindle that really wanted the content they could be a good option. I'd much, much rather have the physical books on the shelf than a 'licence' to read an e-copy (I don't buy e-books) but it's useful that they are on kindle as it means I can download a free sample of those to look at!

Have bought a new copy of Wildfowl by David Cabot (110) and second-hand copies of British Thrushes by Eric Simms (63) and The Sea Shore by C.M. Yonge (12), plus some second-hand Bloomsbury reprints of British Plant Life by W.B. Turrill, British Mammals by L. Harrison Matthews and London's Natural History by R.S.R. Fitter. Have read a little of British Thrushes, mainly leafing through it and reading interesting bits, and found it a superb book with lots of detailed information but still really fascinating to read without needing a zoology degree. Worried though that I'm going to get hooked on these and buy loads but not get around to reading them - I've so many books waiting to be read already!

Currently resisting the urge to buy a new copy of Dragonflies and an old copy of Birds of Prey, and Woodland Birds, and... be strong.... be strong...

[Welsh Peregrine]

If you are going to go beyond birds, my three choices would be Spiders, Butterflies (the E. B. Ford first in the series) and Inheritance and Natural History. (Would have included Sea Shore, but you've got it)

[Fozzybear]

Thanks for that - yes, am not just looking at the bird books though they are the ones I'm more interested in. I have considered the Butterflies and Spiders books but hadn't thought about the Inheritance book. Will take a look at it if I see a copy some time. My brother has a copy of the book on Badgers and went wide-eyed when I mentioned there was one on Spiders as he really likes arachnids!

Looking at the sample of the Dragonflies book by Philip Corbet I'm not sure it's going to be that easy to read, partly due to the heavy usage of latin names. I like Dragonflies a lot but worry it might be a somewhat hard-going! Some of the books do seem a lot more accessible than others. I've not got very far at all into The House Sparrow (Chapter 4 - Everyday Life) but am finding that very interesting indeed!

[Welsh Peregrine]

First Dragonflies is a much easier read, but there is so much more info in the second. Two others to think about - Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos; and Pedigree - words from Natural History.

[brunop]

has anyone taken a look at the reaktion natural history series? they look interesting. . .

[Welsh Peregrine]

They are - but very much more a cultural history than a biological one - take classificatory comments with a pinch of salt.

[Fozzybear]

Originally Posted by Welsh Peregrine

First Dragonflies is a much easier read, but there is so much more info in the second. Two others to think about - Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos; and Pedigree - words from Natural History.

Thanks for that. Was hesitant to buy another book really as I've got so many to be read but really like these Collins books (am reading 'The House Sparrow' from the library at the moment) and know if it goes out of print I'll kick myself for not buying it. Have had it in my 'basket' for weeks and as I was putting in an amazon order for a camcorder I decided to order the new version Corbert and Brooks Dragonflies book - £29.25.

What with these, a load of paper novels, a pile of David Attenborough and other nature books and all the free e-books I've got on my kindle I'm not going to run out of reading material for a LONG time!

[Fozzybear]

There is no hope for me now...

picked up second-hand copies of three more New Naturalists today and a rather worn first edition copy of Haunts of British Divers by Niall Rankin.

I've replaced my Bloomsbury reprint of London's Natural History by R.S.R. Fitter with a 1945 first edition (should have bought that copy in the first place!) and also picked up a nice first edition copy of Britain's Structure and Scenery by L. Dudley Stamp and after a lot of indecision (including walking away from the shop and going to the train station to come home) I went back and bought a very good condition copy of The World of Spiders by W. S. Bristowe (1976 reprint). It was one that I'd thought I'd like and looking through it I really wanted to read it but I was very hesitant because it was quite expensive - £35! Other than having a plastic covered dust jacket and slight knocks to the spine ends it looked really good though and wasn't sure if I'd find another copy as good as that for the price so thought I'd treat myself to it.

Have overspent badly on these and bought rather a lot in a short space of time but am trying very hard not to go 'too' mad and making sure I only buy ones that I do actually want to read that have some relevance to my interests, plus I have been in need of something to cheer me up and compensate for working in a horrible job. Not as though I spend all my cash running a car or going out drinking either!

