Landmarks
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 30 days of Standard free
Landmarks
Buy Now for £8.62
-
Narrated by:
-
Roy McMillan
Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane, read by Roy McMillan
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
From the bestselling author of UNDERLAND, THE OLD WAYS and THE LOST WORDS
'Few books give such a sense of enchantment; it is a book to give to many, and to return to repeatedly' Independent
'Enormously pleasurable, deeply moving. A bid to save our rich hoard of landscape language, and a blow struck for the power of a deep creative relationship to place' Financial Times
'A book that ought to be read by policymakers, educators, armchair environmentalists and active conservationists the world over' Guardian
'Gorgeous, thoughtful and lyrical' Independent on Sunday
'Feels as if [it] somehow grew out of the land itself. A delight' Sunday Times
Discover Robert Macfarlane's joyous meditation on words, landscape and the relationship between the two.
Words are grained into our landscapes, and landscapes are grained into our words. Landmarks is about the power of language to shape our sense of place. It is a field guide to the literature of nature, and a glossary containing thousands of remarkable words used in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to describe land, nature and weather.
Travelling from Cumbria to the Cairngorms, and exploring the landscapes of Roger Deakin, J. A. Baker, Nan Shepherd and others, Robert Macfarlane shows that language, well used, is a keen way of knowing landscape, and a vital means of coming to love it.
Critic reviews
I was very happy with this and very interested - although not entirely satisfied in the way in which the promise was delivered through. The ‘falling short’ for me was that the individual characters who were used to deliver the message - a Lancastrian musician being one example - seemed to lack depth of characterisation and, where offered, their link with the land seemed at times tenuous. This, of course, from me as anything but a son of the land - albeit, a Welsh and Irish heritage does give one a sense of entitlement when it comes to the wide-open spaces in the world of nature-spirituality.
What was enlightening, was the worrying news that so many common-place words now have no place (and are they so common?) with the youngest literate generation that we currently have in our care. If nothing else, the stir that this caused me was justification enough to read this work - but, to be fair there were lots of small pleasures along the route (Tyneside to South Shields, south along the river on a daily commute as it happens).
Routed in the land...flies in the mind.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A wonderful book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you consider the audio edition of Landmarks to be better than the print version?
Roy McMillan's voice is certainly a reason to choose the audio version.What other book might you compare Landmarks to, and why?
The Old Ways also by Robert Macfarlane and read by Roy McMillan.What about Roy McMillan’s performance did you like?
Brilliant!Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Laugh and cry out loud!Any additional comments?
Because of this book I have now read other books that were superb. J A Bakers The Peregrine will now be one of my favourite books ever... it would be a brilliant audio book but I'd have to think hard about who could be the voice.A taster for many other wonderful authors!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Masterful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. The author effortlessly takes you into his subjects. His writing is taut, precise and evocative.What did you like best about this story?
Each chapter is dedicated to a different author/topic. Some reviewers didn't like this, but I loved it. It allowed for journeys into particular words and stories associated with the underlying topic that I found fascinating.What does Roy McMillan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
He reads beautifully; with him the stories come alive. You are climbing the mountain with him, swimming in icy water alongside him, clambering into caves as he explores. It's a full on sensory experience.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes. It made me furious to learn nature related words were being removed from children's dictionaries as they were "no longer deemed relevant". It also created a burning desire to get out there and experience some of the places or things discussed.Any additional comments?
I couldn't tear myself away from this recording. The only downside..I became so caught up in the books and authors described in each chapter that I've had to buy many of them AND a hard copy of Landmarks so that I have easy access to the glossaries!Love it, but it's costing me a fortune!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.