The Peregrine
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The Peregrine
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Narrated by:
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David Attenborough
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By:
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J. A. Baker
About this listen
The nation’s greatest voice, David Attenborough, reads J. A. Baker’s extraordinary classic of British nature writing, The Peregrine.
J. A. Baker’s classic of British nature writing was first published in 1967. Greeted with acclaim, it went on to win the Duff Cooper Prize, the pre-eminent literary prize of the time. Luminaries such as Ted Hughes, Barry Lopez and Andrew Motion have cited it as one of the most important books in twentieth-century nature writing.
Despite the association of peregrines with the wild, outer reaches of the British Isles, The Peregrine is set on the flat marshes of the Essex coast, where J. A. Baker spent long winters looking and writing about the visitors from the uplands – peregrines that spend the winter hunting the huge flocks of pigeons and waders that share the desolate landscape with them.
©1967 J. A. Baker (P)1967 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedCritic Reviews
‘A masterpiece of natural history writing. I would recommend to anybody who loves the English language, let alone birds of prey’ Monty Don, Financial Times
‘Passionately fierce but also wonderfully tender’ Andrew Motion
‘…an inspiring example to future writers, and a gift to lovers of nature.’ The Times Literary Supplement
‘… a literary masterpiece, one of the 20th century’s outstanding examples of nature writing.’ Independent
‘The Peregrine should be known as one of the finest works on nature ever written' BBC Wildlife
‘… some of the most marvellous prose of the twentieth century.’ Literary Review
‘A tour de force … what can I do except praise writing which involves all the senses? This book goes altogether outside the bird-book into literature.’ The Sunday Times
‘A rapt and remarkable book … his phrases have a magnesium-flare intensity.’ Observer
‘… what is certain is that The Peregrine is the most precise and poetic account of a bird – possibly of any non-human creature – ever written in English prose.’ Daily Telegraph
‘J. A. Baker's poetic prose has a hard intensity and an exquisite lyric grace that takes it far beyond the stereotypical stuff of larks ascending and questing voles. Cruelly beautiful and brutally exact, it sees the countryside anew to give us nature in the wild and in the raw.’ The Scotsman
‘Including original diaries from which The Peregrine was written and its companion volume, The Hill of Summer, this is a beautiful compendium of lyrical nature writing at its absolute best […]. For those with an interest in the Peregrine Falcon or classic natural history writing. ‘ Guardian
What listeners say about The Peregrine
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ben
- 10-06-2022
nature documentary through prose
J A Baker has presented a book full of elegant prose, rich metaphors and similes whilst also being fairly straightforward and factual. the book follows the narrators journey through several seasons observing peregrine falcons in various habitats around england.
JA Baker removes himself and becomes a camera lense to the natural happenings. this is as close to tv as a book gets and david attenboroughs narration is the proverbial cherry.
the only sour patch in the book was the boring sycohphantic description of the book and author that followed post script. 'i've never tried acid and thanks to J A Bakers colourful description I never have to' .. some meritous professor wanking over how important and revered the work should be. mate its a book. don't make it your life.
otherwise a fantastic audible experience.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gerard Lane
- 24-05-2022
Must read
Only now in my thirties am I becoming more thirsty for books of nature focused interest and command of artistry writing. This marries both along with being narrated by the grandfather of our time Attenborough. An absolute delight of a listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Bedward
- 08-01-2020
A masterpiece of nature writing
I think it was about twenty five years ago when I bought a paperback copy of this book, now much faded and dog-eared from many readings. It is a masterpiece of nature writing. It draws the reader into the atmosphere and immediacy of the landscape and the hawk with text that mixes detailed natural history observations (e.g. lists of peregrine prey items) with passages of the most wonderful poetic intensity. The timbre and cadences of David Attenborough's beautiful reading of J.A. Baker's text makes this audiobook version very special indeed.
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5 people found this helpful