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RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

John Beal — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:05:10 GMT

[quote][b]HelenBall (06/01/2010)[/b][hr]

I’d be interested in hearing other’s views.[/quote]

I quite agree about Derek Ratcliffe, Helen. His autobiographical book In Search of Nature published by Peregrine Books is even better.

I haven't read Dartmoor but Ian Mercer's name is familiar.

John B

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Hengus — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:12:16 GMT

It's still on my to read list, I'm afraid. 2 friends have read it...one rated it very highly, the other was very disappointed...not got to the bottom of the exact reasons why yet though. So no help from me.....

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

HelenB — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:49:58 GMT

I’ve not read the book cover to cover, but having dipped into three or four chapters I found what I read quite accessible and not a difficult read. I particularly liked the author’s treatment of the fauna of Dartmoor. In many of the recent New Naturalist books covering geographical areas I’ve found the information about animals fairly disappointing as it’s largely been limited to a single chapter or a few paragraphs tacked onto the back of chapters dealing with individual habitats. In many cases the information is very scant, often consisting of single sentences discussing some of the typical animal species that are known to be present.

The exceptions have been Derek Ratcliffe’s books on Lakeland and Galloway where the author made the fauna as much an integral part of the landscape as the habitats and plants that grow there and the human influences that shaped it. Perhaps these books reflect the breadth of experience of the author, a brilliant field naturalist who watched and studied many aspects of nature, as well as being involved in the policy side of conservation. Ian Mercer has done a similar job with Dartmoor in that he has, in places, woven discussion about fauna into the fabric of the chapters dealing with the key habitats. This is no mean feat given that so few of the other books do more than touch on the animals that depend upon the landscapes being discussed.

I’d be interested in hearing other’s views.

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Nerdy-Naturalist — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:01:17 GMT

let's leave the illustrations and photographs for a moment - has anybody actually read Dartmoor?? Am I the only one who is a little disappointed in the book - I find it very dry, dispassionate and difficult to read. There are also quite a few glaring errors - such as Sennet's Cross page 2 - shouldn't this be Bennets Cross?? Anyhow I just wanted to bait a discussion on the matter. I tend to split the NN's into easy to read and those that are a slog - I'm finding Dartmoor edging towards the latter.

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Hengus — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:32:00 GMT

[quote][b]ButterflyDisplay (10/21/2009)[/b][hr]My pages are also fine in my Dartmoor.

The latter point of Collins asking their readership for photos, many of us have submitted photos for use in publications, eg RHS Gardening magazine (Man Orchid) or the photo of a Speckled Wood (reduced in size and quality for web) various Butterfly Conservation publications.

Martin[/quote]

Fab photo, Martin.

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

ButterflyDisplay — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:26:19 GMT

My pages are also fine in my Dartmoor.

The latter point of Collins asking their readership for photos, many of us have submitted photos for use in publications, eg RHS Gardening magazine (Man Orchid) or the photo of a Speckled Wood (reduced in size and quality for web) various Butterfly Conservation publications.

Martin

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Brendan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:00:05 GMT

Honestly, I think you're all being excessively critical of that Golden Plover photo - look on it as a valuable opportunity for the reader to hone their ornithological field skills, like a Natural History version of "Where's Wally?". Collins should be commended for their willingness to push the boundaries of the format...

Overall, there's more good than bad in the Dartmoor photos, but it's definitely a challenge maintaining consistent quality across that many illustrations (and there are likely to be budgetary limitations too). Perhaps Collins could put out a request for photos on specific / tricky subjects to the readership - there must be fair number of hobbyist wildlife/landscape photographers among NN collectors, and I probably wouldn't be the only one happy to donate images royalty-free in return for seeing them in print in the series.

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Stephen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:17:38 GMT

Yep I agree w Hengus

The print is fine on my copy but I agree you are totally correct with the photographs..

I think Collins should take note of this

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Hengus — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:31:45 GMT

[quote][b]alane (10/19/2009)[/b][hr][quote][b]Lee3764 (9/28/2009)[/b][hr]I received my eagerly awaited hardback copy today from NHBS booksellers from Totnes in Devon & it looks very nice indeed! A lovely photo of a Marsh Fritillary Butterfly on page 170 (plate 130). Has anyone else received their copy yet?? Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).
[/quote]
I've had my copy for more than 2 weeks now and haven't got much further than looking through it.

