[.uk] Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn (ISBN 1596910917)

Amazon.com Review:
When science writer Hannah Holmes decided to spend a year studying the inhabitants of her 0.2-acre patch of ground in suburban Portland, Maine, she went about the task with an ecologist's enthusiasm and a scientist's compulsive eye for detail. The result is an entertaining and effortlessly compelling examination of nature's stubborn (and successful) struggle to exist in the face of daunting manmade challenges. Holmes's lawn, unfertilized and rarely mowed, turns out to be a surprisingly diverse ecosystem of bird, mammal, and insect life--a self-perpetuating, constantly evolving community of chipmunks, ladybugs, spiders, slugs, and crows. These creatures, and the complex relationships between them, are the raw material for Holmes's incisive reflections on natural history, urban ecology, and the ignominious story of the over-irrigated, pesticide-laced American lawn--rolling out, Holmes notes, at a rate of one million acres per year. What drives Holmes is not just concern for the natural environment but a ravenous curiosity about every aspect of the world around her, from the sex lives of dragonflies and squirrels, to the murderous tendencies of the English sparrows that have colonized her land, to the survival strategies of the mosquitoes, sow bugs, and slugs that inhabit her yard by the hundreds. Holmes is an environmentalist to the core, but she never sermonizes. With Suburban Safari, an intimate, wry, and often challenging look at a world most of us never bother to notice, she ably demonstrates humanity's responsibility to a natural world that exists all around us--even in our own backyards. --Erica C. Barnett

sadly disappointing:
I bought this book based on the many good reviews, and was sadly disappointed. While I commend Ms Holmes on her thoroughness and attention to detail, this book was missing the humour I was looking for. As I was reading this book I kept wishing it had been written by Bill Bryson.

I Thoroughly Enjoyed This FUN, Backyard Ecology Book!:
Ms. Holmes conveys the spirit and joy of the true scientist in writing about her backyard biosphere. Carefully researched and referenced, this fascinating story is sure to inspire the reader to examine and appreciate their own surroundings. I would highly recommend this book for anyone even slightly interested in ecology, the environment or science. K. Reed

great trivia:
I really enjoyed the gentle and thoughtful tone of the author and the research regarding our animal neighbors was very interesting

excellent:
It couldn't be better---funny, informative, clever. Hannah Holmes is a great observer, a great writer.

This book changed my yard:
I look at my yard in a completely different way after reading this book. I learned a lot, laughed a lot, and shared many portions of this book with my family (my 9 year old loved it, and the phrase "in my backyard..." has a whole new meaning). I no longer resent my weeds in the same way, appreciate my crows, and am trying to plant more native plants with an eye toward the other creatures that share my space. As a scientist, I'm thrilled that so much information is present in clear, personal, and entertaining writing. This book has changed my life - corny but true...