Status
Missing
Call number
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books (2016), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
"Explores the landscape of the British Isles through its ancient place names, interspersed with biographical essays on some of the author's favorite writers who have paid close attention to the natural world."--Provided by publisher.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
In his previous books Robert Macfarlane has declared his love of walking, swimming, sailing and climbing on remote areas, and the sense of belonging that such areas evoke. In this book he turns more to the lexicon of landscape, and the multiplicity of dialect terms for different aspects of the
He writes with an enthusiasm that occasionally supersedes syntax and clearly feels to sense that prepositions are the wrong words to end sentences with [ha!]. He does, however, achieve great clarity with his central message. The natural world, and the physical landmarks that identify our respective localities are part of our common inheritance, but so too are the dialect terms that describe them. Each chapter is followed by a glossary of terms from different regions, reaching across several centuries.
He also writes at length and with deep sadness about the rapid diminution of children's access to the landscape. When he was a child, one in two children reported playing in the countryside, though that figure is now just one in ten. Most children now only play in their house, their garden and, possibly, their street. That certainly resonated with me. Growing up in North Leicestershire, in the summer holidays my friends and I would wander or cycle miles from home, spending out time playing in the woods, clambering over farm machinery or pushing each other into streams or beds of nettles (well, we were simple folk and very easily amused). I couldn't say with any honesty that we went out specifically to look for rare birds or that we yearned to tick off different species of tree, but we knew that they were there, and derived great enjoyment from what the landscape had to offer. It is a sad loss for today's children that that avenue of fun is no longer available, or at least no longer generally pursued. (Well, perhaps they might get by without being pushed into a bed of nettles …)
Generally well written, Macfarlane's zest shows through, and it is difficult not to share his passion. The book is beautifully produced, too.
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natural world, and bemoans erosion of these terms from the common consciousness.He writes with an enthusiasm that occasionally supersedes syntax and clearly feels to sense that prepositions are the wrong words to end sentences with [ha!]. He does, however, achieve great clarity with his central message. The natural world, and the physical landmarks that identify our respective localities are part of our common inheritance, but so too are the dialect terms that describe them. Each chapter is followed by a glossary of terms from different regions, reaching across several centuries.
He also writes at length and with deep sadness about the rapid diminution of children's access to the landscape. When he was a child, one in two children reported playing in the countryside, though that figure is now just one in ten. Most children now only play in their house, their garden and, possibly, their street. That certainly resonated with me. Growing up in North Leicestershire, in the summer holidays my friends and I would wander or cycle miles from home, spending out time playing in the woods, clambering over farm machinery or pushing each other into streams or beds of nettles (well, we were simple folk and very easily amused). I couldn't say with any honesty that we went out specifically to look for rare birds or that we yearned to tick off different species of tree, but we knew that they were there, and derived great enjoyment from what the landscape had to offer. It is a sad loss for today's children that that avenue of fun is no longer available, or at least no longer generally pursued. (Well, perhaps they might get by without being pushed into a bed of nettles …)
Generally well written, Macfarlane's zest shows through, and it is difficult not to share his passion. The book is beautifully produced, too.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ghr4
For those who love language and landscape (particularly the British landscape), Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks is essential reading.
The book opens as follows:
"This is a book about the power of language - strong style, single words - to shape our sense of place. It is a field guide to literature I
That is certainly a rich and intriguing premise, made even more powerful by a disturbing shift in language that is underway. Macfarlane explains how words concerning nature have been culled from the Oxford Junior Dictionary as no longer relevant to modern-day childhood, and replaced by words of technology and the virtual world. The deletions include acorn, buttercup, dandelion, heather, lark, nectar, newt, willow; some of the new words introduced are blog, broadband, bullet-point, chatroom. Macfarlane sees where this trend could lead, as younger generations drift towards an ensconced indoors from the vast and varied outdoors; and he is sounding the alarm so that we do not lose the wonder and magic of our nuanced language of the natural world.
This book works so well on so many levels as to be dizzying in its scope, execution, and scholarship; a single reading is not nearly sufficient to grasp all within. At one level, it is an ode to the majesty and precision of our language, with words passed down through generations and gathered from disparate towns and regions to describe remarkably specific land features. Landmarks also functions as a wonderful sampler of great and truly evocative nature writing, and will inevitably spark the reader to seek out many of the writers referenced, such as Nan Shepherd, Roger Deakin, J.A. Baker, Barry Lopez, and John Muir. And it should also be noted that Macfarlane too, another master nature writer, writes with great verve throughout.
Interspersed between chapters are selected glossaries, chosen from the multitude of words Macfarlane has collected, each devoted to a particular facet of the landscape, such as flatlands, uplands, coastlands, and northlands.
