2018’s BEST BOOKS

In time for your Christmas list, we asked BBC Countryfile Magazine contributors to recommend their favourite books of the year, from stories of prehistory, rewilding and a natural-history heist to Blue Planet ll

Our writers choose their favourite reads of the year, in time for the Christmas list.

THE DEBATABLE LAND BY GRAHAM ROBB (PICADOR, £20)

Having moved to a remote house at the northern edge of England, Graham Robb sets out on a journey to explore the historical landscape between Scotland and England. Once an independent territory, the Debatable Land was not a hard border but a meeting point, a buffer zone that had existed since ancient times. He uncovers a landscape with surprisingly modern political resonances, a world of connections rather than separation. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, historian

WILDING BY ISABELLA TREE (PICADOR, £20)

A must-read book about how a large country estate in Sussex turned its back on loss-making conventional farming and embraced large herbivores (deer and traditional breeds of cattle and pigs) and natural processes to turn its fortunes around. The Knepp Estate borrows ideas from rewilding projects on the continent and has turned speciespoor pasture and arable fields into mosaics of wetland, scrub, woodland and meadow. The results should fill any nature lover with joy: insect life has revived and with it the fortunes of farmland birds, including super-rare nightingales and turtle doves.

Fergus Collins, BBC Countryfile Magazine editor

ANCIENT WONDERINGS: JOURNEYS INTO PREHISTORIC BRITAIN BY JAMES CANTON (COLLINS, £15.99)

A magical account of Canton’s visits to prehistoric sites throughout Britain. Personal experience, research and knowledge, and a profound imaginative engagement all come together to make an informative, beautiful book. I learned a great deal and immensely enjoyed the learning. I particularly admire the way he accepts and explains the limits of what we can know and understand intellectually and how place and atmosphere (and paying attention) can deepen our appreciation and comprehension. Sara Maitland, writer

THE STRANGER IN THE WOODS BY MICHAEL FINKEL (SIMON & SCHUSTER, £8.99)

All about a man who went into the woods and lived there for 30 years without speaking to another soul, until he was hunted after stealing food from a community. It’s a fascinating read. Phoebe Smith, adventurer and travel writer

A LITTLE HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY BY BRIAN FAGAN (YALE UP, £14.99)

This book reminds us that some subjects are best seen in a wider perspective: it’s far too easy to get over-involved with a small area and forget there’s a broader global picture. The development of the landscape is all about the growth of communication, travel, language and trade. It’s an impressive piece of editing, as well as a good read. Francis Pryor, historian and TV presenter

THE SURFBOARD BY DAN KIERAN (UNBOUND, £9.99)

CEO of crowdfunding publishing platform Unbound, Dan Kieran travels to Cornwall where he ponders the unlikely path that led him from idler to author to entrepreneur, as he builds a surfboard that he will likely never use. Kevin Parr, angler and nature writer

THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ISLES IN 100 PLACES BY NEIL OLIVER (BANTAM PRESS, £25)

Wherever Neil Oliver goes, he’s accompanied in his imagination by Stone-Age hunters, Roman sentries and Viking invaders. The locations are diverse and striking: Snaefell mountain on the Isle of Man, the Titanic slipway in Belfast and a Scottish tree reputed to be 9,000 years old. Oliver, who describes the collection as “a personal sketch, not a full-blown picture”, is as enthusiastic and charming in print as he is on screen. Vernon Harwood, writer

A BLACK FOX RUNNING BY BRIAN CARTER (BLOOMSBURY, £14.99)

This classic from 1981, republished this year, ranks alongside Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter for the vividness of its depiction of animal life. It’s a powerful tale of a Dartmoor fox and his relentless pursuit by a vengeful trapper. Muscular, occasionally brutal, and mesmerisingly beautiful.

Joe Pontin, BBC Countryfile Magazine features editor

THE FEATHER THIEF BY KIRK WALLACE JOHNSON (HUTCHINSON, £20)

A remarkable true story of a 2009 theft of priceless bird skins from Tring’s Natural History Museum library. This was perpetrated by musician Edwin Rist, with the intention of stripping their iridescent feathers for use by a secretive subculture obsessed with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. The crime and the book shine a light on our often uncomfortable relationship with the natural world. Mike Dilger, TV presenter and naturalist

BLUE PLANET II: A NEW WORLD OF HIDDEN DEPTHS

BY JAMES HONEYBORNE AND MARK BROWNLOW (BBC BOOKS, £25) It’s not often that a television programme can claim to have made a difference to the world. But I’m convinced that in 50 years from now, Blue Planet II will be held up as the game-changer in our attitude towards marine conservation. The book captures the spirit of Attenborough’s landmark series perfectly with pithy, informative text and some of the most beautiful photographs I’ve ever seen. Adam Henson, Countryfile presenter