BOOK REVIEW: ‘Indoor Wildlife: Revealing the Creatures Inside Your Home’

Reviewer:  Michael Keith

Title: Indoor Wildlife: Revealing the Creatures Inside Your Home

Author: Gerald E. Cheshire

No. of Pages: 85

Rating Scale (1: very poor, 10: excellent): 6

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In his Introduction to this volume, the author states that it ‘…Examines the environments inside our homes that offer sanctuary and somewhere to live for many animals and a few plants [that] find our homes suitable of habitation …’ It is an excellent precis of what is to follow, but as will be seen (for this reviewer at least), draws a very long bow.

The book opens with the aforementioned Introduction. Within this, the author details the many creature-desirable environments that the average domestic dwelling has to offer. He also notes that industrial and rural locations can, in many instances, offer similar possibilities to whichever organism cares to take advantage (‘exploit’) what is on offer.  The five unnumbered Sections (analogous to Chapters) that comprise the main part of the volume then follow, with each Section being devoted to s particular type of organism. Surprisingly, given the book’s title, these range from mammals to moulds, bacteria and even viruses (the ‘Very long bow’, previously alluded-to), these latter appearing under the broad classification of Flora. Regrettably, within each Section, the format and information provided follows no uniform pattern, and could at best be described as being ‘muddled’. The Section on Mammals (for example) carries no introductory subsection relating to its subject, while that of the Section titled Birds does-so, as do those on Invertebrates and Flora. This lack of uniformity is, at minimum, disconcerting. Subsections within each Section are used to describe a specific organism, but yet again, this practice is haphazard and seemingly random, the section Birds containing little more than single-sentence captioned photographs, while that of Flies (a subsection within the Invertebrates section) receives wide and detailed coverage. There are numerous, similar, examples. Regrettably, this ‘bias’, leaves the very distinct impression that the author’s primary interest (and this volume’s focus) concerns very small lifeforms of all varieties to the exclusion of almost everything else. Such text as is provided is supported in many instances by high quality colour photographs some sourced, some not, but again, this support does not extend to every section, with Simple Plants (a subsection of Flora) receiving no image, while Wood Rots (within the same section) has been the recipient of two. The existence of such images is not mentioned on the Contents page. No Index is provided, and the existence of the subsections within each larger Section is also not alluded to on the Contents page, a situation which this reviewer believes promotes unnecessary searching.

This reviewer found this volume frustrating. He expected to find a book containing detailed, image-supported descriptions of the creatures which inhabit the average domestic dwelling, and to a certain extent these criteria were met. He did not however expect to find descriptions of Environmental Viruses and Moulds , Pathogenic Moulds or Timber Rots as part of the narrative, nor a very evident bias towards ‘creepy-crawlies’, this latter to the exclusion of larger life-forms.  For him, the difference in coverage between Birds and Insects was very evident, emphasised by the volume’s previously-mentioned ‘Muddled’ format. The absence of an Index and the consequent need to make numerous (and at times fruitless) searches for a specific organism did not help.

So what to make of the result?

The previous comments notwithstanding, this volume is informative and well-illustrated, with the qualification that it leans heavily towards insects and their ilk. Readers seeking information about the very small creatures, moulds and viruses that co-exist with them within in their domestic environments are likely to find this book of considerable interest and very informative. However, readers seeking similar information about the avian lifeforms they encounter around their dwellings may be disappointed; the coverage of the latter being minimal.

On a Rating Scale where 1: very poor, 10: excellent: I have given this volume a 6.

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘ Hidden Nature: Uncovering the UK’s Wildlife’

Reviewer: Michael Keith  Rimmer

Title: Hidden Nature: Uncovering the UK’s Wildlife

Author: Isla Hodgson

Total Number of Printed Pages: 192

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 7 ½

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In the Forward to this volume, the author notes that ‘…Wildlife is everywhere in Britain, if you just know where to look’, and that she ‘…Decided to embark on a little mission; to write about our under-appreciated wildlife, in the hope that [she] could enthuse others to get passionate about it too’. The result? A ‘…Guide to re-discovering Britain’s hidden wild life’, written in the hope that ‘It inspires you [the reader] to step outside the door and seek out just what the natural world has to offer’. Admirable sentiments indeed.

The volume is arranged in four sections, preceded by a Foreword in which the author relates the circumstances which led to the book being written and why the format used was chosen and a precis of what is to follow. The main part of the volume comprises four sections (analogous to Chapters, but not notated as such). In the author’s opinion these constitute the main habitat types found in the United Kingdom, and comprise coasts, freshwater, inland areas (forests, grasslands, mountains) and urban spaces respectively. Sub-chapters appear within each larger Chapter. These concern specific geographical areas and the creatures found within them while also recording the author’s personal experiences when observing the creatures under discussion.. As a result, the reader is introduced to a variety of wildlife that includes seals, red deer, various types of birds, foxes and garden insects. As noted, the experiences are all personal, and while certainly introducing the reader to the subject, owe more to the ‘What I did on my holidays’ style of writing  rather than serious scientific study.  That detail notwithstanding, the author has included what she describes as ‘…A wee section that details how you [the reader] might find those species or habitats…the best places across the country to catch a sighting [of the creature being described] [and] where applicable how to encourage these animals to your local patch and …how we can help them’. While admirable in sentiment, these ‘Wee sections’ are arranged in a variety of formats with little consistency being evident. A section titled A Final Word  presents and elaborates-on the author’s view that ‘’…The human race are responsible for the rapid increase in [species] extinction rates’ and provides ideas as to how this may be prevented and reversed. It is followed by the volume’s final section; a three-paragraph section titled Thank you, within which all who contributed to it (creatures included) are acknowledged. The volume contains Colour Photographs, Line Drawings and Half-tone Illustrations by the author. Their existence is not mentioned on the Contents page. .Despite discussing various locations around the British Isles, the volume contains no Maps. No Index is provided.

As already noted, this volume contains neither Maps nor Index, details which could be problematic for those readers living outside the United Kingdom seeking information concerning both the wildlife described and their locations within the British Isles. For this reviewer, a General Ordnance Survey Map showing (at minimum) such locations as the Ythan Estuary and the Isle of Canna would have been helpful. The absence of an Index also creates unnecessary problems for those who may not know where the creature they are seeking may be found within the volume. The title (for example|) Garden Birds (a subsection of Section 4), is meaningless if you don’t know if the bird you are observing fits that category, and where, within the volume, is a ‘Common Pipistrelle’ to be found? Without an Index, one cannot know. Whether or not such an omission is important will depend-upon the individual reader. A separate ‘Identification / Recognition’ section containing a brief description and silhouette of the creatures mentioned within the volume, would also have been helpful.

This is an idiosyncratic volume, written by someone who is clearly passionate about her subject. It is likely to appeal to those interested in ‘Conservation’ as a concept, those seeking advice as to what can be done to assist survival of endangered species, and to readers simply interested in learning more about the creatures which may be lurking in their own immediate area – ‘The ‘critters’ in the back yard’, if you will. Readers seeking beautiful photographs of British wildlife may also find it of interest.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this volume a 7 ½.

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘Villager Jim’s Garden Wildlife’

Reviewer: Michael  Keith

Title: Villager Jim’s Garden Wildlife

Author: ‘Villager Jim’

Total Number of Printed Pages: Unknown; Pages are not numbered.

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): Photographs: 8, Text: 3_

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Rudyard Kipling once observed that ‘… A man cannot a day sit still before the wild things run over him as though he were a rock…’ Kipling was referring to the wildlife of India, yet the statement could equally apply to the author of this volume: he sat, he waited, and ‘wild things’ did indeed ‘Run over him as though he were a rock’.  In payment, he took their photographs. Villager Jim’s Garden Wildlife is the result.

This is a volume of photographs; and while some will inevitably appeal more than others (with that assessment being totally subjective), they are all a delight to view. The images are of the ‘wild things’ that inhabit one man’s garden and which, when he ‘Sat like a rock’, came to visit , kept him company, and in many cases, interacted with him as if he was one of their own.  As a result, the reader is introduced to the insects, birds and animals which form part of the author’s extended family. He has named many of them, and while perusing  the volume’s pages,  the reader becomes acquainted with such interesting and endearing individuals as Bobbin, Deidre, Georgie, Wellington and Barnaby (although who these creatures are must remain a mystery; revealing them would spoil the story).

The photographs are, of course, the focus of this work and comprise the majority of its contents. They are preceded by an Introduction. This comprises two pages and within it the author presents background to what follows. Helpfully, he also provides useful information as to how wildlife photographs may be taken.. The photographs themselves are both numerous and, in their subjects, very varied. Most pages comprise a single image, although multiple images also appear. Single ‘thumbnail’ images are also superimposed on larger photographs. A caption accompanies each image. These vary in length, are frequently humorous, and often provide additional information concerning the photograph’s subject. Although the volume contains neither Chapters, Maps, Index, or page numbers, its last page does carry an advertisement for the author’s website shop and the products which may be purchased from it.

Put simply, this volume is a collection of pretty animal, insect and bird photographs. It is likely to appeal to readers who like such pictures (especially as they are of ‘British’ creatures), and who aren’t interested in the ‘technical’ details concerning them. Fans of specific bird and animal species may also find the photographs worthy of perusal. Expatriates wishing to recall the ‘creatures’ of their childhoods (or to show their children or grandchildren) may also find it of interest.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent: I have given the Photographs an 8, the Text: 3.

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