And there a sublime bonus in the 2016 paperback edition: an added section entitled "Gifts". In response to the original 2015 publication, thousands of readers from around the world, clearly touched and moved by Landmarks, sent Macfarlane additional words and place-terms either remembered or still in use in their little corner of the British Isles or the world at large.
Landmarks is a singular masterpiece: enchanting and inspiring.
The book opens as follows:
"This is a book about the power of language - strong style, single words - to shape our sense of place. It is a field guide to literature I
Show More
love, and it is a word-hoard of the astonishing lexis for landscape that exists in the comprision of islands, strands, fells, lochs, cities, towns, corries, hedgerows, fields and edgelands uneasily known as Britain and Ireland."That is certainly a rich and intriguing premise, made even more powerful by a disturbing shift in language that is underway. Macfarlane explains how words concerning nature have been culled from the Oxford Junior Dictionary as no longer relevant to modern-day childhood, and replaced by words of technology and the virtual world. The deletions include acorn, buttercup, dandelion, heather, lark, nectar, newt, willow; some of the new words introduced are blog, broadband, bullet-point, chatroom. Macfarlane sees where this trend could lead, as younger generations drift towards an ensconced indoors from the vast and varied outdoors; and he is sounding the alarm so that we do not lose the wonder and magic of our nuanced language of the natural world.
This book works so well on so many levels as to be dizzying in its scope, execution, and scholarship; a single reading is not nearly sufficient to grasp all within. At one level, it is an ode to the majesty and precision of our language, with words passed down through generations and gathered from disparate towns and regions to describe remarkably specific land features. Landmarks also functions as a wonderful sampler of great and truly evocative nature writing, and will inevitably spark the reader to seek out many of the writers referenced, such as Nan Shepherd, Roger Deakin, J.A. Baker, Barry Lopez, and John Muir. And it should also be noted that Macfarlane too, another master nature writer, writes with great verve throughout.
Interspersed between chapters are selected glossaries, chosen from the multitude of words Macfarlane has collected, each devoted to a particular facet of the landscape, such as flatlands, uplands, coastlands, and northlands.
And there a sublime bonus in the 2016 paperback edition: an added section entitled "Gifts". In response to the original 2015 publication, thousands of readers from around the world, clearly touched and moved by Landmarks, sent Macfarlane additional words and place-terms either remembered or still in use in their little corner of the British Isles or the world at large.
Landmarks is a singular masterpiece: enchanting and inspiring.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bodachliath
A wonderful if idiosyncratic book on the language of landscape and nature.
Part of the book is a glossary of dialect, regional, slang, jargon and new coinages, organised by subject. These glossaries are lists of words and places where they are in use - linguists may note that the sources are rather
The glossary sections are interspersed with essays that explain how this information was collected, and explore the worlds of some of Macfarlane's favourite nature writers - there is also a fascinating section on young children, their childish language and their experiences of nature. Some of this material (notably the chapters on Nan Shepherd and Roger Deakin) will seem familiar to those who have read Macfarlane's previous books.
This paperback edition also contains a new appendix describing and listing some additions sent by readers of the original hardback.
Part of the book is a glossary of dialect, regional, slang, jargon and new coinages, organised by subject. These glossaries are lists of words and places where they are in use - linguists may note that the sources are rather
Show More
selective. The glossary sections are interspersed with essays that explain how this information was collected, and explore the worlds of some of Macfarlane's favourite nature writers - there is also a fascinating section on young children, their childish language and their experiences of nature. Some of this material (notably the chapters on Nan Shepherd and Roger Deakin) will seem familiar to those who have read Macfarlane's previous books.
This paperback edition also contains a new appendix describing and listing some additions sent by readers of the original hardback.
Show Less
LibraryThing member camharlow2
‘Landmarks’ is something of a departure from Macfarlane’s earlier books. Although still concerned with the countryside, it does not chronicle his travels through it. Rather, it is a series of essays that celebrate the writer and nature lovers who have influenced him and nurtured his
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appreciation of the outdoors. Between each essay, he has compiled a glossary of local terms from the length and breadth on the British Isles that describe a variety of aspects of the natural world. With these essays and glossaries, Macfarlane suggests that we should delve deeper into some of the unregarded and overlooked locations and appreciate what is hidden there. Show Less
LibraryThing member PDCRead
This is a difficult book to clearly categorise. It is a book about the natural world, about language to describe that natural world, but is also about the writers and in some cases friends, that he has learnt so much from in his journeys around the UK, up mountains and on long walks.
As he writes
But it is also a call to arms. Part of this was prompted by the Oxford Junior Dictionary dropping certain words like acorn, mistletoe and kingfisher. These were removed as children no longer hear or feel or see these things; the replacements MP3, Blackberry and tablet, and objects that are used inside and alone. MacFarlane wants them to bring these words back in to normal use, by getting children to discover them for themselves, and use them in their own ways as they explore the landscape and their imaginations equally.
But more importantly, this is a reference, not complete, of local words to describe what people have been seeing around themselves for hundreds of years. There are words for places, water, weather, woods, rocks and animals. Drawn from all parts of the UK, Ireland and Jersey, some of these are familiar and others are brand new to me. They range from the brutally blunt, like 'turdstall' which means a substantial cowpat to 'huffling' which means sudden gust of wind. These lists punctuate the book, giving breathing spaces between the chapters, so you are not faced with the enormity of a huge list.
MacFarlane is one of my favourite writers, his poetic prose and keen observation skills mean that the mundane can become the interesting, and the beautiful the breathtaking. It is different to his other books, but it is equally significant. If you have a moment, take some time to read this and immerse yourself in the evocative language he has sown you on the other side of the hedge.
As he writes
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about those authors, Nan Shepherd, Roger Deakin, Richard Mabey and Richard Skelton, seminal writers that have provided so much influence, through their work and books, it comes across that this is as much about his formative years and the sense of wonder that nature has given him. Woven into their eulogies, are accounts of journeys taken to favourite places, icy cold lochs swum in, and natural and literary discoveries.But it is also a call to arms. Part of this was prompted by the Oxford Junior Dictionary dropping certain words like acorn, mistletoe and kingfisher. These were removed as children no longer hear or feel or see these things; the replacements MP3, Blackberry and tablet, and objects that are used inside and alone. MacFarlane wants them to bring these words back in to normal use, by getting children to discover them for themselves, and use them in their own ways as they explore the landscape and their imaginations equally.
But more importantly, this is a reference, not complete, of local words to describe what people have been seeing around themselves for hundreds of years. There are words for places, water, weather, woods, rocks and animals. Drawn from all parts of the UK, Ireland and Jersey, some of these are familiar and others are brand new to me. They range from the brutally blunt, like 'turdstall' which means a substantial cowpat to 'huffling' which means sudden gust of wind. These lists punctuate the book, giving breathing spaces between the chapters, so you are not faced with the enormity of a huge list.
MacFarlane is one of my favourite writers, his poetic prose and keen observation skills mean that the mundane can become the interesting, and the beautiful the breathtaking. It is different to his other books, but it is equally significant. If you have a moment, take some time to read this and immerse yourself in the evocative language he has sown you on the other side of the hedge.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jon1lambert
I remember reading this book in blistering heat in Patras in 2017. The heat was such that I longed for the damp, cool and wet of the English countryside. Three local Patras train tickets acted as bookmarks on pages 52 and 53 that list fascinating words and definitions such as: pyllau, pools,
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puddles, Welsh; slams, boggy strip of land bordering fen riverbanks, Fenland; wham, swamp, Cumbria; stomach, to churn up waterlogged land, as cattle do in winter, Kent, Sussex - and many more. Just glancing at this paperback again I recall my enjoyment at the erudition and definitions as well as the triggers it generates in my mind - the girl who served me cold drinks in the bar where I read most of the book, the graffiti at a time of Greek financial crisis; deserted streets during the day due to the heat and not to anything like Coronavirus, and the shade and coolness of the hotel. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ken-Me-Old-Mate
I like this guy, I like how he thinks and how he describes what he sees. He is an outside kind of guy, big boots, Anorak, hiking staff you know the kind, but real smart and heartfelt. I really do like him. This book is about words for things seen outside like woods, rivers, trees and other external
I am very reluctant to say a negative word or imply that this is anything less that marvellous but I did find it a bit tedious. And I accept wholeheartedly that it is my failing not his.
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phenomena. It is comprehensive and exhaustive if at times exhausting.I am very reluctant to say a negative word or imply that this is anything less that marvellous but I did find it a bit tedious. And I accept wholeheartedly that it is my failing not his.
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LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
I think this book will gather another half star as I flick though it looking at the words lists again. I took my time with the book - reading the word lists as well as the chapters, a few each night to drift with into the night.
LibraryThing member Treebeard_404
As interesting as the collections of "endangered" place-words are, the real treasures are Macfarlane's essays that precede each glossary. The downside of these is that I have added about a dozen books to my "Want to Read" list based on their contents.
Awards
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (Shortlist — 2015)
Books Are My Bag Readers Award (Shortlist — Non-Fiction — 2016)
James Cropper Wainwright Prize (Shortlist — 2016)
NPR: Books We Love (2016)
The Observer Book of the Year (Nature — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
448 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
0241967872 / 9780241967874
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 914.1 |