SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET

by Jonny Keeling and Scott Alexander (BBC £25) THIS book accompanies the latest series from the BBC Natural History Unit, a rare example of an institutional department that has itself become a national

treasure. Keeling and Alexander, who both worked on the series in senior capacities, have been everywhere and filmed everything, including this flock of great white pelicans on the Danube.

Watching a series like this and then reading a book about it can make you complacent about the consistently high quality of work, but let’s not be. These series are to be cherished while they still exist, while the habitats they show us still exist, while the BBC itself still exists.

I have to say I’m not particularly optimistic about any of those three.