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From Jim Crumley, the “pre-eminent Scottish nature-writer” (Guardian), this landmark volume documents the extraordinary natural life of the Scottish Highlands and bears witness to the toll climate chaos is taking on its wildlife, habitats, and biodiversity—laying bare what is at stake for future generations.
In this landmark volume, Jim Crumley brings together a sweeping five-year quest to document the seasons and how he has seen them change. It explores the damage to the Earth’s natural rhythms, but also relishes the enduring beauty and wonder of nature itself.
Drawing on his studies of each season over more than thirty years and reworking the volumes in his best-selling Seasons quartet, Crumley has created this unique account of our natural world today.
After a lifetime of immersing himself in the landscapes of Scotland and a handful of other northern countries, Crumley has amassed a body of knowledge and insight and a bank of memorable imagery.
Combining lyrical prose and passionate eloquence, he lays bare the impact of an increasingly chaotic climate and urges us all towards a more daring conservation vision that embraces everything from the mountain treeline to a second spring for the wolf.
Praise for Jim Crumley
“Delightful … The lyrical prose elevates Crumley’s detailed descriptions of the natural world he encounters … Readers will be transported by this immersive outing.” Publishers Weekly
“Scotland’s foremost living nature writer.” The Courier, Scotland
“The pre-eminent Scottish nature writer.” Guardian
“Jim Crumley … has been our predominant writer on the natural world … [He] is a naturalist with a great gift for observation … His work engages us in the best ways … We are drawn alongside him, to appreciate what he appreciates.” Kathleen Jamie, Scotland’s national poet
“In what may come to be judged as his masterwork, veteran nature writer Jim Crumley opens our eyes to unknown beauties and to mysteries we may not even have considered.” Allan Massie, The Scotsman
"This is a book from an author that can inspire those with a good knowledge of wildlife but also, I feel, draw in others to that subject through the beauty of the writing and the incisiveness of the observation. A great book, and obviously a book for all seasons." Mark Avery
Jim Crumley has written more than forty books, mostly on the wildlife and wild landscape of his native Scotland, the impact of human activity on the natural world, species reintroduction, and climate change. His work has been recognised in nominations for prestigious awards including the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing and Scotland’s National Book Awards. Jim is also a poet and a widely published journalist.
Foreword by Kathleen Jamie
Introduction: A Moment of Beauty
Part One: AUTUMN
A Child of Autumn
Autumn Leaves
The Far East
The Unexpected Eagle
Twenty-four Hours on Harris
Daylight on the Dream
An Audience with the Great Shepherd
A Storm Called Abigail
The Carse
Autumn into Winter
Edinburgh: Summertime in November
Part Two: WINTER
The White Bird Passes Through
White Walls Weeping
Sweet Medwin Water
The Narwhal in the Sky
Solstice
Wolf Moon
Hark the Herald Eagle
A Winter Diary
Insh Marshes: A Waterworld with No Half Measures
I Went Out to the Hazel Wood
Part Three: SPRING
First Syllables
Falcons of the Yellow Hill
The Backward Spring
The Mountaineering Badger
An Island Pilgrimage (1) – Mull and Iona
An Island Pilgrimage (2) – Lismore, the Great Garden
An Island Pilgrimage (3) - Lindisfarne, Islandshire
May in June
The Poetry of Mountain Flowers
The Sanctuary
Renaissance
Swan Song for a Backward Spring
Part Four: SUMMER
The Goddess of Small Things
St Kilda Summer, 1988
You Have Not Seen Her With My Eyes
She Is of the Woods and I Am Not
Solstice
Bass Notes
The Land of Havørn (1) – Under the Blue Mountain
The Land of Havørn (2) – Islands of Dreams
The Climate Imperative
The Accidental Kingfisher and Other Stories
Afterword Never Forget
Acknowledgements