Consider the Golden Mole
- Downloads：4725
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-01 03:19:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Katherine Rundell
- ISBN：0571362494
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Joanne
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First of all， I have to say what a stunning book this is。 What looks like black lines on the dust cover are in fact in gold foil as is the wee mole in the middle。 The pages edges are shimmery gold too。 It’s got a sturdy hardback cover and the pages inside are excellent quality。 Talya Baldwin’s illustrations which accompany each chapter are intricate and beautiful。 The Golden Mole would make a great present for any nature lover， if you are already looking at your Christmas reading list。The writin First of all， I have to say what a stunning book this is。 What looks like black lines on the dust cover are in fact in gold foil as is the wee mole in the middle。 The pages edges are shimmery gold too。 It’s got a sturdy hardback cover and the pages inside are excellent quality。 Talya Baldwin’s illustrations which accompany each chapter are intricate and beautiful。 The Golden Mole would make a great present for any nature lover， if you are already looking at your Christmas reading list。The writing inside is compelling， poetic and imaginative。 The author includes what might be considered fairly ordinary animals as her subjects such as the seal， the spider， the bat， the hare and the crow。 Also included are more unusual creatures such as the narwhal， the pangolin and the Greenland shark as well as the eponymous golden mole。 Even that rather clever yet destructive creature， the human， gets a chapter！Ordinary or not， what we read about is quite extraordinary。 To mention just a few facts， did you know that hedgehogs have existed for more than fifteen million years and that they were once believed to carry fruit on their prickles to hoard for winter？ Did you know that an elephant’s trunk has around 40，000 muscles compared with humans’ mere 650 in our whole bodies？ Did you know that bats have been included in invisibility potions for hundreds of years in every continents？The Golden Mole is engaging， enlightening and important。 It reminds us of the incredible living treasures we risk losing as a result of climate change。 Every creature included in the book is endangered， frequently because of damage done to the world’s eco-system by humankind。 It is in some ways rather a sobering read and yet at the same time is witty and wise。 。。。more
Solveig Kleese
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Fun and interesting Planet Earth style facts mixed with folklore。 Highly recommend。
Megan Thomas
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This book， in itself， is a treasure and a reminder of what the Earth has to offer us。 I could read Katherine Rundell's writing every day for the rest of my life， and never get bored。 This book， in itself， is a treasure and a reminder of what the Earth has to offer us。 I could read Katherine Rundell's writing every day for the rest of my life， and never get bored。 。。。more
Stephen Dilley
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The Golden Mole is another astonishing achievement from Katherine Rundell who is emerging as one of the great writers and storytellers of our age。 Having already demonstrated her prowess as a children's novelist and as a literary biographer， she turns her attention to nature writing in this stunning bestiary of twenty-two endangered species， with a short essay on each accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from Talya Baldwin。 One of the striking things about this book is that many of the species The Golden Mole is another astonishing achievement from Katherine Rundell who is emerging as one of the great writers and storytellers of our age。 Having already demonstrated her prowess as a children's novelist and as a literary biographer， she turns her attention to nature writing in this stunning bestiary of twenty-two endangered species， with a short essay on each accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from Talya Baldwin。 One of the striking things about this book is that many of the species chosen by Rundell do not immediately appear to be endangered - alongside wolves， pangolins and narwhals， we learn about spiders， hares and swifts which many readers might assume to be safe from the risk of extinction。 However， Rundell shows how all the species in this book are threatened by environmental changes caused by human activity over recent decades and centuries。 Rundell's ecological message emerges very strongly from the pages of this book as we understand how much has already been lost and how much more we stand to lose if we don't change course。 This makes for powerful if hard-hitting reading at times。 Above all though， what I loved about this book was the sheer beauty of the writing。 This is a tremendously erudite book， brimming with scientific and historical research， but all of this is subsumed in Rundell's unceasing sense of wonder at the magnificence of the world around us （wonder and curiosity are perhaps the over-arching theme of all of her books）。 There are so many phenomenal sentences but here are a couple to give a flavour of her writing: "The earth is so glorious and so unlikely: the giraffe， stranger than the griffin， taller than a great high house， offers us the incomparable gift of being proof of it。" "I have seen many things that I've loved， but I don't think I'll live to see anything as fine as a raft of lemurs， sailing across the sea towards what looked， until the arrival of humans， like safety。" I finished this book inspired and challenged by Rundell's devoted illumination of the world around us。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review。 。。。more
Stephen Streeter
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There is no denying the literary talent of Katherine Rundell; she is an alchemist with language weaving together vocabulary and sentences to create fictional works of joy， fascination， comedy ， drama but in this instance her magical use of prose is directed to more a serious “earthly “ focus - the decline and hopefully survival of a selection of different creatures from around the planet - our living treasures 。 Yes， this is a call to arms to recognise what is happening to the planet but this is There is no denying the literary talent of Katherine Rundell; she is an alchemist with language weaving together vocabulary and sentences to create fictional works of joy， fascination， comedy ， drama but in this instance her magical use of prose is directed to more a serious “earthly “ focus - the decline and hopefully survival of a selection of different creatures from around the planet - our living treasures 。 Yes， this is a call to arms to recognise what is happening to the planet but this is not a book of doom and gloom but a beautiful celebration of the various species that are explored。 A topiary of literary references - mythical tales， legends ， historical facts that tell the fascinating stories of the chosen birds， insects and animals - mixing fact and folklore each is brought to life beyond a single description 。Katherine Rundell’s magical pen lures us into the world of each creature and highlights man’s role in the decline of the species but most importantly shines a light upon the glory and magic of each one。- that could vanish forever。 Talya Baldwin’s illustrations are jaw- droppingly beautiful and deserve an exhibition at the Natural History Museum - they add further depth and magic to the book。 This is a book to savour， to slowly unwrap， to share with friends and family but most essentially to read and recognise that if we don’t soon recognise what we have and what is happening then it will be too late - the living treasures could become the buried treasure we never wish to find 。。。more
Pickle。
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4。5*An urgent， fact packed， express-delivery updating of “Last chance to see” by Douglas Adams in some respects。 I will remember the warmly told asides， for example， the Stork and the moon and the inflated hedgehog and it’s “cocktail sticks” （you’ll see）。 Half of all royalties donated to sea and land climate change charities。
Ligia Stan
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