The Nature of Summer
by Jim Crumley
Read an extract
SHORTLISTED: Highland Book Prize
Larks cling to their slender columns of song held aloft on warm summer winds a dozen to an acre …
In the abiding light of summer, the nature in Jim Crumley’s heartlands of Scotland is burgeoning freely. Seals sing, brown hares bound, dragonflies dance. His silent vigils reveal not only an enchanting account of summer’s exuberant profusion, but the unfolding climate chaos. From declining puffin populations to the demise of entire glaciers, this is a world in crisis … and of everyday miracles on land, mountains, lochs, coasts and skies.
Jim Crumley’s intimate portraits branch out beyond the heart of the Highlands to memories of summers past: from kittiwake cliffs in far-flung St Kilda to the pure wilderness of Arctic Norway, where sea eagles rule. The Nature of Summer explores what is at stake as our seasons are pushed beyond nature’s limits.
Prizes and awards
SHORTLISTED: Highland Book Prize
REVIEWS OF The Nature of Summer
“Scotland’s foremost living nature writer” Dundee Courier
“The very essence of nature writing in Scotland today … poetically meditative, moving … a powerful message.” Dundee Courier, Book of the Week.
“A mesmerising blend of observation and in-depth knowledge about our wild landscapes … every bit as compelling and thought-provoking as its predecessors ... no better book to lose yourself in.” Herald
"This is a work of pure escapism as the throb of spring gives way to the reflective calm of our warmest months. Crumley’s writing effortlessly captures the majesty of a golden eagle eyrie, the magic of beavers returning to their old habitats, and the joy that arrives with a flock of whooper swans overhead … The perfect finale to this evocative seasonal collection" Tiffany Francis-Baker, BBC Wildlife Magazine
“[A] beautiful book … [an] exceptional and intense quality of observation glows from every page … He finds astonishing beauty in the landscape, and sheer wonder in his encounters … Nothing can diminish the sharpness of his eye, the ardour of his writing, and the pure wonder at the natural world that shapes every paragraph … A wisdom that we need now, more than ever before.” Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman