Reviews

• Hudson is vividly present. It’s constantly surprising and poignant. Reading it has felt like living a life. It’s a bit like going to the funeral of a friend and discovering their life and friendships beyond your shared experience. It's wonderful!
  —Angela McAllister, author
• If you read one new nature book this year make sure it's this one. Remarkably well-researched and well-written. Anyone with a keen interest in British birds needs to read this book, it tells an amazing, must-know story.
  —Matthew Oates, naturalist and author of In Pursuit of Butterflies
• I'm blown away! This guy was way ahead of his time and totally amazing; the original urban birder.
  —David Lindo, The Urban Birder
• This is an impressive, beautifully written and really enjoyable book - the perfect book if you love nature, literature and writers, and the fight for animal rights, with the brilliant writer Hudson at the centre of it. It's been a pleasure to read.
  —Richard Hines, author of No Way but Gentlenesse
• Based on extensive research and wider reading into the lives of Hudson's in many cases illustrious acquaintances, the style remains conversational and to some extent conjectural, the narrative compelling and insightful, which gives the reader a greater understanding of, and deeper feeling for, this intriguingly enigmatic, hugely popular and yet publicity-shunning figure and the cause for which he lived.
  —Dr Lachlan Munro, Biographer of Robert Louis Stevenson and R B Cunninghame Graham
• W.H. Hudson, whose writings combined extensive knowledge of the natural world with acute powers of observation, a lyrical response to the beauties of birds, and tireless campaigning to save them from extinction, is certainly a man for our time. We are fortunate that Conor Mark Jameson proves to be the perfect biographer: expert both in ornithology and Hudson’s life story, but, even more important, possessing a passion for conservation which equals Hudson’s own, and shines through on every page.
  —Professor Diana Donald, author of Women Against Cruelty
• Even long-term conservationists have only a vague reverence for Hudson. Conor does this neglected campaigner a great service by bringing his struggles and achievements to our attention through assiduous and illuminating detective work.
  —Derek Niemann, Guardian Country Diarist
• Conor has done a wonderful job in bringing to life the man whose picture has for so long hung above the fireplace in RSPB Headquarters but whose backstory is not well known. By revealing the campaigning techniques that Hudson and others successfully used to secure greater protection for birds, Conor reminds contemporary campaigners of what it takes to tackle the existential threats facing our environment today. It’s a great read for all those that care about nature and what it takes to save it.
  —Martin Harper, Interim CEO, Birdlife International
• As one who has long admired both the man and his writing, I am delighted that W. H. Hudson has found in Conor Mark Jameson an author fully able to do him justice in this comprehensive and beautifully written biography.
  —Jonathan Elphick, natural history writer
• A charming and empathetic portrait of the man that for many epitomised empathy for birds.
  —Tim Birkhead, author of Birds and Us
• Very well written and entertaining.
  —Professor Jason E. Wilson, author of Living in the Sound of the Wind
• A fascinating exploration of the life one of the great forgotten Victorians. Jameson more than does justice to a complex and gifted man and his iconoclastic work in the early days of wildlife conservation. An impressive, important and long overdue biography.
  —Richard Smyth, author of The Jay, The Beech and the Limpetshell
• A fascinating insight into Hudson the man and his fundamental role in the early years of the RSPB - his vision, gift for strategy and campaigning passion shine through in this most enjoyable book. I always enjoy Conor Mark Jameson's writing.
  —Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB
• I'm 100 pages in already, and it's superb. I'm hooked.
  —Julian Hughes, Welsh Ornithological Society
• As one campaigner discovering another, I found myself drawn in by the charm and deep curiosity that frames Jameson’s exploration of Hudson’s life. A life well-lived, pieced together with outstanding detail and vivid commentary. Without doubt, Jameson achieves what he sets out to do: to give us a fascinating opportunity to get to know Hudson; and to give voice to ‘the man above the fireplace’.
  —Philip Lymbery, CEO, Compassion in World Farming, and author of Farmageddon
• This is a warm and welcome representation of an exceptional man.
  —Jack Watkins, Country Life
• Jameson has done a wonderful job in researching Hudson’s life... It is fascinating.