I now have:

3. London's Natural History by R. S. R. Fitter
4. Britain's Structure and Scenery by L. Dudley Stamp
12. The Sea Shore by C. M. Yonge
38. The World of Spiders by W. S. Bristowe
63. British Thrushes by Eric Simms
106. Dragonflies by Philip Corbet & Shephen Brooks
110 WildFowl by David Cabot

and Bloomsbury reprints of

British Plant Life by W. B. Turrill
British Mammals by L. Harrison Matthews

Looking in more detail at British Plant Life I'm not quite sure why I bought that one as it doesn't seem as good as the others, though it only cost me a few pounds - at least I didn't shell out a lot more for an original copy. They had a copy of the original Collins British Mammals, though it was a bit battered and I'd already spent more than I intended so was easy for me to put it back. It was really nice to see so many together in one place was great to look through the different ones they had (including some of the monotypes - Badger, Salmon and Yellow Wagtail) - they certainly looked lovely with all the dust jacket spines lined up!

Rather hoping they don't have a lot of reasonably priced ones at the secondhand book where I'm going on holiday!

[Welsh Peregrine]

Agree BPL is not as good as many others - but Plants of Chalk and Limestone is one of rthe very best!

[Robert Wallace]

I have copies of :-
Britain's Structure and Scenery by L. Dudley Stamp
Life in Lakes and Rivers by T.T .Macan and E.B.Worthington
The Sea Shore by C. M. Yonge
but mine are Collins Fontana Paperbacks and the latter two were set books for the Open University Science Foundation course in 1971 with the OU logo on the covers. Perhaps I should buy the hardback versions!

[Jane Turner]

I have a few NNs (new style) that came in a lot I bought at auction. They are below the value that I can make a profit on selling on Amazon - but happy to offer them to anyone interested for a nominal £3 + postage at cost. PM me if anyone is interested.

Mountains and Moorlands - Pearshall
British Birds of Prey - Leslie Brown
Natural History of Wales
Insect Natural History

[Welsh Peregrine]

What do you mean by "New Style" Jane? Kelvin

[Jane Turner]

the right hand three as opposed to the left hand three in the photo above and here

http://www.birdforum.net/attachment....7&d=1335685106

[Fozzybear]

Yeah, those are the Bloomsbury reprints. They seemed to go for 5-6 quid in the secondhand shop I got mine from, sometimes less on amazon marketplace (my copy of British Mammals cost me £2.80 from an amazon seller). They're not 'collectable' so are quite cheap but other than the fact that they don't look as nice on a shelf and they don't have the plates in colour (all are mono) there's no reason not to have them if you just want the information. I'm trying to get the originals though because they're lovely to have, especially the old ones - they're books that I really like to pick up and look through and I've not really felt that way about the couple of Bloomsbury reprints and unfortunately will probably will be less likely to read them

Just got back from my holiday near minsmere and the little secondhand bookshop in Westleton (Chapel Books) had quite a number of the NN originals, though not necessarily that cheap apart from a few exceptions. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a couple of copies of 'Woodland Birds' by Eric Simms and I picked up a copy without a dust jacket for £10 (the copy with a dust jacket was £35 but didn't think that worth the extra given that the copy I bought was in fair condition anyway bar a few bumps and marks - more than ok for reading). Also found a reasonable condition copy of 'The British Amphibians and Reptiles' by Malcolm Smith, which was £15. I was slightly tempted by 'British Tits', 'Climate and the British Scene', 'Finches', 'Birds and Men' and the monotypes on 'The Badger' and 'The Yellow Wagtail' but none were as cheap as I'd want to pay (although the Badger was only £12, but my brother has the new Badger book and though I'd be better off buying that, which was very true) and they weren't ones I really wanted. Plus even if I could have fitted them in my holdall I'd have struggled more than I did to lug them back on the bus and train along with all my other stuff and a backpack full of camera gear!

I think I've got pretty much all the old ones I really wanted now (British Thrushes and Woodland Birds were the two I'd really wanted a lot), the others I'd rather like would mostly be far outside my price range. There are some recent ones I'd like too but I'm not going to buy any or visit any old bookshops for quite some time - certainly not until I've made inroads into reading the ones I have!

edit: added a pic of my New Naturalist shelf - the 'thing' sticking up from Woodland Birds is just the piece of note paper I used as a bookmark when reading it during the holiday.

[Fozzybear]

Just remembered: my brother was looking at the Print on demand books but was unsure of quality/longevity compared to the originals - does anyone have any first hand experience of them?