One of the weak points of the series to my mind has been the illustrations, although they have been improving in recent years. In Dartmoor there are some lovely photos, such as that of the Marsh Fritillary, but there are far too many bad ones. A number of photos are just too small. My favourite has to be figure 143 on page 181, anyone not knowing what a golden plover was would be none the wiser; at least with figure 122 on page 156 you might guess that you are seeing something that is probably a flowering plant. Those are just 2 examples, but I should also mention figure 41 on page 55 - is it intentionally blurry?

I have also found 4 pages (374, 375, 390 and 399), where the print is best described as fuzzy. On pages 321 and 322 there is mention of Natural Nature Reserves. I also stumbled upon an entry in the index for ovine encephalomyelitis which refers one to louping ill - for which there is no entry.

Perhaps I should say taht I am, as someone has put it elsewhere in the forum, a glass half empty kind of guy.[/quote]

Oh I love it when someone else is as grumpy as me!

I think you must have a duff copy as my print is certainly not fuzzy on those 4 pages you mention. However you must certainly be commended on pointing out the Golden Plover. I've just looked at the plate and laughed so furiously I nearly had an accident. Truly hilarious!

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

alane — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:14:06 GMT

[quote][b]Lee3764 (9/28/2009)[/b][hr]I received my eagerly awaited hardback copy today from NHBS booksellers from Totnes in Devon & it looks very nice indeed! A lovely photo of a Marsh Fritillary Butterfly on page 170 (plate 130). Has anyone else received their copy yet?? Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).
[/quote]
I've had my copy for more than 2 weeks now and haven't got much further than looking through it.

One of the weak points of the series to my mind has been the illustrations, although they have been improving in recent years. In Dartmoor there are some lovely photos, such as that of the Marsh Fritillary, but there are far too many bad ones. A number of photos are just too small. My favourite has to be figure 143 on page 181, anyone not knowing what a golden plover was would be none the wiser; at least with figure 122 on page 156 you might guess that you are seeing something that is probably a flowering plant. Those are just 2 examples, but I should also mention figure 41 on page 55 - is it intentionally blurry?

I have also found 4 pages (374, 375, 390 and 399), where the print is best described as fuzzy. On pages 321 and 322 there is mention of Natural Nature Reserves. I also stumbled upon an entry in the index for ovine encephalomyelitis which refers one to louping ill - for which there is no entry.

Perhaps I should say taht I am, as someone has put it elsewhere in the forum, a glass half empty kind of guy.

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

DavidGarnett — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:36:53 GMT

My Amazon sourced Dartmoor arrived safely 2 days ago and is definitely and completely Dartmoor!

RE: N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Stephen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:44:13 GMT

OH the excitement of a new edition - I ordered Dartmoor Last week (amazon) - it arrived in very good condition - no obvious damage - should I leave opening it because a relative wants to use it as a Christmas present? - you know the situation `you fellas are always difficult to buy for!'

But the excitement got the better of me - so I carefully take off the protective seal - read the print on the cover - open the book look at the chapter list, think to myself I didn't know there was a Severn Valley region in Dartmoor but hey whats the worry the idea of the book is to educate myself?! then realize this is the chapter list for Southern England

Yep you've got it - I've an unopened Dartmoor - Obviously packaged straight off the shelf by the book sellars correctlym, but its a Dartmoor wrapper surrounding a Southern England Title

I hope nobody else has this problem - I'm alerting the list because I know many people buy multiple copies to sell one on later on when they become scarcer and these are not infrequently sold `in wrapper'

I would also love to see if Collins can explain how this could happen - surely a new book isn't printed at the same time as a re-run is it ??

Stephen

N/N Dartmoor no:111 now out!

Lee3764 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:10:14 GMT

I received my eagerly awaited hardback copy today from NHBS booksellers from Totnes in Devon & it looks very nice indeed! A lovely photo of a Marsh Fritillary Butterfly on page 170 (plate 130). Has anyone else received their copy yet?? Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

PS...I think I previously posted this in the wrong part of the forum under General Discussions instead of Latest Titles!