  —Mark Avery, author and environmental campaigner
• ...an intimate and engrossing account. Conor is a consummate story teller. His enthusiasm is infectious and he has done the hard yards of research... I enjoyed this book immensely.'
  —Ian Carter, British Birds
• Impeccably researched... sparkles with skilfully drawn portraits of Hudson's female collaborators [and] such friends as "Don Roberto". A creative blend of detective work and narrative intuition.
  —Christoph Irmscher, Wall Street Journal
• Plaudits to Conor Mark Jameson for his timely biography of a fascinating naturalist.
  —James Wright, The Wryneck
• ...through his tireless and often inventive research (which must have taken many hours), Jameson has provided as fully-rounded a portrait as conceivable, with plentiful insights and anecdotes.
  —RSPB Book Club
• Such a comprehensive and valuable piece of work. Greatly impressed and totally in awe. It really is a wonderful tribute to Hudson.
  —Pat Brockway, biographer of Sir Edward Grey
• It is evident that the book is well researched, with Jameson drawing on a broad range of sources, and it is well written. It is refreshing to see a biographer’s obvious interest in his or her subject come through so clearly, in a genre where the scholarly approach usually restricts such personal reflection.
  —Mike Toms, British Trust for Ornithology
• Finally, a book that shows the strength of the real Hudson in the UK and its projection in terms of conservation.
  —Bernabé López-Lanús, author of the Audiornis Guide to the Birds of Argentina
• A must read for anyone with an interest in British ornithological history.
  —Ian Paulsen, The Birdbooker Report
• I for one am grateful to the author for reacquainting me with [Hudson] and vastly expanding my knowledge of him.
  —Bo Beolens, Fatbirder
• This excellent book justifiably puts Mr Hudson right up there with the finest.
  —John Miles, Birdwatching Magazine
• The book is a delight, extremely detailed research has brought a new dimension to Hudson... I have enjoyed the writing style and the humour. Congratulations to Conor Mark Jameson and Pelagic Publishing.
  —Neal Moss, Goodreads
• Jameson does a masterly job in bringing together the threads..... an excellent and entertaining tour of a fascinating life - this book should be in the collection of everyone who has an interest in nature writers, birds or environmental campaigning as well as anyone who fancies a rattling good story with a colourful cast of English eccentrics and Edwardian radicals.
  —Richard Jefferies Society Journal
• I've got Hudson at last and it really is a fascinating story - I remember him looking down on Council meetings at Sandy and now its great to know why he's there.
  —Rod Leslie, former RSPB trustee
• This is a compelling tribute to Hudson who would be delighted to know that many of the bird species lost in the Victorian era are now returning.
  —Angela Wintle, Sussex Life
• I found this book to be beautifully written, with stories from places visited by Hudson and consider it to be a great read for anyone interested in birds and conservation.
  —Dianne Farrar, BNA News Bulletin
• ...rich in biographical details ... lovingly and comprehensively researched ... The narrative flows smoothly, is eminently readable and provides great insight.
  —S. James Reynolds, The Conversation
• Jameson has uncovered new material and made this account of Hudson’s time in England fresh and intriguing, through a combination of painstaking research and lucid writing... this exemplary tribute deserves to be widely read.
  —Richard Mearns, Scottish Birds
• Very moving and absorbing... I really hope this book fires new interest in and regard for Hudson and his writings, as he is a remarkable figure. Such a good read.
  —Ruth Chambers, environmentalist
• Jameson's book does a fantastic job... I’d urge anyone with an interest in ornithology, or conservation in general, to read this book immediately.
  —Emilie Pearson, Evolve
• Jameson has produced a fascinating portrait of an inspirational figure: a great campaigner and influencer, and an accomplished naturalist. It is a great read.
  —James Lowen, Neotropical Birding
• An engrossing read. The book not only provides an illuminating account of Hudson’s life but establishes the importance of key friendships to his thinking and activism.
  —Professor Lesley L. Wylie, Department of Latin American Studies, University of Leicester
• ...a book, both original and authentic in tone, that is at once informative, provocative, and instructive. Foremost, however, it is an indispensable contribution to our understanding one of Britain’s earliest and most significant environmental writers.
  —Alan Rauch, The British Society for Literature and Science
• ...a rich mine of information enlivened by some excellent photographs.
  —Tim Birkhead, Archives of Natural History